PNS — SENATE President Juan Ponce Enrile is amenable to postponing the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections in October and hold it instead in December 2011.
Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri, who proposed the postponement, said government spent P13.5 billion in the May electoral exercise and the upcoming local elections will cost about P3.5 billion.
“Ang problema natin we have too many elections. So I think we have to study the possibility of postponing it maybe up to December of next year kung ako lang ha. Pero I will defer to the wishes of the political groups,” Enrile told reporters.
“I’m not sure whether we have any money allotted for that purpose. Pero maski na mayroon, napaka-gastos natin. Election after election. Kawawa naman ang bayan. Kung ako lang, we should consider the possibility of having elections one time na lang para sabay-sabay,” he added.
Zubiri moved to postpone the Barangay and SK polls to October 2012. He filed Senate Bill No. 60 resetting the synchronized elections and extending the terms of office of barangay officials to five years in a bid to address the issue of effective governance and implementation of long-term projects nationwide.