Senate OKs bill postponing SK elections

MANILA, Philippines - President Aquino will likely certify as urgent a bill seeking to postpone the Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) polls on Oct. 28 before Congress goes on recess, Malacañang said yesterday.

Speaking to reporters, presidential legislative liaison officer Manuel Mamba said Congress will already be on recess on Sep. 28 and there might be no more time to act on the bill.

The Senate and the House of Representatives have agreed to work on the bill after Aquino had certified it, he added.

The bill also seeks to extend the terms of incumbent SK members by three more years.

Aquino’s certification speeds up the legislative process, and allows Congress to possibly pass the bill on third and final reading on the same day.

Bills certified as urgent do not follow the “three-day rule” between the second and third reading. After the second reading, lawmakers can immediately vote on a bill on final reading. 

The Senate has approved on third and final reading the bill seeking the postponement of the SK polls.

Voting 19 in favor and one abstention, senators approved Senate Bill 1186, which is now awaiting the approval of the House of Representatives.

Sen. Vicente Sotto III abstained from the voting because of his objection to the provision allowing the holdover of all incumbent SK officials.

He supports the postponement of the SK polls but not the provision on the holdover, he added.

Sen. Ferdinand Marcos Jr., the bill’s sponsor, said the postponement of the polls would allow Congress to review the SK law to introduce reforms to the SK structure.

In his sponsorship speech, Marcos said that since the first elections in 1992, the SK has not been as effective as envisioned in advancing the democratic ideals of service-oriented youth leadership. 

“As a result, there is strong clamor from different sectors of society calling for the restructuring and in-depth evaluation of the SK, and institute reforms,” he said.

Senate President Franklin Drilon said Congress must act on the bill immediately as the polls are just around the corner.

“We will go to bicameral conference immediately as we have to finish this law before we go on break on Sept. 25 since the elections will be on Oct. 20, we have no more time because we will be back on Oct. 13 to tackle this issue,” he said. 

Speaking at the Tapatan sa Aristocrat forum yesterday, National Youth Commission (NYC) chairman Leon Flores III said the SK needs reforms, but that suspending the polls is tantamount to its de facto abolition.

“We acknowledge that there are challenges facing the SK which actually dwarfs the challenges of the bigger political system. They are saying that it’s a school of corruption, that it is where they are exposed to the wrongdoings of the older (politicians),” he noted.

Flores said suspending the SK polls or abolishing it altogether is not the answer.

“The problems (will still) persist. I think we have to get to the root of the problem,” he said. “We have to find ways. I’m sure Congress can creatively come up with ways to insulate the SK from partisan political system.” 

Flores said the SK must be reformed, and that the NYC is proposing to revert the ages of SK members to 18-21 from the current 15-17. – Aurea Calica, Marvin Sy, Sheila Crisostomo