MANILA (Mindanao Examiner / Sept. 7, 2013) – The National Youth Commission has criticized the Commission on Elections for calling the abolition of the Sanguniang Kabataan, which represents the youth sector in the government.
“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.),” Leon Flores III, NYC chairman, said in a statement sent to the Mindanao Examiner.
“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,” he added.
He said the NYC has been consistent in calling out for the reform of SK as an institution acknowledging fully well that the criticisms and challenges that it faces have to be addressed head-on.
The Senate Committee on Local Government chaired by Sen. Ferdinand Marcos reached a consensus to call for the postponement of the SK elections. The 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, in partnership with NYC, has undertaken consultations on SK in all 17 regions in the country. During the Senate Committee hearing, DILG Undersecretary Austere Panadero said the consultations led to their recommendations for SK reform and the postponement of the SK elections.
At the Lower House, the Committee on Suffrage and Electoral Reforms is expected to tackle the proposed SK polls postponement.
“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 said.
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