‘Constitution bars appointment of barangay execs’

CONGRESS has the prerogative to postpone barangay and youth polls but the President will violate the Constitution if he appoints officers-in-charge to fill up the posts, an analyst and an election lawyer said on Monday.

Any move by Congress to amend the Local Government Code to allow the appointment of new barangay (village) officials instead of holding elections will surely be questioned before the Supreme Court (SC), said Ramon Casiple, executive director of the Institute for Political and Electoral Reform.