BAGUIO CITY — Election officials said Thursday the youth in upland Cordillera must have lost interest in politics, as shown by a low turnout of candidates for the upcoming Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) or youth council election on May 14.
According to data from the Department of Interior and Local Government, there are only 2,427 candidates for the total SK seats of 5,024 in 1,175 barangays in the Cordillera Administrative Region, which shows a deficiency of 3,201 candidates.
In Baguio City alone, only 280 filed their certificates of candidacy for SK members, forming just a fraction of the total 896 posts available.
Of the 128 barangays in Baguio, only seven had candidates for both SK chairman and SK members. Eight barangays have no takers for the SK chairman post, and one barangay has no candidates at all.
“There were no other takers. The youth have lost their interests (to run for the position) due to the anti-political dynasty law, postponement of the election, no honorarium, and no compensation for the council members,” remarked lawyer John Paul Martin, election officer at the Commission on Election (Comelec) in Baguio.
In Wednesday's "Barangay and SK Election 2018 forum", Martin sought a massive and extensive campaign to encourage the youth to join the political arena.
The forum was attended by youth voters in Baguio.
Martin suggested that the National Youth Commission (NYC) conduct massive campaigns not only for youth organizations but also for sectoral youth groups in the different barangays and schools.
“SK officials need involvement in the different communities, they should have schemes that will help the younger generation participate in social community development,” he said.
Meanwhile, NYC cluster head Jun Angeles said the agency has already been encouraging political awareness among the youth by using their social media platforms.
Angeles said the NYC commissioners also appear in different media outfits to urge the youth sector to join the political arena, aside from casting their votes.
Martin said that following the election on May 14, the DILG and NYC would conduct a mandatory SK training to educate the officials about their jobs, specifically in planning, drafting a resolution, budgeting, and their primary obligations to the community.
He said the training, which is a capacity-building measure, would help assure that the SK officials would be knowledgeable of their jobs as public officials.
The training, which is a pre-requisite to their oath-taking, has three modules in five sessions, covering the SK Reform Act of 2015, ethical standards of public officials, and all about their job as SK members. (PNA)
