Congress set to reset SK polls

MANILA, Philippines—Congress looks set to give the Commission on Elections (Comelec) the green light to put off the Feb. 21 Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections.

The Senate committee on local government yesterday adopted House Bill (HB) 5209 postponing the SK elections and synchronizing these with the barangay elections on Oct. 26, 2016.

Only when the bill is passed into law can the Comelec officially postpone SK elections.

Pending this, Comelec Chair Sixto Brillantes Jr. urged both chambers to make a “clear announcement’’ on the postponement in plenary so the body could suspend the preparations and avoid more expenses.

After hearing the views of Brillantes and other resource persons, the committee, chaired by Sen. Ferdinand Marcos Jr., adopted HB 5209.

“The House bill that has been passed is merely postponing. So there are no other issues involved,’’ Marcos later told reporters.

The House has approved on third and final reading HB 5209.

Brillantes told the committee that the longer it would take for Congress to pass the law postponing the SK elections, the more expense Comelec would incur.

The Comelec has been allotted P936 million for the SK elections, including P600 million for teachers.

While Congress has yet to pass the proposed SK reform law, Brillantes said the SK elections should still be postponed.

Putting off the elections would give both chambers more time to craft the SK reform law before the 2016 synchronized SK and barangay elections, he said.

Besides, holding the SK elections now would hamper Comelec’s preparations for the 2016 presidential elections, Brillantes said.