Senate panel OKs postponement of SK polls

MANILA, Philippines - The Senate committee on local governments approved yesterday a measure recommending the postponement of the Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections from February to October this year.

However, Sen. Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who chairs the commit- tee, clarified that the proposed House bill was “only approved in the committee level.”

“We still have to go through the process of sponsoring it and (having) it passed on third reading. Until then, we cannot say that the postponement of the SK elections is definite as we will have to go through the entire legislative process,” Marcos said.

He said the Senate would also pursue the passage of the pro- posed SK reform bill, which is separate from the postponement bill initiated by the House of Representatives.

Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chairman Sixto Brillantes Jr., for his part, defended yesterday the move seeking postponement of the SK polls, especially while the proposed reform bill remains pending.

“There are effects of an election in be- tween because we will have to suspend registration. Second, we will be spending so much for the SK elections,” he said.

Brillantes pointed out that the Comelec was given a budget of only P900 million, whereas the projected cost of the SK polls is P1.1 billion.

“We think that if we will hold these elections now under the old system with- out the SK reform bill, it would be, I beg the indulgence of the chairman, it would be a useless expense for us to spend P1.1 billion still under the old SK law without any reform bill,” Brillantes said.

The Liga ng mga Barangay ng Pilipi- nas and the National Youth Commission (NYC) have also manifested during the marathon hearings yesterday that they support the postponement of the SK polls.

Meanwhile, Senate Majority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano believed that the SK elections might be postponed if there is a commitment from both Houses that the SK reform bill would be passed.

If the reform bill is not passed, “we would have no representation (from the youth) and that is tantamount to abolish- ing the SK,” Cayetano told local reporters Thursday when he visited the Pangasinan State University. He said it is wrong to say that the SK must be abolished be- cause it is a breeding ground of corruption, adding that there are senior elected officials who are even more corrupt and “even one senator is jailed but we (did not) abolish the Senate.”

Gun ban moved to Feb. 6

Individuals who were arrested on Thurs- day for violating the gun ban imposed in relation to the SK polls could still get off the hook if they have the necessary documents for their firearms, a police official said.

Senior Superintendent Robert Po, deputy spokesman for the Philippine National Police (PNP), said those arrested on Jan. 22 would not be liable for the election gun ban if their firearms are duly licensed and if they have permits to carry firearms outside residence.

The PNP moved to Feb. 6 the implementation of the gun ban in compliance with Comelec’s instructions. – With Eva Visperas, Cecille Suerte Felipe