SK polls postponement ‘means huge savings’

CEBU, Philippines - The Commission on Elections is expected to make P1.2 billion in savings by postponing the Sangguniang Kabataan elections that was supposedly scheduled for February 21 this year.

Lawyer Ferdinand Gujilde, Comelec-Cebu election officer, said the election body usually spends hundreds of millions or over a billion in the conduct of the youth council elections nationwide.

He said a large chunk of the fund would go to the honorariums and training expenses of the members of the Board of Election Tellers and the production of election paraphernalia.

“Kung di madayon, it’s a big saving on the part of the government and at the same time, mahatagan og higayon ang Kongreso to reform the SK,” he said.

Gujilde supported the move to postpone the youth council elections because the previous postponement since 2013 has not served its purpose yet.

The SK elections was originally scheduled for October 2013 but was postponed to this year through Republic Act 10632 to pave way for the Congress to legislate reforms.

Under the law, the Comelec has the discretion to determine the date of the SK elections between October 28, 2014 and February 23, 2015.

“Useless nga ipahigayon ang SK elections karon nga way nahatag nga reporma sa kongreso. Might as well use the time from now until October 2016 to reform the SK. So by then, the SK would be more responsive to the needs of the youth,” Gujilde told reporters. — (FREEMAN)