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All power to the barangays

On October 29, Monday, 48 million voters will be electing one barangay kapitan and seven barangay kagawad. Also, more than three million Sangguniang Kabataan voters will be choosing one SK chairperson and seven SK kagawad.

All in all, there will be 16 elective positions in every barangay throughout the country. The Commission on Elections estimates the number of candidates could easily reach to more than one million battling for the 671,920 barangay and SK positions.

The Philippine barangay and SK institutions are unique in the world as they allow Filipinos to freely elect their village leaders for a fixed term.

Barangay was the unit of government in most parts of the country before the Spanish colonizers arrived in 16th century. Composed of 30 to 100 families, each barangay was headed by a powerful chieftain who was usually the wise and strong village elder.

It was during the time of former President Ferdinand Marcos when the barangay was formally integrated to the system of government. Marcos extended his influence by politicizing and corrupting many barangay leaders.

Another Marcos legacy is the SK (originally known as Kabataang Barangay). Presidential daughter Imee Marcos headed the KB which was established as an antidote to the growing radicalism among the youth.

There are 41,995 barangays in the country today. Some barangays are famous because of their wealth (Forbes Park and Ayala Alabang) and size of population (Commonwealth of Batasan Hills and Bahay Toro in Quezon City and Addition Hills in Mandaluyong City).

Barangays get 20 percent of the Internal Revenue Allotment as mandated by the Local Government Code. The SK receives 10 percent of the funds of every barangay. An SK leader also has the opportunity to sit in the municipal, city and provincial councils.

Barangay politics reflects the best and worst features of Philippine politics.

At its best, UP Professor Alex Brillantes believes barangays and other local government units can be the “vanguards of democratization” in the country.

The Local Government Code has promoted decentralization which “encouraged citizens’ participation and people empowerment in local governance.” Because of devolution, barangays and other local government units acquired the responsibility for the delivery of many basic services that earlier were the responsibility of the national government.

However, we have yet to see a barangay kapitan who rose to become a congressman, governor or senator. When that day comes, and I hope it would be soon, we can talk about empowerment and democracy.

The ruling elite have so much to be grateful to the barangay system as it gives a semblance of direct governance at the grassroots level. While national politicians can afford to neglect the daily tribulations of the people, barangay officials attend to these mundane concerns.

May rumble sa kanto. Nag-away ang mag-asawa. May snatcher sa palengke. Kailangang may mag-ayos ng trapik sa parada. May hindi nagbayad ng utang. May gulo sa hatian ng lupa. Who do you call? Not the ghostbusters nor the unapproachable congressman but the barangay kapitan.

In short, barangays provide the necessary illusion that the government is doing something concrete for the poor people.

A sense of normalcy prevailed throughout the country even when national politicians were committing self-destructive activities because election campaigning for the barangay elections has occupied the attention of millions of ordinary citizens.

The anomalous ZTE deal, the shameful gift-giving in Malacañang and the unprincipled pardon granted to former president Joepeh Estrada were enough reasons to topple the ruling regime. The barangay elections provided a lifesaving temporary relief to the political crisis engulfing the Manila government.

At its worst, barangays mirror the awful characteristics of Philippine politics. Barangay elections are also dictated by guns, goons, gold and garci.

Unfortunately, political dynasty is also pervasive. It is common that a father or mother is running for barangay chairperson while his/her two children are seeking council seats. The youngest child runs for SK chairperson. After victory, relatives will get a barangay position.

It is reported that Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte’s son is a candidate in the barangay polls. Duterte’s daughter was recently elected as vice mayor of the city.

The Liga ng mga Barangay said barangay elections this year could be the “bloodiest in Philippine history.” This is disappointing but not surprising since Philippine elections tend to be brutal all the time.

Citing figures from the German-based non-profit educational foundation Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, Senator Bong Revilla said there were 125 election-related violent incidents that left 75 persons dead and 26 injured in the last barangay elections of 2002.

Paraphrasing Voltaire, we have candidates killing and hurting each other for just about a few lumps of Earth. We have become wretched people who can conceive such mad fury and pointless violence.

This news item caught my attention: A candidate said he is ready to spend P50,000 for his campaign as kagawad in one barangay of Bohol. With only P1,200 monthly honorarium if he wins in the election, he can only get P43,200 in 3 years.”

How can he recoup his investments? Like senators, congressmen and governors who spend millions (possibly billions) of pesos to win in the elections, barangay officials also steal from the public treasury and extort money from businessmen to enrich themselves.

Barangay officials receive allowances and various cash gifts from mayors, congressmen, governors, jueteng lords, drug lords and other dark lords. People appreciate the services given by barangays but they also perceive barangay officials as low-key corrupt politicians.

When cynics proclaim that all politicians are corrupt, barangay officials are included in this category. Sad to say, even the SK, which was supposed to infuse youthful idealism in local governance, was corrupted by the system. The clamor to abolish the SK is related to the widespread impression that barangay officials have not been transparent in their public transactions.

Political forces are contesting for hegemony in barangays throughout the country. Right now, traditional politicians have the upper hand since they control the economic pie. Didn’t Malacañang distribute cash gifts to allow governors and congressmen to finance the candidacies of their purok leaders?

The proposal to postpone the barangay polls was meant to allow mainstream political parties more time to build a stronger machinery at the barangay level.

The Catholic Church also values the role of barangays in its evangelical mission. Archbishop Angel Lagdameo instructed the faithful to vote on October 29 and appealed for a non-partisan barangay system. The Archbishop noted that there are more than 2,000 parishes all over the country and many barangay officials are also members of Barangay Parish Pastoral Councils.

The military claims communist rebels are also organizing at the barangay level. If Russia had soviets and China had communes and brigades (Antonio Gramsci proposed factory councils for Italy), I believe a newly conceptualized barangay system would have some role to play if ever the Philippines would embrace socialism in the future.

Ideally, barangays could spark a genuine grassroots empowerment. This is endorsed by the law but it is not realized effectively. The debate will go on whether the precious little resources of the country are best given to barangays or to other more efficient, productive and accountable institutions. Political forces will continue to vie for influence in all barangays.

Whatever your thoughts on the barangay system, it is a citizen duty to vote on October 29. By the way, UP Professor Danny Arao reminds the public that barangay should be spelled baranggay (with two g’s) if we are referring to the basic unit of governance. He wrote that the Iloko word barangay means boat.

Related entries:

Peaceful 2007 elections
Politics is local
A candidate’s view

posted by: mongpalatino at October 28, 2007 15:58 | link | comments |
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