Our
voice, our future! Extend the Registration, Count us in!
Last
January, we flocked to the streets, in EDSA and elsewhere, and voted
with our feet and our chants against the thief in Malacañang, which
eventually led to his ouster. For us, People Power II was not about
the mere removal of a corrupt and incompetent President; People Power
II was about the youth's empowerment and their passion for integrity.
People Power
II was a vow to repudiate traditional politics.
Yet the continuing
refusal of the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) to extend the registration
for new voters puts a serious threat to this vow. This refusal means
that come May 14, only 282, 482 of the 4.1 M new voters will get
the chance to cast their ballots. That these 4 million new voters
failed to register last December 27 is understandable: arguably
the Commission on Elections has not conducted an extensive information
campaign for the deadline, and if ever they did any, the youth sector's
attention was focused on the political crisis late last year. What's
not understandable - and in fact baffling - is the Commission's
refusal to admit that it has been remiss, and should therefore move
hastily to conduct the registration.
In its resolution
to deny the appeals for the extension of registration, COMELEC belabored
to list several operational and legal excuses. The resolution cited
a provision on the Omnibus Election Code that proscribes the conduct
of registration 120 days before the elections, a provision that,
according its representatives in a Senate hearing conducted last
January, can be re-considered, since the computerization of the
polls has been postponed anyway. It also cited operational concerns,
based on the consultation that they conducted with their field officers.
The main reason why they find it hard to extend the registration,
according to these officers, is that they are rushing the precinct
mapping project of the Commission - a project that according to
the new COMELEC Chairperson Alfredo Benipayo they will have to postpone
because it was implemented improperly.
This large-scale
disenfranchisement puts into question the conduct of the May 14
polls. With no fundamental reasons why it should not extend the
registration, the COMELEC has committed a grave constitutional error
by deciding on who can and who can not vote. While the constitution
provides the commission with sweeping powers to decide on crucial
electoral concerns, such as the voters' registration, it also prohibits
the Commission from determining who has the right to vote.
Last January,
we marched in the streets, indignant and furious, to oust a President.
If it takes that much to make sure that our voices will not be muffled,
that our integrity votes will be cast, then we will not falter.
Signed:
Gari R. Lazaro
National Secretary General, Student Council Alliance of the Philippines
Jonas V. Bagas
National Coordinator, AKBAYAN Youth
Emman Hizon
National Coordinator, Movement for the Advancement of Student Power
Jomar Modesto
Spokeperson, ALYANSA ng Lakas ng Nagkakaisang Kabataan sa Komunidad
