SK SUMMIT. The four-day Sangguniang Kabataan national summit starts in Baguio City on April 7, 2022, with around 500 participants physically attending. During the opening program, Department of Interior and Local Government Undersecretary Marjorie Jalosjos said more than half of the 65.7 million voters in the country are between the ages 18 and 41, with a total of 37,015,901 falling under the youth age bracket. (PNA photo by Liza T. Agoot)
BAGUIO CITY – An official of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) urged members of the Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) to encourage eligible members of the youth sector to take an active role and cast their votes in the upcoming May national elections.
Undersecretary Marjorie Jalosjos, during the opening of the four-day SK National Summit here from April 7 to 10, said SK officials should urge the youth to exercise their right to political participation and engagement via the upcoming elections.
“Ngayong paparating na ang halalan, mahalaga ang inyong papel na gagampanan sa pagkumbinse sa ating mga kabataan na makibahagi at makilahok sa ating eleksyon. Mahalagang ipagbigay alam ninyo sa kanila ang kahalagahan ng kanilang boto (This coming election, it is important to tell them that they play a big role in exercising their right and casting their votes and the importance of their votes),” she said on Thursday afternoon.
The SK summit is being physically attended by over 500 youth leaders from Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao, with about 900 online participants.
Jalosjos, a former local elected official, stressed the SK's role in empowering and encouraging the youth to "enhance their social, political, economic, cultural, intellectual, moral, spiritual and physical development.”
She said Commission on Elections data shows more than half of the 65.7 million voters in the country are between the ages 18 and 41 years old.
A total of 37,015,901 voters fall under the youth age bracket, accounting for 56 percent of local voters. Persons aged between 15 and 24 years old are considered "youth," according to the United Nations.
“Following this, we can see that the youth will become a prime mover and play a huge role in deciding the next elected officials of the country,” Jalosjos said.
“It is your duty and responsibility to acknowledge and empower your communities to become key partners to nation-building,” she added.
The four-day event will include the discussion of the proposed amendment to the SK Reform Law, the recognition of the outstanding coronavirus disease 2019 initiatives of SK units, and a visit to the Philippine Military Academy to interact with the cadets. (PNA)
