“Dapat dayunan na siya kay mangutana ka sa mga tao, kanang even ang mga ubang elected pud para naa fresh mandate. Nagkadugay, nagkalaay… iba man gyud naa election (The election should push through because when you ask the people, and even the elected officials are in favor of it so that there would be a fresh mandate. The more it gets extended, the more it gets boring… it’s different when there is an election),” Rellon said in an interview on 87.5 FM Davao City Disaster Radio on Thursday, May 26, 2022.
The mayor said that having an election would serve as a challenge for barangay officials to improve their services.
“Naay challenge na i-improve ang services. Kung stagnant man gud, naay uban na mu-relax. ‘Ay, bahala na’g di ko mutrabaho og sakto, anyway sige ma’g ka-extend.’ (They would be challenged to improve their services. If you remain stagnant, some officials would be laxed. ‘It doesn’t matter if I won’t perform my duty well, my position keeps on getting extended’),” he said.
“Kinsa ma’y maapektuhan, ang katawhan gihapon (Who else would be affected but the public),” he added.
Some lawmakers had recently lobbied for the postponement of the barangay and SK elections as the allocated budget would be used instead for other important expenditures such as the Covid-19 response.
However, Rellon said that as a democratic country, elections are vital, and should be allocated a budget for it.
Outgoing Davao City Mayor and presumptive Vice President Sara Duterte-Carpio supports the proposed postponement of barangay and SK elections, which is set to be held in December 2022.
The mayor, however, said that the postponement of the barangay elections would still require a bill from Congress.
She said, though, that there is nothing wrong in having the national and local elections, and the barangay and SK elections in the same year.
In November 2021, a bill was filed at the House of Representatives seeking to postpone the December 2022 barangay and SK elections to May 2024.
Under Republic Act 9340, barangay and SK elections in the Philippines are held every three years but these are often delayed. Since 2018, barangay elections have been postponed thrice. The coming December 2022 elections should have been held in May 2020.
Meanwhile, Rellon is set to end his term on noontime of June 30 and he will be transitioning his position to Mayor-elect Rey Uy.
The incumbent mayor said that the transition phase is currently ongoing, and he is also working on some remaining projects before his term ends, including the Covid-19 response.
