If he would have his way, presidential candidate and former senator Bongbong Marcos would extend the term limits of barangay officials in the Philippines so they could serve a maximum of three, five--year terms.
This was broached by Marcos Saturday, March 12 during a rally at the Olivares College Gym in Parañaque City that was attended by local barangay leaders.
"Marami po tayong naririnig na mga request na sinasabi na dapat i-extend ang term ng barangay official. Teka, baka magulat kayo--hindi ako sang-ayon sa extension or postponement ng election (We've been hearing a lot of requests for the extension of barangay officials' terms. Hold it, this may surprise you--I am not in favor of the extension or postponement of barangay elections)," said the Ilocano candidate, who is one half of UniTeam.
"Ngunit sa aking palagay, wag na tayong extend nang extend, postpone nang postpone. Palitan na natin yung batas para ang termino ng barangay official ay limang taon na at three-term limit (But in my opinion, we should not keep extending, postponing. Let's change the law so that the term of barangay officials will become five years with a maximum of three terms)," he said.
Currently, barangay officials serve a term of three years. But why the suggestion of five years? According to the Partido Federal ng Pilipinas (PFP) standard-bearer, the elected barangay leaders remain in power for a minimum of five years anyway, due to poll postponements.
"On average five years na nakaupo ang ating mga barangay official (our barangay officials keep their seats for five years)."
Marcos said that the five-year term would be more beneficial to barangay constituents since it would provide continuity to the officials' programs.
He also said that the practice of always holding elections--be it national elections, barangay elections, or Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections--can be disruptive to the bureaucracy.
"Gawin na natin ito nang sa ganun ay yung mga inisyatibo na dapat na ipagpatuloy ng ating mga barangay official ay magagawa nila dahil sa kahit anong paraan sa limang taon, eh kung manalo ka ulit, eh 10 taon, ay kaya na nilang palabasin at ipakita ang kanilang galing, ang kanilang iniiisip, ang kanilang pagtulong sa sariling bara-barangay (Let's do this already so that barangay officials can carry out their initiatives within five years, or even 10 years if they win again, and show their skills, their plans, and their desire to help their respective barangays)," Marcos said.
He said the Local Government Code must be tweaked to allow such change in barangay officials' term limit.