Iloilo City Mayor Jose Espinosa III hopes to work closely with newly-elected officials of the Sangguniang Kabataan. (PNA Photo by Rosilfa Andrea Mallada)
ILOILO CITY -- Iloilo City Mayor Jose Espinosa III is looking forward to working closely with the newly-elected federation officers of this city’s Sangguniang Kabataan (SK).
The mayor administered the oath-taking of the new set of officers following the whole day orientation and election of 175 elected SK chairpersons on Tuesday.
Two barangays in the city -- Sta. Isabel and Timawa Tanza 1 -- do not have an SK chairperson as there was no one who ran for the post.
Three SK officials did not participate in the election as one was disqualified from joining the poll for failure to attend the mandatory training while the other did not bring the required documents. The other SK official is out of the country.
"As mayor, I will be working with you at the city hall. Welcome to the city government and I expect to see you more often at the city hall. You can go to the office of the city mayor anytime, with or without an appointment,” Espinosa said.
The mayor added the SK federation will have an office at the sixth floor of the city hall.
The new SK Federation chair who will also have a seat at the Sangguniang Panlungsod as ex-officio member is Leila Luntao from Our Lady of Lourdes, Jaro. Other elected officials include Joy Jonathan Pescadera Jr., vice-president; Bea Gonzales, secretary; Shane Sayomac, treasurer; Carmelli Jubelag, auditor; Jelma Crystel Implica, press relations officer; and Sherry Ann Villagracia, sergeant-at-arms.
Meanwhile, lawyer Ferdinand Panes of the Department of the Interior and Local Government thanked everyone who contributed to the success of the elections.
He added that the new set of officers will assume in June 30. The SK president will have to enjoy the benefits and privileges of a Sangguniang Panlungsod member.
"She will be holding the chairmanship on the committee of youth and sports development,” he added.
Panes added that the elected federation officers “are very active and very much qualified."(With Caihra Santillan and Rosilfa Andrea Mallada, OJT/PNA)
