SK yields low turnout of bets as brgy campaign turns costly, sophisticated
Amid calls for the abolition of the Sangguniang Kabataan, few youths filed their certificates of candidacies (COCs) for the SK council as the deadline for the filing of COCs ended midnight Friday.
Jonathan Sayno, Election Assistant II of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) Iloilo City office, said around 200 candidates filed their COCs for SK chair and another 300 for the SK council in the city's 180 barangays.
Youths aged 15-17 years old vote and are eligible to run as SK chair or the seven-member council.
Sayno said that in many barangays, SK candidates were running unopposed.
In Barangay El 98 in Jaro District here, two of the three registered SK voters are running for chair.
"The deciding factor will be the third voter," Sayno said in jest.
He said many of those who registered in the SK were discouraged from running for any position because of the costs of filing the COC including having their COCs notarized, costing around P100 and P250 for drug testing.
"They also do not have incentives unlike barangay officials who receive monthly honorariums," Sayno said in a telephone interview.
But Sayno said there was a high turnout in candidates for the barangay elections.
At least 2,000 candidates for the barangay council and another 500 for barangay captain filed their COCs.
Voters aged 18 and above will elect a barangay captain and seven councilors on October 29 while those age 15-17 will vote for the SK.
Meanwhile, barangay elections have become costly and has become money-oriented just like local and national elections.
Former barangay captain Lorenzo Castellano, who was village chief of Ortiz in Iloilo City for 12 years, said vote-buying is also happening in the barangay elections which is supposedly a non-partisan exercise.
Castellano who is running for barangay councilor said candidates are spending larger amounts in order to win because the monthly honorarium for officials is significant especially in big barangays. He said some candidates are spending from P50-P100 to buy votes.
While candidates are only allowed to spend P3 per voter, campaign materials have also become expensive and sophisticated.
"Before our posters were made of sack, manila paper or cartolina. Now we see glossy pictures and slogans in tarpaulin," Castellano said in a telephone interview.
He said hand bills are now mostly of photocopied or printed when before it was hand-written.
Jonathan Sayno, Election Assistant II of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) Iloilo City office, said barangay elections are being taken "more seriously" by residents as seen from those who filed their certificates of candidacies.
Sayno said most candidates now are college graduates, professionals, students, and retired policemen or military personnel.