By Genalyn Kabiling
Village and youth officials will have more time to implement their projects and gauge their success following the postponement of the 2020 barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections, a Palace official said Wednesday.
PCOO Secretary Martin Andanar
(PCOO / MANILA BULLETIN)
Presidential Communications Operations Secretary Martin Andanar made the statement after welcoming President Rodrigo Duterte’s signing of a law resetting the the barangay and SK polls to Dec. 5, 2022.
Republic Act No. 11462 on the postponement of the village and youth polls was inked at a ceremony in Malacañang last Tuesday. Duterte said the law was "vital in realizing meaningful and lasting reform for the good of our nation."
"We see this undertaking as a necessity, the fact being that project implementations take time to yield their results. This is a way to materialize and put into effect the initiatives and projects being done by all barangay officials," Andanar said.
"With this, not only will the officials at the grassroots level be able to measure the success of their projects, they can adjust and replicate them as needed for a more substantial period," he added.
He said they will still monitor any complaints about corruption and poor public service.
"We will continue to monitor complaints being made by any of their respective constituents through the government’s Citizens’ Complaint Hotline 8888 to prevent lapses in government service delivery and to undermine any anomalies or corruption issues," he said.
Andanar also said the government can save P5.77 billion from election-related expenses following the poll postponement. He said the amount could be channeled to "relevant projects that provide better services and create better lives for Filipinos."
Read more: Duterte signs laws on barangay, SK elections postponement, Malasakit Centers