Implementing rules for SK polls OK’d

MANILA, Philippines – The National Youth Commission (NYC) announced Tuesday that the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) for the Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) Reform Act of 2015 have been approved.

The Commission on Elections, on the other hand, said it would hold the registration for barangay and SK voters from July 15 to 30, including weekends and holidays, in all Offices of the Election Officers in every city/municipality from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. 

Qualified to vote in the SK polls set on Oct. 31 are those aged 15 to 30, Comelec Resolution No. 10148 promulgated July 5 showed. The voters must be residing in the barangay where they intend to vote for at least six months by election day and not disqualified by law.

SK elections will coincide with the barangay polls. Around 42,000 barangays will be holding SK elections and 10 positions are up for grabs per barangay, including SK chairman.

Before the law was passed last year, only those aged 15 to 18 on election day could register for the SK polls.

The SK elections had been originally scheduled for October 2013 but were postponed following calls for reforms.

Signed into law by former president Benigno Aquino III in January, the SK Reform Act strengthened the youth council system that was suspended in 2013 due to various criticisms, including inefficiency and corruption.

With the signing of the IRR, NYC chairman Earl Saavedra said they gained more confidence in pushing “our plans and strategic partnerships in encouraging the youth to get involved in the new and reformed” SK.

Saavedra said a copy of the IRR for the new measure would soon be released through the Official Gazette.

NYC initiated the formulation of the IRR through a series of consultations with various youth sectors and organizations in different parts of the country.

In a bid to curb corruption, the SK Reform Act has an anti-political dynasty provision and raised the age requirement from 15 to 17 to 18 to 24 to allow youth officials to legally enter contracts and be held liable.

SK officials will also be required to undergo leadership training to learn about good government practices and fiscal transparency.

The law also mandates the creation of the Local Youth Development Council, which will ensure the participation of youth organizations from different communities.

“We strongly believe that the approval of the SK Reform Act IRR is a manifestation of the recognition of the important role of the youth in participatory local governance and it was very timely because we are preparing for the SK registration and the elections,” NYC commissioner-at-large Jose Rafael Cruz, who headed the IRR technical working group, said.

“We hope that with the eventual publication of the IRR, we will be able to entice a new breed of SK leaders who will take up the cudgels for a more responsive SK leadership,” Cruz added.