Registration set for SK, barangay polls

MANILA, Philippines - Qualified voters for the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) polls on Oct. 28 were asked to register from July 22 to 31.

On his Twitter account@jabjimenez, Commission on Elections (Comelec) spokesman James Jimenez said: “In seven days voter registration will resume throughout the country.”

Jimenez said satellite voter’s registration centers will not be set up in the barangay halls.

“Registration shall be in Comelec offices,” he said.   

Qualified to vote in the barangay elections are Filipino citizens who are at least 18 years old on election day; a resident of the Philippines for at least one year before election day; a resident of the place where he intends to vote for at least six months immediately prior to election day, and not disqualified by law.

The Comelec is expecting that a majority of registrants are those who turned 18 years old after the May 13 midterm polls.

For SK, a voter must be a Filipino citizen; at least 15 years old but less than 18 years old on election day; residing in the barangay for at least six months on election day, and not otherwise disqualified by law.

Former senator Aquilino   Pimentel Jr. proposed yesterday the reduction of the number of SK members to one for every barangay, and to limit their ages from 15 to 17.

Speaking to reporters during the weekly Kapihan sa Diamond Hotel in Manila, Pimentel said the voting for the lone SK member may be conducted during the barangay polls.

The principal author of the Local Government Code said once the SK councils are abolished, their 10 percent would go to the barangay funds.

The reduction of SK representation in the barangay council aims to give a bigger role to the youth representative in crafting ordinances and resolutions at the grass root level, he added.

During the same forum, Quezon City Rep. Winston Castelo proposed the scrapping of the budget for the SK as an item in the overall barangay budget.