BAGUIO CITY – Mayor Mauricio G. Domogan warned individuals aspiring for appointed positions in their barangays once the October 23, 2017 barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections will be postponed not to fall into the ploy of some enterprising people allegedly representing the Office of the President and collecting certain amount of money from them in exchange for the issuance of appointments to their desired positions.
The local chief executive reported he was visited by the staff of the sister of President Rodrigo R. Duterte, Jocelyn R. Duterte, and requested for assistance to inform the public about the uncovered modus of some enterprising individuals and groups who are now going around the country and convincing their prospective victims wanting to be appointed to desired positions if the barangay and SK elections will be postponed and demanding from them some money in exchange for the immediate release of their appointment documents from the Office of the President.
He claimed a barangay kagawad from Besao, Mountain Province and some other barangay officials from the remote communities of the region were already victimized by these individuals and groups claiming to be representatives of the Office of the President allegedly designated to go around the country to get the names of those interested to be appointed to the various barangay positions that will be vacated once the barangay and SK elections will be postponed.
“We have to remember that under the law, barangay officials are elected, thus, the appointment of barangay officials once the barangay and SK elections will be postponed is unlikely. We have to wait for the contents of the law that will be passed in relation to the postponement of the barangay and SK elections and to ascertain if there will be a holdover or appointment of barangay officials,” Domogan stressed.
He called on individuals encountering these said people and groups to immediately report their presence to the nearest police station so they could be apprehended and charged for misrepresenting the Office of the President and even demanding money from their prospective victims.
According to him, it is unfortunate that there are still individuals and groups who want to take advantage of their fellow Filipinos, saying that those encountering them must not immediately give in to their offer but instead verify their identities and the legitimacy of their activities from concerned authorities.
Further, he added, individuals wanting to be appointed to the different barangay positions should not be in a hurry to be appointed because the law that will define the fate of the incumbent barangay officials has not yet been passed into law and it will only be effective once the President will sign the final version into law that will spell the difference in the future.
He called on individuals to simply wait for this law that will be signed by the President and for them to understand the contents of the barangay and SK postponement law so that they will not be victimized by enterprising individuals and groups wanting to take advantage of the ignorance.
By Dexter A. See