Editorial

Seeing the barangay

        Pretty sure the incumbent barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan officials welcome their extended term in office when President Duterte signed last week Republic Act 11462 which postpones the elections, originally scheduled for May 2020 to December 5, 2022. After 2022, the barangay and SK elections will be conducted every three years.

Because of the new law, there would be two elections in 2022 -- the presidential election in May and the village and youth polls in December. Duterte himself, in his fourth State of the Nation Address last July, asked Congress for the postponement, which have been deferred in many instances since 1998. 

        The incumbents have supported the postponement, contending  that they need a longer timeframe to execute their development plans and programs. Three years of incumbency in governance may be short in the implementation of programmed development initiatives but it could be a long  period of siphoning financial resources when indulging in graft and corrupt practices.

        It’s better be good in utilizing the longer timeframe for a more focused and  progressive governance, seeing to it that public service is flowed for the betterment of the community the barangay and SK officials serve. They owe their elections to the people who put them in their positions which yield political power on the standpoint of the smallest unit of government, but on the frontline of government function and service delivery.

        In our present governance system, the barangay government plays a tedious role in securing its geo-political sphere in terms of peace and order, public health, and environmental care, among others. It is the agency where the constituency, especially the lowly, seeks assistance, including initial legal remedies. The three-year, short-term in office is glorifying when service is rendered at its best and leadership is assured for the next term, hence, the tour of duty is given length, giving the servers more time to implement their crafted development initiatives.

        As a legacy, the incumbents could draw a long-term development blueprint by which its continuity can be further pursued by the next line of successors. Development programs should not necessarily be confined for one’s term of office only but seeing future needs and expansion, hence, a realistic and pursuable paradigm can be devised by which the next generation can be kept moving and by which modifications are feasible for the changing environment.

        Precisely, barangay governments have been created so public service can easily be expedited and facilitated to the grassroots… or simply stated: a government service that is decentralized where people can feel the essence of “government that is closer to the people.” A barangay government is felt when the governed are being served rightly and justly and the incumbent position is credited with “a job well done,” entitled for re-election.

        But then, we ask the question: In return for the barangay government service, how well have we supported our respective barangay? It’s not always asking that we become dependents or parasites but also extending cooperation and support to the smallest unit of government --- a synergy of relationship in seeing our barangay.