SENATOR Nancy Binay on Wednesday urged the Department of the Interior and Local Government to clarify its guidelines and directive related to the Liga ng Mga Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan federation elections.

“Let’s start with a clean slate with our youth leaders and barangay executives—panatilihin natin ang integridad ng proseso sa pagpili ng mga bagong kinatawan sa ating mga konseho bilang mga ex-officio,” Binay said.

“Kailangan natin tiyakin na ang magiging resulta ng eleksyon sa Sangguniang Kabataan Federations, at sa Liga ng Mga Barangay ay maayos, malinis at walang bahid ng impluwensya,” she added.

Under Republic Act 7160 or the Local Government Code of 1991, presidents of the LnB and the SK Federation elected by their respective chapters shall serve as ex-officio members of their respective local Sanggunian.

The election of federation and Liga officers is in compliance with the LGC which provides for the organization of the LnB and SK Federation chapters at the municipal, city, provincial and metropolitan levels.

“Most of the time, local politics often exert a material impact on the results of elections. This is why we request the DILG to ensure that past issues such as patronage politics, political accommodation, electoral misconduct, and the like do not recur, in our intent to uphold fairness and justice in the electoral process,” Binay said.

She added that newly elected barangay officials and youth leaders must not be drawn into partisan politics.

This year’s Liga chapter and SK Federation elections shall be participated in by all village chiefs and SK officials who were elected on October 30, 2023.