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How much does it cost to run for a Barangay or SK post?

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Victoria Tulad, ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="Employees of Manila City Hall clean and prepare ballot boxes for the upcoming Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Election at the Comelec warehouse in Park N Ride in Manila on September 16, 2023. Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2023/news/10/17/bske.jpg"/><figcaption>Employees of Manila City Hall clean and prepare ballot boxes for the upcoming Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Election at the Comelec warehouse in Park N Ride in Manila on September 16, 2023. Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News</figcaption></figure></div>MANILA - Seventy-year-old Carlos Celestino has served as the village chief of Barangay 17, Caloocan for 31 years.Of all his runs, Celestino says 2018 was the most expensive, which came up to P10,000. The cost to mount his campaign may sound small, but he said this was just about right since there were just around 3,000 registered voters in his barangay that year.A big chunk of his funds went to the food for watchers and requests of residents.“Kapag nadaan ‘yung grupo ng nangangampanya, andun ‘yung ‘Chairman pang-coke naman diyan, pang-taya sa bingo,’” Celestino shared. <ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/multimedia/photo/10/17/23/clean-bske-campaign-pushed">Clean BSKE campaign pushed</a></li>	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/10/11/23/marcos-jr-declares-oct-30-a-non-working-day-for-bske">Marcos Jr declares October 30 a non-working day for BSKE</a></li></ul>“Hindi naman ako gaanong mahilig mag-ano ng tarpaulin eh, pagawa. Kasi nga nakahiligan ko ‘yung sa cartolina.”In Barangay Laging Handa, Quezon City, village councilor Gerald Ledesma’s 2018 campaign spent just P5,000 mostly for flyers and tarpaulins.“Our barangay has more of the mid-class voters. You don’t go around drinking with neighbors, residents, so basically it’s just proving ano ang credentials ninyo,” Ledesma explained.<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=2823252" 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>In Barangay Commonwealth, the largest village in Quezon City in terms of population, former village chief Jose Gaviola had to shell out around P43,000 mainly for food, transportation, and t-shirts when he ran in 2002. He also relied on donations.With the campaign period for the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan polls from October 19 to 28, the Commission on Elections reminds candidates that they may only spend P5 per registered voter.Thus, a candidate running in Barangay 17 may only spend P10,400 since the number of registered voters for 2023 is just 2,080.Meanwhile, one may spend as much as P415,985 in Barangay Commonwealth which has 83,197 registered voters.Those who will go beyond the spending limit may face charges.“Kapag ginastusan ninyo nang mas malaki doon sa five pesos, vote buying na po iyon and therefore, baka maya maya nakaligtas ka nga sa premature campaigning, disqualified ka naman sa vote buying,” Comelec Chairman George Garcia warned.<div>MONEY AND POWER</div>More than 1.4 million filed their Certificate of Candidacy for the Village and Youth Council polls, a heated fight considering that only 672,000 positions are up for grabs.The question then is, why are so many interested in running for the smallest political unit of government?A political analyst said it’s because there is money in the barangay.“There are reports indicating that there’s corruption in the barangay level,” Assistant Professor Dennis Coronacion of the University of Santo Tomas said. “Andiyan ‘yung kanilang mga beautification projects, anything that would require the services of another, a company, a private company, halimbawa contractor na gagawa ng arko o kaya ‘yung mga markers. Somehow pinapatungan nila ‘yan,&quot; Coronacion said.Power and influence that come with the position are also, reportedly, attractive perks.“Nung tokhang for example, ‘yung mga barangay leaders ang nagbibigay ng listahan kung sino ‘yung mga suspected illegal drug users and pushers sa kanilang barangay,” Coronacion added. “There are times na ‘yung nirereport nila usually mga kaaway nila sa politika,” the political analyst added.Ledesma meanwhile said this was not the case with him. “Wala ho kaming benefits na sinasabing extra aside from what we’re getting as honorarium,” Ledesma said.“Every cent lahat, liquidated siya,” Celestino remarked.<div>BARANGAY PERKS</div>Twenty percent of the Internal Revenue Allotment of a local government is allocated to the barangay.This is where the monthly honorarium comes from.Data gathered by the ABS-CBN Investigative and Research Group show that village chiefs receive P1,000 to P33,843 as of January 1, 2023.Other officials get P600 to more than P23,176.The higher the income class of a city or municipality, the bigger the honorarium.This is why a village chief in the first class city of Makati can get up to P33,843 while his counterpart in the fourth class city of Vigan only receives up to P28,766.55. In the first-class municipality of Pateros, the honorarium can reach as high as P30,458.70.Aside from the monthly pay, there are also benefits such as medical allowance and free tuition for two legitimate children.But, there are also perks that are not given to officials such as hazard pay and clothing allowance.With the October 30 election just days away, Comelec expects the campaign to intensify.Once voting precincts are closed and votes counted, winners may already be proclaimed. They need to take their oath before they can start their term.Village officials have until 2025 to show constituents why they deserve their trust.

How much does it cost to run for a barangay post, and what are the perks of being an village or Sangguniang Kabataan official?

How much does it cost to run for a Barangay or SK post?

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How much does it cost to run for a Barangay or SK post?

Victoria Tulad,

ABS-CBN News

Published Oct 17, 2023 06:35 PM PHT

Read More:

comelec

BSKE

village and youth council polls

chairman George garcia

Dennis coronacion

money in the barangay

corruption

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