With all due respect, ang trabaho ng COMELEC ay ang magbilang ng boto. Nakaatas silang siguraduhing meron tayong malinis, patas at matiwasay na halalan. Wala po sa hurisdiksyon o kakayanan ng COMELEC ang pagsasabi kung ang isang institusyon ay dapat na bang buwagin or i-reform. (With all due respect, the job of COMELEC is to count the votes. They are tasked to make sure we have fair, honest, clean and orderly elections. It is beyond their jurisdiction nor competency to say whether an institution should be abolished or reform.)” These were the stinging words of Undersecretary Leon Flores III, Chairman of the National Youth Commission (NYC) in response to the call of the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) to have the Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) abolished. “While many parties agree that the SK elections this year should be postponed, to do so while leaving a vacuum for youth representation and participation will be a disservice to the 30 million Filipino youth. We are all Constitutionally-bound to ensure maximum participation for young people and to ensure their meaningful development. A fully reformed SK will ensure that.” Flores adds. NYC has been consistent in calling out for the reform of SK as an institution acknowledging fully well that the criticisms and challenges that the SK faces have to be addressed head-on. Last Tuesday, the Senate Committee on Local Government chaired by Sen. Bongbong Marcos reached a consensus to call for the postponement of the SK elections. Barangay elections are still expected to push through. The same proposal still has to be tackled at the Lower House. The Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), in partnership with NYC and other partners, has undertaken consultations in all 17 regions on the SK. During the Senate Committee hearing, DILG USec. Austere Panadero has manifested that the consultations led to their recommendations for SK reform and the postponement of the SK elections. These recommendations were corroborated by Chairman Flores. “The consultations done point to the current age of the SK as one of the biggest challenges. SKs do not have the legal personality to sign contracts and they are still in a phase where they are undergoing emotional, mental, psychological and physical development. COMELEC has to be reminded that the lowering of the age of SKs to 15-17 started in 2002 as part of their recommendation to Congress only because they want to make their jobs easier. It is utterly disheartening that they again just want their jobs easy by calling for SK abolition. They should not view the Filipino youth as a nuisance but as potential leaders who need guidance and an enabling support system.” At the Lower House, the Committee on Suffrage and Electoral Reforms is expected to tackle the proposed SK polls postponement next week. “We are hopeful that the Lower House will also see the urgency for the postponement. We do not want to subject another batch of young people to a system that apparently needs major reforms. If we are going to do elections, we might as well do it right. Let’s reform SK as an institution first, then COMELEC can go back to its job of ensuring clean, honest, fair and orderly elections.” Flores quips.
Posted on: Thu, 05 Sep 2013 11:23:07 +0000
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