MANILA, Philippines - President Aquino last Wednesday signed into law Republic Act 10656, postponing the Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) election to Oct. 31, 2016.
This means that the SK polls will now be synchronized with the barangay elections.
The law amends Republic Act 10632, which states that the SK polls should have been held in October 2013, but were postponed to give way to reforms in the youth council.
Commission on Elections (Comelec) spokesman James Jimenez heaved a sigh of relief, noting this development will allow them to focus more on preparations for the May 2016 presidential polls.
“It’s something we have been waiting for. We are going to do it (SK polls) on the last Monday of October 2016,” Jimenez said.
The enactment came as the Comelec was looking for solutions on a decision of the Supreme Court (SC) stopping the poll body from implementing the P268.8-million contract with Smartmatic-Total Information Management (TIM) Corp.
The contract involves the refurbishment of precinct count optical scan machines to be used in the May 2016 polls.
Jimenez gave assurance that the Comelec has incurred minimal expenses in preparing for the SK polls. – With Aurea Calica