THE LIGA ELECTIONS

November 4, 2023 Opinion

Republic Act 7160 otherwise known as the Local Government Code of 1991 provides the following in Section 491, Article I, Chapter I Title VI, “Liga ng mga Barangay, Purpose of Organization – There shall be an organization of all barangays to be known as the Liga ng mga Barangay for the primary purpose of determining the representation of the Liga in the sanggunians, and for ventilating, articulating and crystallizing issues affecting barangay government administration and securing, through proper and legal means, solutions thereto.”

This is the primary purpose and goal of the Liga ng mga Barangay which is to serve as a vehicle to find out who among the elected punong barangays (barangay captains) in a given municipality or city will be lucky enough to be chosen as an ex-oficio councilor/ legislator representing the barangays. For some this is a golden opportunity to not only serve as a barangay official in his/her jurisdiction but also to become the president of an organization that will catapult them as a city or municipal legislator ostensibly serving and protecting the interests of his/her colleagues.

Now how does an elected punong barangay become the president of the Liga ng mga barangay? The
process is spelled out not only in the constitution and by-laws of the Liga but also through appropriate issuances from the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG). First, we look into the constitution and by-laws of the Liga which provides for highly urbanized cities the following in par. 1.2, Section 1 Article 1, “Xxx. There shall be nationwide synchronized elections
for the provincial, metropolitan, and HUC/ ICC chapters to be held on the third Monday of the
month when the synchronized elections in par. 1.1 above was held.

The incumbent Liga chapter president concerned duly assisted by the proper government agency, office or department, e.g., Provincial/ City/NCR/Regional Director, shall convene all the duly
elected Component City/ Municipal Chapter Presidents and all the current elected Punong Barangays (for HUC/ ICC) Chapters in any public place within its area of jurisdiction for the purpose of reorganizing and electing the officers and directors of the provincial, metropolitan or
HUC/ICC Liga chapters. Said President duly assisted by the government officer aforementioned, shall notify, in writing all the above concerned at least [fifteen (15)] TWENTY (20) days before the scheduled election meeting on the exact date, time, place and requirements of the said meeting.”

Going back to par 1.1 referred to in the same article it says, “Xxx. There shall be synchronized elections for the component city and municipal chapters to be held on the third Monday of the month immediately after the month when the general barangay elections has been scheduled. Xxx.”
The DILG for its part also issued its own guidelines for the orderly conduct of Liga elections thus in 2018 it issued Memorandum Circular No.2018-90 which states in Part II thereof, “This MC is issued to provide the following: A. Guide to concerned local officials and DILG field officers
on their roles in the conduct of the Liga ng mga Barangay Chapter Elections at all levels.

B. Updated forms and templates for the conduct of the LnB Chapter Elections”. So basically there are clear guidelines and rules that must be followed for the conduct of an election to choose the
officers of the Liga one of them being that it should be held on the third Monday of the month
immediately after the month when the nationwide barangay elections was held. Another is the creation and composition of committees and boards and among the most important committees to be formed are the nominations committee, the registration and credentials committee, the election
committee, the board of canvassers, and the board of election supervisors.

These committees are vital to ensure an orderly and transparent conduct of Liga elections. Equally important is the role of the incumbent Liga President and his/her incumbent liga board members who are primarily tasked to oversee and supervise the formation of these committees in accordance with the dictate of the said DILG memorandum. DILG Memorandum Circular 2018-90 which was
implemented in 2018 likewise provided for the calendar of activities in the conduct of the election itself and which was the guidepost that was followed in the selection of the present crop incumber Liga presidents and Liga board members.

With the successful holding of the Barangay and Sangguniang kabataan elections this 2023 it now falls upon the incumber officers of the Liga ng mga Barangay Baguio to proceed in their
preparations for the conduct of the liga ng mga barangay elections in the city. It is also hoped that the DILG will immediately issue the appropriate memorandum circular to cover such event. For now winning Punong Barangays who are planning to run as Liga president are already in the thick
of their preparations to convince their colleagues to vote for them during the liga election.