Rey Anthony H. Chiu
TAGBILARAN CITY, September 7 (PIA)—In the absence of any official word about the
alleged postponement of the synchronized barangay and Katipunan ng Kabataan
(KK), Bohol Commission on Elections continue to pursue the election calendar as
mandated.
According to Section 1
of the Republic Act No. 9164 as amended by Republic Act No. 9340, it pegged the
Synchronized Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (now Katipunan ng Kabataan)
Elections on the last Monday of October and every three years after.
But a plenary of the House
of Representatives early this week has pushed for an election
postponement.
A similar move is
reportedly being traded at the Senate, and both houses apparently are one in
the idea of the postponement until next year.
But unless an amendment
of the law is made official through due legislative process or by executive
order, then it would not disrupt the election preparation mandates,
explained Bohol Comelec Supervisor Atty. Eliseo Labaria.
Speaking at the Kapihan
sa PIA aired live over DyTR, Atty Labaria added that the COMELEC is still
within schedule and despite the reported halting of ballots printing, the poll
body is still up to the next task: filing of candidacies for the Barangay and
KK officials.
Not discountingthe
possibility of a poll postponement, Bohol Comelec said they are prepared for
any eventuality.
The polls, if pushed
through, would happen in October.
He said up for grabs are
16 positions: a barangay chairman, 7 councilors, a KK chairman and
seven youth sector councilors.
According to the
Comelec, eligible to vote for the barangay elections are registered voters,
Filipinos 18 years old and above who have adequately established a residency of
at least a year from registration.
Meanwhile, for the KK,
eligible to vote are those registered 15 to 30 years old.
For the KK, however,
only those who are 18 to 24 are qualified to run for the elective
positions.
The above provisions are
all contained in the Comelec resolution 10148. (rmn/rac/PIA-7/Bohol)