MANILA, Philippines - The Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections scheduled on Feb. 21, 2015 may be postponed to the last Monday of October 2016.
Davao del Norte Rep. Anthony Del Rosario authored House Bill 5006 which seeks to synchronize the SK elections with the barangay elections.
The postponement of the SK elections "would afford more time to institute the needed reforms to address concerns and alleged shortcomings in the system of youth representation in governance," Del Rosario said.
HB 5006 is an amendment to Republic Act 10632 or "An act to postpone the SK elections on October 28, 2013" which was enacted to provide time for reforms of the system.
"To answer the call for reforms, several bills have been filed and deliberated on in Congress - both for the introduction of reforms and abolition by replacing the current youth representation system with another that will provide greater transparency and accountability," Del Rosario said
Del Rosario cited some criticisms against the SK such as the weak internal control mechanisms and exposure of its members to patronage and kinship politics which influence their governance.
The Commission on Elections (Comelec) is waiting for further decisions while the bill is under consideration by the House of Representatives Committee on Suffrage and Electoral Reforms. Registration for SK elections is currently ongoing and will end on September 29.
The SK election was supposed to have been held on October 2013, but it was moved to February 2015.
RELATED: SK registration forms available online
For more proposed measures in the House of Representatives, visit our Bill Tracker.