Senator Marcos' panel okays bill giving barangay, SK officials a 5-year term

The Senate committee on local government, chaired by Sen. Ferdinand "Bongbong" R. Marcos, Jr.,has okayedthe bill seeking to fix a 5-year term of office for Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) officials instead of their current 3-year term.

Senate Bill 3296,introduced by Sen. Marcos himself, also calls for theextension of the term of barangay and SK officials, elected during the October 25, 2010 elections, up to November 30, 2015.

In lieu of the synchronized barangay and SK elections on Oct. 2013, the Marcos bill proposes that they be held instead on the last Monday of October 2015 and every five years thereafter.

Sen. Marcos said his billwould save billions of pesos for the government, which could be used to fund other aspects of national development.

"But more importantly, it would give the barangay and SK officials a longer period to pursue their program of development uninterrupted by concerns for re-election," Sen. Marcos said.

He pointed out that the estimated P3 billion required to finance the barangay and SK elections every three years, "is so enormous to escape public scrutiny and consideration in the light of our budgetary constraints."

Sen. Marcos noted that there had been several postponements of barangay and SK elections due to lack of funds, the very same reason these elections were synchronized in the first place.

The bill gives to the Commission on Elections and the Department of Interior and Local Government the task of promulgating, within 60 days after the effectivity of the law, the necessary rules and regulations for the implementation of the act.