National Youth Commission calls on youth to vote

CEBU, Philippines - “Make the issues of the youth political issues.”

This is the message of the National Youth Commission to their members as guide in choosing the candidates to vote for in the coming May 2013 election.

Since they cannot collectively campaign for a specific candidate for the upcoming election, NYC officials are pushing for their members to base their votes on leaders that support the advocacies of the youth, specifically of the commission.

Asec. Erwin Chua Andaya, NYC Commissioner representing the Visayas, said that they are not allowed to campaign for a particular candidate but through programs like voter’s education, they help the youth determine the candidates that have qualities of a good leader.

“Dili na ta mag neutral,” said Andaya. (We will no longer be neutral.) He said that making a choice is really important especially for the youth that makes up 30 percent of the total population.

Andaya said that they are also pushing for leaders who are supporting the advocacies they have of the youth like their fight against the abolition of the Sangguniang Kabataan (SK).

He explained that their proposal to reform, instead of abolish the SK, is still at its first reading at the House of Representatives since there are a number of legislators that are against the reform and is pushing for the complete scrapping of the SK.

But Andaya said that they are primarily pushing for the continuity of the SK because it is only the Philippines among all countries in the world that give an opportunity for the youth to be part of the government.

With this comes the argument that the SK is the breeding ground of political dynasty, said Andaya. “It is true. Makita man gyud. But dili sa tanan higayon na bati ang political dynasty,” explained Andaya, saying that good coordination between SK officials and the provincial, municipal or city government result in the implementation of good projects.

If political dynasty is their reason for wanting to abolish the SK, Andaya said that this is the reason they are pushing for an amendment that those who have relatives up to 4th civil degree who are incumbent elected officials are not allowed to run for an SK seat.

Also, Andaya said that those who are seeking for the SK abolishment stress that SK officials are too young.

At present, those who can run for an SK seat are aged 15 to 17. The same goes for those who can vote for an SK official. But through the reform proposal, Andaya said that those that can run for a position would be from ages 18 to 24 while those who can vote are from 15 to 24.

Yesterday, NYC had a consultative meeting on their budget for 2014. Andaya said that this is one way for the public to see that they are transparent in their operations.

Andaya said that they are not sure yet of the specific amount they will be getting for 2014 but would run around P78 million, adding to the remaining budget they still have for this year. He assured that like other government agencies, their annual budget and expenses is strictly scrutinized by the Commission on Audit.

He said that they are having the consultative meeting so that they can also get inputs from their members on programs that would need to be implemented.

So far, Andaya said that they would want to prioritize the Philippine Youth Development Law which they want to be streamlined.

Even being under the administration, Andaya said that they cannot be made as puppets but they are hoping though that they can be made independent from the city or municipal council by having their funds deposited directly to the government bank under the SK.

NYC was created in 1995, replacing the Presidential Council in Youth Affairs under the time of former President Ferdinand Marcos. The commission has two functions, as recommending body for policies affecting the youth sector aged 15-30 and as a program coordinating agency. Andaya said that they are not allowed to implement programs but they coordinate with other government agencies to have programs implemented.  (FREEMAN)