Senator Bongbong Marcos on Friday said the committee on local government has approved the bill for the postponement of the SK elections. INQUIRER file photo
MANILA, Philippines鈥揟he Senate committee on local government finally approved on Friday a bill postponing the Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections to October 2016.
The SK polls were originally scheduled for February 21, 2015.
After holding a hearing on Friday, committee chair Senator Ferdinand 鈥淏ongbong鈥� Marcos Jr. announced that the bill was already approved by the panel and will now be ready for plenary actions next week.
In a press conference, Marcos clarified that the postponement聽 of the SK polls will only聽 become definite once the聽 Senate聽 approves聽 the聽 bill聽 on third and聽 final聽 reading.
鈥淎gain, it鈥檚 only approved in the committee level. We still have to go through the process聽of sponsoring it and (have) it passed on third reading. Hanggang doon hindi pa natin masasabi na talagang tapos na ang proseso and the postponement is definite, so we will have to wait until we go through the聽 entire legislative process,鈥澛� he said.
The House of Representatives has already passed its own version of the bill.
During the聽hearing,聽Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chairman Sixto Brillantes Jr. said postponing the SK聽 polls this year聽 would聽 solve聽 their problems聽 in preparing for the聽 2016 presidential elections.
鈥淲e believe that our work is being hampered by聽an election between our preparation for the May 2016 elections鈥nd an election in between,鈥澛� Brillantes told the committee.
鈥淭here are effects of an election in between because we will have to suspend registration. Second, we will be spending so much for the SK elections,鈥澛� he said.
Brillantes pointed out that the Comelec was given a budget of only聽 P900 million whereas聽the projected 聽 cost of the SK polls was P1.1 billion.
鈥淎nd we think that if we will聽 hold聽 these elections now under the聽 old system without the聽 reform bill,聽 it would be, I beg the indulgence of the chairman, it would be a useless expense聽 for us to spend P1.1 billion still under the old SK law without any reform bill,鈥� Brillantes said.
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