Barangay and SK Elections

There's an interesting column by Neal Cruz in the Philippine Daily Inquirer regarding the Barangay and SK elections and I could not agree more. The Barangay and SK elections have become a breeding ground for corruption.

We all agree that the barangay is the basic unit of a community and the youth should have a voice in nation building but the earnest move to formalize their contributions to nation building by making them elective seems to have backfired. We cannot fault the author of the Local Government Code, Sen. Aquilino Pimentel, because he could not have predicted what is happening now at the time he wrote the law.

Having a voice in nation building however does not mean we have to put a lot of layers into our electoral process. It not only adds confusion, it is costly as well. In order to put the importance of barangay officials in its proper perspective, let us keep in mind of what the role is of the local elective officials including the elective barangay officials. Primarily, they are elected to make and implement laws to promote order in our municipality and to contribute to the process of nation building. What law can the barangay make that otherwise could not be done by local Sangguniang Bayan or what law cannot be implemented by the Mayor that the barangay can? Did we not elect our Mayor and the members of the Sangguniang Bayan basically to manage the affairs of the town and direct the implementation of local and national policies?

According to Section 384 of the Local Government Code, "the barangay serves as the primary planning and implementing unit of government policies, plans, programs, projects, and activities in the community, and as a forum wherein the collective views of the people may be expressed, crystallized and considered, and where disputes may be amicably settled."

With this provision in mind, is the spirit of the law really followed in our case? Basically what the law says is that everything must emanate from the barangay and in my own understanding, the mayor and the local SB will have to consult with the Sangguniang Barangay on any plans the barangay has. I doubt if this is being followed in our town or in any other town in our province.

As for the SK, I don't have to say much about this because it is quite obvious that the SK hasn't done much for the welfare of our youth. All they ever do is sponsor basketball tournaments and nothing else. This concept is such a waste of money. One more thing, as Neal Cruz said, it has become a breeding ground for corruption. We are damaging the future of our youth by encouraging them to start the practice of vote buying at such an early age. Even the most unqualified may become an SK Federation Chairman as long as he or his family can afford to buy votes to ensure a seat in the local Sangguniang Bayan.

Are these practices contributory to nation building? I don't think so.