Registration for dual polls starts Sunday

By William B. Depasupil, Manila Times Reporter

UNLESS postponed by an act of Congress, the synchronized barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections would push through on October 29, said Commission on Elections spokesman Dir. James Jimenez Thursday.

Jimenez said voters’ registration for the coming polls would begin on Sunday and would run for a week, or until July 22.

As stipulated in Comelec Resolution No. 8228, people aged 18 and above on October 29, election day, may either register as first time voters or apply for transfer.

For the SK elections, people aged 15 to 17 may also register and vote, provided that they meet the six months residency requirement in the barangay units where they intend to vote.

Jimenez explained that if one has already turned 18 on or before the SK elections, he or she is disqualified to register or vote.

The barangay and SK elections were originally scheduled in October 2006 but was postponed by Congress because no funds were available.

Earlier, Comelec Chairman Benjamin Abalos Sr. said it would be better to scrap the barangay election and instead empower that municipal and city mayors to appoint the barangay officials.

“Barangay elections are divisive. There were many instances in the past that close family members were pitted against each other, destroying in the process close family relations,” Abalos said.

He said barangay elections also use up money that could be used instead to build more schools, farm-to-market roads and other vital projects.

There are 41,975 barangays in the country and the same number of SK councils. The Comelec would be spending between P2.5 billion and P3.5 billion for the simultaneous elections.