While in Manila on a 10-day vacation recently, I had the opportunity to attend a media forum on barangays presided by former Sen. Aquilino Pimentel Jr. at the Club Filipino in Greenhills. No one could have explained to media members the barangay system in the Philippines better than the three-term senator who authored the Local Government Code in 1991 and was secretary of the Department of Interior and Local Government during the term of President Corazon Aquino.
At the time of the forum, Filipinos had just elected into office some 300,000 barangay officials, perhaps not even realizing the importance of the barangays in their lives. While a good turnout was noted in the elections, one can surmise that most of the officials were chosen not much because of their qualifications or what they can do for the barangays, but probably because they were either a drinking mate, a neighbor, a kumpadre or someone who is known to someone in the family.
This is not surprising, though, the barangay being the closest one can get personally to governance. Barangay is the epitome of direct democracy. It is participatory government at the grassroots level.
Barangays are the smallest political units in the Philippines. They have been in existence since pre-Hispanic times, having gotten its name from “balanghai,” the sailboats used by Malays when they sailed to the islands long before the Spaniards came. When the Spaniards came in 1521 and again in 1565, they found independent and self-sufficient villages ruled by datus. The Spaniards called them barrios, a word that described these small villages until President Marcos revived the concept of barangays during the martial law era.
Barangay elections were held for the barangay captain, the seven barangay council members and officials of the Kabataang Barangay. The barangays were formally codified in the 1991 Local Government Code.
Unknown to many, barangays are a very important sector in the government because it is where more senior elected officials, such as mayors, governors, congressmen, senators and even the President feel the pulse of the people. It is in barangays where planning for the national development programs starts.
Even more unknown to many is the fact that the barangay captain, officially known as the Punong Barangay, is the only public official in the country that exercises executive, legislative and judicial powers. Being the punong barangay, he exercises executive powers, As chairman of the Sangguniang Barangay, he excercises legislative powers, and as chairman of the Lupong Tagapamayapa, he wields judicial powers.
You would also be surprised to know that the lowly barangay has vast sources of funds, including its share in the national revenue and the real property taxes. Under the law, the national government gets 60% of the national revenue while the local government units in general get the remaining 40%. Of the 40% LGU allotment, provinces get 30%, cities get 23%, municipalities have a 34% share, while the barangays get 20%.
Under the law, this 20% share should be delivered directly to barangays, but for obvious reasons, the funds are delivered to the mayors, who then dangle the funds as carrots to control the barangay officials. The 20% translates to about P50 billion to P52 billion annually allotted to barangays.
You would think the barangay funds are meager amounts, but just to give you an idea, one barangay in Caloocan has about P73 million yearly to disburse! And that’s just in Caloocan. Can you imagine how much money barangay Forbes Park, whose chairman is industrial magnate Jose Concepcion Jr., has under its belt?
Barangays enact their own budgets, their own ordinances, and their own taxation as long as these do not conflict with existing laws and provincial or city ordinances. They have the power to provide or raise funds, enact ordinances or enforce actions to promote agricultural support services; health and social services; general hygiene, sanitation, beautification, solid waste collection; katarungang barangay (barangay justice), maintenance of barangay roads, bridges and water supply; infrastructure facilities; information and reading centers; and public markets.
From these, we can deduce that barangays are almost independent political units that if tapped properly, can help, in fact lead a national transformation. Contrary to common notion that barangay officials are just trying-hard barangay tanods, they are actually at the helm of the most basic, yet most potent, political unit in the country.
Senator Pimentel recognizes the importance of educating both the barangay officials and the people on the powers, duties and responsibilities of the barangays so that from these basic political units, hopefully a national transformation can emanate.
Having acknowledged that his days as a government official are over after an outstanding and honest government service that spanned all of 48 years, Pimentel has now made it his advocacy to help in that national transformation through the barangays, a subject matter very close to his heart.
On the prodding of Vice President Jejomar Binay, former mayor of Makati, Pimentel has agreed to form and head the Institute of Leadership and Governance at the University of Makati. The establishment is also known as the Institute of Integrity or the Senator Aquilino Pimentel Jr. Center for Local Governance. Its model is the John F. Kennedy School of Government of Harvard University in Boston, Massachusetts.
Aside from offering bachelor’s degree in local government and master’s degree in the future, the Institute conducts regular seminars and workshops for barangay officials, prospective barangay officials and anyone who may be interested in how barangays can be properly and effectively used as a potent political unit in pursuit of direct democracy, and in the much-desired national transformation.
Barangay officials, being the closest government officials to the people, can lead a national transformation if they are properly trained in good governance. These barangay officials will later on become the mayors, governors, congressmen and other senior public officials and with the proper tools on integrity, credibility and efficiency, they can certainly start a national transformation that will ultimately lead to better lives for the Filipino people.
Pimentel’s government service is clean and laudable, something that can inspire these grassroots officials to govern effectively and with integrity. We wish him success in his new endeavor.