BSK ELECTIONS | Kabataan party-list decries postponement of barangay, SK elections

October 13, 2022 , 04:55 PM

By Clarist Zablan

(October 13, 2022) – A left-wing party-list group representing the youth sector on Thursday denounced the postponement of the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) Elections to next year, saying it violates the rights of youth and local communities to choose officials.

Kabataan Party-list leader Mia Angela Simon said the move to postpone the elections will deny local and youth leaders opportunity to run and serve at the barangay level, lowest level of governance, and deprive the youth of their right to choose their own representatives.

“Ang pagpapaliban sa halalan ay salungat sa gobyernong tapat at mabuting pamamahala na matagal ang nais makamit ng kabataang Pilipino,” Simon said in a press release.

The Kabataan Party-list also said the extension won’t address the problems faced by SK members such as understaffing, lack of adequate compensation, and large vacancies in positions caused by prolonged terms during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.

“Hindi natin dapat hayaan na kontrolin na lang ng mga nasa pinakamataas na posisyon ang mga lider-kabataan na nasa komunidad, na first hand na gumaganap sa tungkulin at alam ang materyal na kondisyon ng kanilang nasasakupan,” she said.

Earlier, the Official Gazette posted on its website that President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. had signed into law the postponement of barangay and SK elections, originally scheduled on December 5 this year, moving the date to the last Monday of October 2023. The elected officials will assume office a month later on November 30.

Albay Congressman Joey Salceda said the suspension of the elections would help the country focus on essential issues such as fighting inflation of prices and boosting job recovery.

“It also gives us the time to think about more long-term solutions to structural issues in the Barangay and SK,” Salceda said in a statement. “I would advise my colleagues in Congress to use this opportunity to hear out all concerns about the governance of Barangays, our most unique political institutions.”

Some proponents also claimed that postponing the elections would help the government save funds. However, the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) said they will need at least P18 billion to cover the tax and additional honoraria of poll workers alone for next year if the elections were suspended.

COMELEC chairman George Garcia said they will comply with the law, and will continue with the voters’ registration and revisit their procurement contracts related to the polls.

The agency also plans to release an announcement on how their calendar of activities will be adjusted “at the soonest possible time,” he said.

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