Caritas PH opposes proposed postponement of barangay, SK polls

Caritas Philippines, the social action arm of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines, opposes the proposed postponement of the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections scheduled for December 2022.

Bishop Jose Colin Bagaforo stated that postponing the elections anew undermines the importance of barangay level politics and the exercise of democratic rights.

He emphasized that suppressing electoral processes, especially at the barangay and SK levels, is not appropriate for the government as they are the most accessible forms of citizen engagement.

The elections were previously postponed to 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and this reason is being cited in current postponement proposals.

House Majority Leader Ferdinand Martin Romualdez suggested postponing the elections could generate over P8 billion in savings, which could be allocated for COVID-19 response and economic stimulus.

Commission on Elections (Comelec) Commissioner George Garcia stated that the poll body will abide by Congress's decision on the matter.