Youth urges Comelec to be true to its purpose in cleansing party-list system

TACLOBAN CITY—“It simply won’t work if the Commission on Elections (Comelec) will not be ridding-off, too, Malacañang-backed partylists, for it will be defeating the primary purpose of cleansing the system which is ridding-off bogus party-lists and groups – which are neither the marginalized nor the underrepresented.”

So said Mark Anthony Simbajon, Kabataan partylist regional coordinator, on the Comelec s move on cleansing the party-list system for the 2013 elections.

“It would be self-defeating primarily because they (the administration and the underrepresented/marginalized) have contrasting wants, therefore how could one claim to be representing the latter if he/she is serving the former?” Simbajon said in a statement.

Simbajon pointed out the youth – the students, specifically – who want proper budget allocation from the government and avoid tuition increments, while the government, on the other hand, want for state universities, colleges, and other education institutions to be “self-sustaining” and independent from the state is simply the opposite of it.

“So how come, in this example, Mr. Somebody who’s working as a cabinet member of the President or as a Secretary of Education, for instance, can say that he is certified to be bringing and to be working for the voice of the students wherein his mandate is to do the opposite?” Simbajon added.

“Therefore, if the Comelec is true to its purpose of cleaning the partylist system, it should be thoroughly and would be reflected in their ridding-off of these Malacañang-backed partylists and groups,” Simbajon said. (REYAN L. ARINTO)

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Posted by lsde on Oct 29 2012. Filed under News, Second Story. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.