House panel votes to suspend SK polls

MANILA, Philippines - The House committee on suffrage approved yesterday a bill postponing the Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections scheduled next month as Congress mulls proposals to reform the barangay-based youth government system.

Voting 11-1, the panel chaired by Capiz Rep. Fredenil Castro voted to postpone the SK polls. Another round of voting was done to reset the elections to October 2016.

House Majority Leader Neptali Gonzales Jr. said the bill would be presented to the plenary next week for possible approval on second reading.

Gonzales said there is a possibility of convening the bicameral conference committee to reconcile the House version with the Senate’s bill, which postponed the elections to 2015.

Commission on Elections Chairman Sixto Brillantes earlier lobbied for the deferment of the SK polls.

Brillantes proposed to House leaders the “indefinite suspension” of the SK elections to show that barangay leaders are enough to run their respective jurisdictions.

About 42,000 seats for SK chairperson and 300,000 seats for SK council are up for grabs in the said polls.