EDITORIAL - Perpetual BSKE postponement

Look around you: political dynasties start at the smallest unit of government, the barangay. Village posts are the entry level for members of political clans.

Having relatives occupying barangay posts has to be one of the major reasons for both congressmen and senators repeatedly postponing the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections or BSKE.

Another reason is to reward their political operators at the grassroots. Apart from assisting in elections, barangay officials help their political patrons get personal credit in the distribution of tax-funded ayuda.

Rodrigo Duterte started extending the terms of BSK officials during his presidency. The one-year postponement of the BSKE and effective term extension became such a bad habit that the issue was brought to the Supreme Court, which struck down the practice as unconstitutional.

Lawmakers soon found a loophole, however, and in the 19th Congress went one step further, tacking on yet another one-year BSKE postponement to a proposal in the same bill to reset the terms of BSK officials to four years from three.

President Marcos, himself a member of an entrenched dynasty, readily signed the measure into law.

Because no one challenged this, the current 20th Congress is at it again, seeking to postpone the BSKE set this November, and giving village and youth council officials yet another new term of not just four but five years.

This effectively extends the terms of incumbent BSK officials all the way to 2028. The House has passed the bill. The Senate – although busy with the national budget and the impeachment trial – found time to swiftly give its final nod to the counterpart measure yesterday.

President Marcos can veto the enrolled bill when it reaches his desk, if only to save taxpayers P8 billion – the amount that the Commission on Elections said it has already spent in preparation for the Nov. 2 BSKE.

The President might also read the Supreme Court ruling that struck down the repeated BSKE postponement. The SC had stressed that it violated the right of suffrage and deprived others of the opportunity to seek BSK posts and refresh the people’s mandate.

What fantastic work did incumbent barangay officials do to deserve this reward, apart from having many of them belonging to political dynasties entrenched in their areas? The barangays are among the biggest causes of red tape, and there are proposals to abolish the Sangguniang Kabataan.

While Congress has the power to set the terms of BSK officials, all power must be exercised with restraint. If this latest extension is again approved by the President, in 2028, will Congress again postpone the village polls and give the BSK officials yet another new term of six years? Why not eight? Ten? How about forever?

This is not reform, but a travesty. President Marcos should stop being complicit in it.