Cagayan de Oro City — As the registration period for the barangay and Sanggunian Kabataan elections started on July 15, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) is supporting the introduction and institutionalization of significant reform under the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) of the SK Reform Act 2016.
Formulated by the National Youth Commission, an attached agency of DSWD, together with the Department of the Interior and Local Government, Department of Education, Commission on Higher Education, Commission on Audit, Department of Budget and Management, and the Commission on Elections, the IRR will be published within 15 days in the Official Gazette of the Philippine before the full implementation of the SK Reform Law.
The national government agencies took lead in consulting with various youth serving organizations in some key areas nationwide which commenced last year to March 2016, along with the Union of the Local Authorities of the Philippines, National Economic and Development Authority, Council for the Welfare of Children, and the United Nations Population Fund.
Among the salient provisions which makes the SK Reform Law responsive and transparent are: increase age to 18 years old but not more than 25; fiscal autonomy; presence of mechanism of transparency and accountability; mandatory trainings before assumption of office; inclusion of development plan; and an anti-dynasty provision that states, “he or she must not have any relative in elective public office within the second degree of consanguinity or affinity.”
The registration period for the Barangay and SK elections slated on October 26 started last Friday, July 15 and will only run until July 30.
For the registration, Comelec offices will be open to accept registrants during office hours 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., including Saturdays, Sundays and Holidays.
To register to vote for the SK polls, voters must be 15 years old but not more than 30 years old on the election day, Oct. 31, 2016 and must have been residing in the barangay for at least six months on election day.
Those who want to register for the village and youth polls shall download the registration form and print them ahead of visiting the Office of Election Officer in their city or municipality to ease the registration process. It must accomplished triplicate forms will make registration quicker.
For more information and queries, the public is reminded to direct queries and clarifications in regard to SK IRR to the Office of the Commissioner-at-Large Cruz of the NYC through NYCSKReform@gmail.com.
==
