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Negros Oriental governor, other officials oppose barangay poll postponement

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Raffy Cabristante, ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="ABS-CBN News" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2023/life/06/27/20230627-commission-on-elections-launches-its-3-day-series-of-public-hearings-via-raffy-cabristante.jpg"/><figcaption>The Commission on Elections launches its 3-day series of public hearings on the proposed postponement of the barangay polls in Negros Oriental at the province&#x27;s convention center in Dumaguete City on June 27, 2023. Raffy Cabristante, ABS-CBN News</figcaption></figure></div>DUMAGUETE CITY — Several local officials in Negros Oriental on Tuesday opposed the proposed postponement of the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) polls as the Commission on Elections (Comelec) began its 3-day series of public hearings on the matter. Speaking through representatives, Governor Manuel &quot;Chaco&quot; Sagarbarria and Vice Governor Jake Reyes said they were in favor of pushing through with the barangay polls in October, given that the province had been &quot;generally peaceful&quot; since the March 4 bloodbath that killed former governor Roel Degamo and 9 others.Provincial administrator Arthur Fran Tolcidas told Comelec Chairman George Garcia that the Negros Oriental police were &quot;simply ready to conduct the election,&quot; quoting a letter from provincial police acting director Col. Alex Recinto.Tolcidas also said it was unfair to decide the fate of the province&#x27;s electorate through hearsay, and that any decision to suspend the barangay polls should be based on data. The SK federations of both Dumaguete City and Negros Oriental also opposed the postponement, underscoring the need to fill vacant youth council positions and replace overaged officials in the province&#x27;s 554 barangays.&quot;Some of the sitting officials right now are already 27 or 28,&quot; SK Negros Oriental Federation President Adem Maxino said. Under the law, SK chairpersons should only be between 18 and 24 years old.Speaking on behalf of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan, the province&#x27;s lawmaking body, Board Member Jessica Villanueva also opposed the postponement, saying that Degamo&#x27;s assassination was an &quot;isolated case&quot; and there were no other incidents of violence since then.First District Rep. Josy Limkaichong said the Degamo killing was &quot;not a sufficient ground&quot; for postponement, which would be &quot;a disservice to the people&quot; and contrary &quot;to our democratic ideals.&quot;Bais City Councilor Bruno &quot;Thirdy&quot; Bouffard, president of Negros Oriental&#x27;s provincial councilors&#x27; league, opposed the proposal, noting that the perception of the province being &quot;unsafe&quot; had already taken a toll on other sectors including tourism.Several Dumaguete City officials, including Mayor Felipe Remollo&#x27;s security adviser Rey Lyndon Lawas, also said they were not in favor of the postponement, despite Remollo himself earlier signing <a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/06/25/23/9-negros-oriental-mayors-call-to-postpone-barangay-sk-polls">a manifesto supporting</a> it.&quot;Negros Oriental just lifted itself up after the [Degamo] killing. We are conditioning the minds of the people na dapat katakutan natin ang Negros Oriental. Ano ang magiging epekto nito economy-wise [at sa] tourism?&quot; said Lawas, a retired police general. (We are conditioning the minds of the people that we should fear Negros Oriental. How will that affect the local economy and tourism?)Amid the resounding opposition, only the Diocese of Dumaguete expressed support for the poll postponement during the public hearing.Speaking on behalf of Dumaguete Bishop Julito Cortes, Msgr. Robert Bongoyan said some of their parishioners were &quot;traumatized&quot; after Degamo&#x27;s assassination.Asked for comment on the opinions expressed in the hearing, Garcia said the Comelec would continue to listen to other sentiments until June 29.&quot;The Comelec can make its own determination. Iba lang kapag narinig natin iyong mga ordinaryo nating kababayan. Kahit opisyal pa siya ng local government o kahit isang parishioner, it doesn&#x27;t really matter. What is important is that everybody is heard,&quot; he told reporters.(It&#x27;s different when we hear from the ordinary residents.)The turnout of the public hearing was considerably low, with attendance mostly from local officials and police and military personnel. Garcia attributed the low turnout to the hearing being held on a weekday.&quot;Siguro may pasok pa kaya hindi sila makapunta rito, pero mayroon pang pagkakataon. Pwede pa silang mag-participate sa ibang bayan,&quot; the Comelec chair told reporters.(Perhaps they were busy with work, but there would be other chances. They can participate in other towns.)Comelec earlier said it would come up with a decision on the proposed postponement when the election period begins on August 28.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/06/26/23/comelec-to-decide-negros-oriental-poll-postponement-by-august">Comelec says to decide Negros Oriental barangay poll postponement by August</a></li>	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/04/19/23/suspension-of-barangay-sk-polls-in-negros-or-sought">Suspension of barangay, SK polls in Negros Oriental sought amid &#x27;political climate&#x27;</a></li></ul><div>RELATED VIDEO:</div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=2697253" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div>

Several local officials in Negros Oriental opposed the proposed postponement on the barangay polls. 

Negros Oriental governor, other officials oppose barangay poll postponement

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Negros Oriental governor, other officials oppose barangay poll postponement

Raffy Cabristante,

ABS-CBN News

Published June 27, 2023 05:38 PM PHT

Read More:

Negros Oriental

Comelec

George Garcia

Commisson on Elections

Dumaguete City

Roel Degamo

Degamo slay

Barangay elections

Sangguniang Kabataan

SK

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