30/10/2023
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Today, October 30, marks another election day.
The Filipinos, however, are not taking the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections (BSKE) as seriously as they should.
The barangay is the smallest political unit that our country has. It works as the direct line of the citizens, hence the existence of the Sangguniang Barangay (SB) and the Sangguniang Kabataan (SK).
The SB, headed by the Captain or Punong Barangay, assumes the role of the chief executive officer whose responsibility focuses on overseeing barangay operations, managing resources, promoting citizen participation, and representing the barangay in external affairs.
Barangay Kagawads also form part of the SB. They are primarily responsible for participating in barangay council meetings, proposing, and enacting local ordinances, and resolving disputes among constituents of the Barangay. Together, the Captain and the Kagawad will navigate the problems of their Barangay in the next three years.
In order to promote active participation of the youth, the Sangguniang Kabataan mechanism also exists in the local level. It is headed by the SK Chairperson, who is responsible for leading and organizing youth activities, engaging with local youth groups, and promoting youth participation in the decision-making processes. Together with the SK Kagawads, they all shall be responsible for the formulation and implementation of programs that address the specific needs of the youth in their place.
It is noticeable that campaigns and related activities for the BSKE do not get as much traction as that of the national elections. Understandably, however, the BSKE is definitely smaller in scale both in the resources that running parties use during the campaign period and the media coverage that the events leading to the election day get.
Ultimately, it would be absurd to think and feel that the BSKE is far less important than the national elections. Both deserve the same degree of response and participation from the people.
The BSKE, just like the national elections, is another forum where the Filipino people can exercise their constitutional right to vote. Needless to say, this is a very important right as this is something that we cannot exercise every day or as often as we would like to. A deliberate omission or failure to exercise such right in an intelligent, sensible manner, produces years of far-reaching implications to which we can only respond with regret.
Ever since the campaign period began, I had not seen enough meaningful content both in the streets and online. Most, if not all, materials were made, intentionally or otherwise, to be funny or just plain ridiculous. The campaign jingles are not only violative of intellectual property laws, they are likewise unnecessarily disruptive and loud.
Do we claim it as mere strategic and tactical, or have we gotten to a point where we see the BSKE only as a game of gimmicks?
True enough, people need to know and remember the names of the candidates. They are far different from those mostly involved in the national elections. We neither see them on TV nor hear about them on the radio, thus such antics like roaming around the barangays with booming speakers and carious stunts are however justified. Sadly, however, there is always the emphasis on the person of the candidate, with their campaign platforms being pushed to the side lanes.
One of the running parties in my barangay, which I will not name for the sake of privacy, did not even bother to mention their platforms in their sortie during the last day of the campaign period. They probably felt that they already did enough to tell everyone in the barangay about their platforms and plans, or maybe they were just too tired that day. The reason may not be as important, but it was definitely disappointing.
How do we expect people to ask the important questions such as โHow do you plan to help solve unemployment in our barangay?โ or โAre you the right person for the position?โ when the candidates themselves do not take the BSKE as seriously as they should? When the voting population gets too distracted with their own lives trying to survive terrible living conditions, how do we get them to ponder about their future? It is as if that the solution is to distract them even further with noise and ploys, and not to provide them with comprehensive and practical solutions.
Equally, if not more, disappointing are the activities and efforts that a lot of SK candidates had put in during the campaign period. I have seen posts online about the credentials of some SK candidates which went viral for reasons which I did not hope for.
The number of โhahaโ reactions on Facebook posts of said credentials, for example, is proof that something is wrong with how some of these candidates have presented themselves. It was common to see credentials such as โBest in Attendanceโ and โMr. Congenialityโ in these posts. Clearly, it is not inherently wrong to be proud of these kinds of achievements, but we have to understand that this is part of the problem. The positions that they are vying for directly affect peopleโs lives.
Their inclusion in the list of achievements might be because of one of two reasons: (1) they are funny enough to make the post go viral which ultimately improves their popularity; or (2) the candidates truly lack the experience and credentials to run for the position.
Todayโs Barangay elections, which should have been conducted last May 2020 but was postponed to December 2022, and then moved again to October 2023, is vital.
The essence of the BSKE lies in its ability to affect grassroots and community-level conditions. While it is true that the national positions such as the President are important, it is through having a credible Barangay leadership that most problems are quickly and are actually addressed. Not everyone has the direct line to the President, not even to the Mayor, but everyone can easily go to the Barangay Hall and express their grievances.
If we want to shape our destinies better, we have to understand the significance of the BSKE. Good governance requires a good foundation. Stop thinking about the next President and Vice President for now. Look around you and take this more seriously.
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