Forfeited Privilege
By Miq
Manalang
"In
a similar vein, well entrenched is the rule in our jurisdiction that
the law aids the vigilant and not those who slumber on their rights,"—the
Supreme Court ruled on the youth's petition for a special election
registration of new voters to participate in the coming May elections.
The people's ardent
response for unified vigilance against high level fraud and evident
corruption in the bureaucracy has earned the state a new government.
During the abruptly cued revolt, vigilance empowered the people for
another mark in history, right when it was needed.
The ascendancy
of cause-oriented sectors empowered by an informed citizenry led to
what is now blissfully known as the second peaceful uprising, following
a bigotry of sorts during an impeachment proceeding against alleged
principal looter of the country's coffers.
Despite the gaiety
and the people's renewed rapture in demanding good governance from
its leaders, the vigilance of some 4 million youths in the political
derby came too late for their comfort for the general elections in
May. The High Tribunal squandered their legal struggle to participate
in the polls, casting a majority vote against the youth's request
for a special registration.
All too confident
on the guarantee of constitutional provisions on the primal rights
of a democracy, the youth clamored for a special treatment to exercise
their right to vote. It came after the continuing registration shut
its doors to the public late last year to proceed with legal procedures
and other finicky requirements, as mandated by the government election
code.
The Supreme Court,
voting 8-6, junked the petition for a special enlistment period saying
that the constitutional provisions of suffrage " is not at all absolute"
and must adhere with corresponding legal requirements such as the
120-day prohibitive period of registration provided for in the government
election code.
The registration
requirement of voters "is an indispensable precondition to the right
of suffrage" and should not be construed "as a lowly stature requirement"
as it intends to secure the conduct of a clean, honest and fair elections,
the 25-page decision said.
"As to the procedural
limitation, the right of a citizen to vote is necessarily conditioned
upon certain procedural requirements he must undergo; among others
is the process of registration," the March 26 decision penned by Associate
Justice Arturo B. Buena added.
The Commission
on Elections has repeatedly turned down petitions for a special enlistment
citing legal and operational restrictions. Comelec Chairman Alfredo
Benipayo argues that they cannot possibly comply with standard legal
proceedings necessary in a registration with the limited time before
the slated polls.
It is expected
to derail the poll body's ongoing election preparation to which he
admits as a "bit behind the schedule," including the completion of
the final list of voters which is the basis for the printing of accountable
election forms such as the official ballot and election returns.
"The important
thing is at this time, it is useless to do any finger pointing," he
said.
But the continuing
registration went on without the adequate information for those caught
unaware of election procedures, Akbayan said. They maintained their
constitutional right of suffrage, which in their minds outweighs any
other procedural or legislative requirements as it is provided in
the basic laws.
The Comelec may
have remained virtually open for enlistment after the general registration
in 1998 but failed to even the reach the minimum range of new voters,
they claim. But Comelec maintains a registration is not just an act
of filing an application but a legal procedure that requires time
for thorough verifications to secure the sanctity of the ballot. Although
it has the mandate to adjust the schedules of pre-election activities,
the commission will not allow any form of registration without legislative
amendments.
It is the Comelec's
duty to protect the right of a person who has been subjected to the
exclusion procedure of the registration as well as the citizen's right
to question the qualifications of his fellow registrant. "Verfication
requires time so that our list of voters would be something credible
and valid," Benipayo said.
Implementing legislation
is as important as the provision of the fundamental law. "We have
implementing legislation. For every right, there must be some conditions
and limitations," he added.
Youth leader Jonas
Bagas said an appeal to the High Court is "almost impossible "as he
lashed back at the Court's denial to their petition as "tantamount
to a political mass murder" after conceding the disenfranchisement
of qualified voters. "There is simply no window to have a special
legislation. It seemed that a special registration is already impossible,"
he added.
To indemnify its
strained vigilance, Akbayan initiated its Youth Vote Movement, a spin
off program that intends to maximize the potential of the youth sector
as an electoral base. It aims to advocate electoral reforms and assert
"new politics" and do away with traditional politicians in government.
The program will
offset the defects of the Comelec in terms of giving adequate attention
and information to the electorate, particularly for first time voters.
One proposition
is the holding of a mock election to provide a venue where the youth
can express their choices before an actual election. "We will still
make their participation as meaningful as possible," he said.
Akbayan will also
seek dialogues with election officials to designate a special day
or period in the next continuing registration for enlisting and educating
voters on election procedures, including pre-election activities such
as registration.
The youth picketed
the lines to throw open the same Comelec doors after three years of
neglect and leniency, equally shared by the election institution and
the youth themselves. They may have breezed thru the political arena
with warm ideals for structural and moral reforms in government but
some imminently neglected a basic obligation to their right of suffrage.
It may all be
but mere consolation for the youth sector to say that a forfeited
privilege can be conditioned as a stern windfall and that there are
still other areas or other elections but as a noted priest said, "you
do not postpone a right for another election." However, innocence
of the law is still no excuse.
The youth can
now only reckon the restraint as a temporary snag in their advocacy
and vigilance, and somehow hope that ruling would not deter their
presence and influence in the elections even without casting their
votes come election day.
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Miq Manalang is a Union of Catholic Asian News reporter. She used
to cover the Comelec beat when she was still with BusinessWorld.
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