Next week, the official season for the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections will officially start with the filing of certificates for candidacies from August 28 to September 2.
This early, however, candidates are now on an early-campaigning binge, taking advantage of the period before the Commission on Elections (Comelec) imposes strict restrictions for official campaigning, which will last from October 19 to 28.
On the other hand, the Philippine National Police (PNP) is bracing for this year’s elections to become even more heated, as more than 4,000 barangays were listed as being under “yellow alert” (areas with a history of election-related incidents in the last elections, possible employment of partisan armed groups and the occurrence of politically motivated election-related incidents).
The PNP has yet to release the specific areas or barangays that were considered to be “areas of concern,” but as they say, barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections are often considered to be a mirror of local and national elections.
For example, this early, Comelec officials are already warning against the proliferation of vote-buying with a seemingly bloodcurdling reminder: those caught in the act of vote-buying or vote-selling can be subjected to “warrantless arrests.”
However, there are concerns that this tactic may backfire for two main reasons.
One, even as the Comelec has received 113 complaints of vote-buying during the 2022 national elections, cases of vote-buying are hardly ever reported due to the fact that most of these incidents are conducted “under the table.”
Two, this tactic could lead to increased conflict as rival factions may use this as an excuse to harass candidates or voters. And in barangay elections, where the stakes are more personal, confrontations are more prone to lead to violence.
The challenge is now on for our authorities to ensure that, after years of being repeatedly postponed, this year’s barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections will not be marred by violence and intimidation.
#OpinYonLaguna #HeatIsOn #BarangayElections #SKElections #VoteBuying #WarrantlessArrests #OpinYon