Pimentel: Overaged SK officials overstaying due to poll postponement

Senate Minority Leader Aquilino "Nene" Q. Pimentel, Jr. on Monday warned that a proposal of some congressmen to postpone anew the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections by one year will only prolong the situation whereby overaged and overstaying individuals will remain at the helm of the youth councils.

Pimentel pointed out that the Local Government Code (Republic Act 7160), as amended, provides that the youth should be from 15 to 17 years old. This means that candidates for chairman and councilmen of the SK should be within this age bracket at the time of the election.

And yet, he said practically all the elected, incumbent SK officials in about 43,000 barangays are already in their 20s. Presumably, he said the only qualified incumbent SK officials are those who have been appointed to their posts to replace those who have either resigned or abandoned their posts.

Pimentel explained that the overaged SK leaders have overstayed because their term of office had been automatically extended when the election for youth council officials was postponed twice before.

"It would be a big mistake to further postpone the barangay and SK elections not only because this will allow unqualified SK officials, age-wise, to stay in office but this will also deprive the people of their right to vote and change leaders at the grassroots level," he said.

Despite overwhelming public sentiment against the deferment of the twin elections, some congressmen persist in proposing that the barangay and SK polls be moved from Oct. 29, 2007 to the first Monday of October, 2008.

The congressmen claim that it would be unwise to hold the barangay SK elections about six months after the May 14 national and local elections because of the expenses that the government will incur and the political tension it will create which may further divide the nation.

But Pimentel said it seems that the real reason behind the undemocratic unpopular proposal is the fear of many congressmen that candidates for various posts in the barangay and SK elections in their districts will come to them for campaign money.

He reminded the congressmen that they are under no obligation to contribute campaign funds to the barangay and SK candidates.

Pimentel said he learned that a group of congressmen allied with Speaker Jose de Venecia, Jr. is planning to see him to convince him to drop his objection to the postponement of the barangay and SK elections.

"I am telling these congressmen not to proceed with their plan. Such meeting will be an exercise in futility because there is no way I can change my stand on the issue," he said.