By Cielito Reganit
MANILA, (PNA) –- The House of Representatives Wednesday passed on second reading House Bill 2849 or the bill postponing next month’s Sangguniang Kabataan elections to the next synchronized Baranggay and SK elections in October 2016.
Capiz Rep. Fredenil Castro, chair of the House Committee on Suffrage and Electoral Reforms, said postponing the SK elections this year would give Congress sufficient time to study various pending proposals regarding SK among them its total abolition.
“The SK had ceased to fulfill its intended mandate of engaging the youth in active community building as envisioned in the law,” Castro said in his sponsorship speech.
Likewise, he said that they had also taken into consideration the various regional and national consultations undertaken by the Department of the Interior and Local Government showing full support for the postponement.
Besides postponing the SK elections, House Bill 2849 likewise prevents incumbent SK officers whether – from the barangay up to the national level, whether elected or in an ex-officio capacity – from holding office in an extended capacity.
Their terms will all end November 30, 2013.
Meanwhile, Caloocan Rep. Edgar Erice said that postponing the SK elections this year would also “prevent new batch of 15 to 17 year olds from entering the school of corruption.”
Erice is one of the main authors of HB 2849.