Proposed house bill limits barangay population to 15,000

If Surigao del Norte 2nd district Rep. Robert Ace Barbers will have his way, he will limit inhabitants of each barangay (village) in the country to just 15,000, a manageable number in the backdrop of the current coronavirus or COVID-19 pandemic.

Barbers, through House Bill (HB) No.6686, is seeking an amendment to the Local Government Code that will limit the population of barangays in all urban areas of the country as certified by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).

He proposed that all existing barangays in urban areas with a population exceeding 15,000 inhabitants be reapportioned to create additional barangays to achieve fast and efficient delivery of essential services and orderly governance.

“This measure will bring great relief to both the local governments and the people, particularly in the management of people and resources during natural or man-made calamities, including times of pandemic like the COVID-19,” the House Committee on Dangerous Drugs chairman said Wednesday. The bill was filed Tuesday.

Barbers specifically wants to amend section 386 of Republic Act (RA) No. 7160, the Local Government Code of 1991, which imposes a minimum requirement of 2,000 inhabitants for the creation of a barangay, and a 5,000 population in Metro Manila and other metropolitan areas and highly-urbanized cities.

He explained that as the Philippines’ population grew, the number of inhabitants in each barangay increased as well.

“The population disparity between barangays can go from under 1,000 to over 200,000, especially in urban areas. Consequently, the number of inhabitants requiring barangay assistance varies significantly,” he added.

“In times of disasters and emergency situations, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, where barangay officials are expected to be the first responders, barangays with high population density experienced more difficulties in reaching out to their constituents,” Barbers said.

“If my proposal is enacted into law, it will benefit the national and local governments, particularly the barangays. Government assistance and programs in the grassroots level can be carried out faster and easier, particularly in the implementation of the National ID system and during natural or man-made calamities, including pandemics like the COVID-19,” the Mindanaoan lawmaker said.

Barbers had observed that the delay in the delivery of essential services and implementation of social amelioration benefits has caused chaos and forced the intended beneficiaries to either violate the quarantine rules to search for food and risk getting infected or wait in misery until barangay officials could tend to them.

“It likewise brought undue criticisms to the national government,” he said.

Barbers said limiting a barangay’s population to a manageable figure will enable these grassroots officials to smoothly implement barangay peace and order and anti-drug campaigns, and carry out fast and efficient delivery of essential services and orderly governance. (Content reposted from Manila Bulletin)

In Photo: Rep. Robert Ace Barbers
(YouTube / MANILA BULLETIN)