BONTOC, Mountain Province (PIA) — At least 113 three-termer barangays officials in the province are disqualified to run for the same post in the May 14 synchronized Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections.
Department of the Interior and Local Government Provincial Office records show that there are nine punong barangays and 104 Sangguniang Barangay members in the province serving their third consecutive terms in office in the same position.
Republic Act 7160 known as the Local Government Code prohibits local officials who are in their third and final term to run for the same post.
Section (b) states “no local elective official shall serve for more than three consecutive terms in the same position. Voluntary renunciation of the office for any length of time shall not be considered as an interruption in the continuity of service for the full term for which the elective official concerned was elected.”
Of the ten towns and 144 barangays of the province, the municipality of Tadian has the highest number of three-termer incumbent punong barangay with four; Bontoc with two,and one each for Besao, Natonin and Sadanga.
For incumbentSangguniang Barangay members who are on their third terms, the municipality of Bauko has 25; Tadian, 19; Besao and Sabangan with 12 each; Bontoc, 11; Sagada, 6; Barlig, 5; Paracelis and Sadanga with two each. **By Andrew Doga-ong
