Abolition of barangay and SK polls sought
TAYUG-A judge of the Regional Trial Court in Pangasinan has sought the abolition of the barangay elections because it is the source of conflict that divides friends, neighbors, relatives and even husbands and wives.
In a talk to newsmen, RTC Judge Ulysses Raciles Butuyan said polls at the barangay level, the most basic political unit in the country, have become a source of rifts among people within the same community.
At the same time, he also called for the abolition of the Sangguniang Kabataan, which, he said, is not in any way contributing to the good of the community and its people.
Butuyan said he did not participate in last Monday’s election to demonstrate his sentiment.
Butuyan, a neighbor and relative of former President Fidel Ramos, is from barangay Baro in Asingan town.
Butuyan’s opinion is shared by some ranking government officials in the province seeking the abolition of the barangay as well as Sangguniang Kabataan polls after observing that the last political exercise was marred by vote-buying by many candidates across the province.
The exercise is also said to be costly for the government.
Butuyan instead re-commends the appointment of the barangay chairman based on criteria and qualification through a screening process and subject to civil service rules and regulations.
He said in this manner, service in the barangays would be more professionalized.
He noted the expenses of government in holding the Barangay and SK elections and yet these organi zations often end up being partisan in nature.
Butuyan observed that in the just concluded Barangay and SK elections, most if not all of the candidates spent much of their personal money just to get elected and yet the salaries for these positions are just pittance amounts.
Some, he said, engaged in vote buying which, means that there is corruption up to the lowest level of the government.
“If we just appoint the barangay captain and abolished the SK, at least we reduce the level of corruption and save some money,” he said.
At the same time, he said, this will professionalize barangay services and centralize management to what can be called a holistic approach to municipal developments.
He said it will not simply work as the barangays adopt a system of “to each his own”. —LM
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