President Rodrigo Duterte has signed into law a measure postponing the barangay (village) and Sangguniang Kabataan (youth council) elections scheduled in May 2020.
Duterte inked Republic Act (RA) 11462 or the Postponement of the 2020 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections Act during a ceremonial signing held at Palace's Rizal Hall on Tuesday afternoon.
Senate President Vicente Sotto III, House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano, Senator Maria Imelda Josefa Marcos, Negros Occidental 4th District Rep. Juliet Ferrer, Local Government Secretary Eduardo Año, and Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea witnessed the ceremony.
In a keynote speech, the President said the signing of the law is vital in “realizing meaningful and lasting reform for the good of our nation.”
RA 11462 effectively moves the twin elections to Dec. 5, 2022.
Incumbent village executives and officials of the youth council will remain in office until their successors have been duly elected or unless they have been removed or suspended.
The new set of barangay and SK officials elected in December 2022 will assume office on Jan. 1, 2023.
Subsequent village and youth council polls will be held on the first Monday of December 2025 and every three years after.
Palace has yet to release a copy of the newly-signed law.
During his fourth State of the Nation Address on July 22, Duterte asked Congress to pass a measure suspending the elections set in May 2020, to give village officials more time to finish their programs and projects.
The Senate and the House of Representatives on November 12 ratified the bicameral conference report of their consolidated measure on the postponement of the twin elections.
This is the third deferment of the village and youth council's elections since 2016.
Duterte postponed twice the village and youth council elections for fear that incumbent village officials who allegedly have ties with drug syndicates might get re-elected.
In October 2016, Duterte inked RA 10923, moving the twin elections from Oct. 31, 2016 to Oct. 23, 2017.
The village and youth council elections were once again rescheduled to May 14, 2018 after the Chief Executive signed RA 10952. (Ruth Abbey Gita-Carlos/PNA)
