SAN JOSE, Antique – Officers from the Commission on Elections (Comelec) in the province have been holding a voters’ education campaign highlighting the changes in the Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections this May.
Provincial election supervisor Roberto Salazar said they have been going to barangays to educate voters “as much as possible” while they “still have time.”
Republic Act (RA) 10742, or the Sangguniang Kabataan Reform Act of 2015, “established reforms in the Sangguniang Kabataan and created enabling mechanisms for meaningful youth participation in nation-building.”
The Act has raised the age limit of SK voters to 30 years old. Before, only people aged 15 to 18 can vote for the SK.
The SK voters will also be divided into two age groups – the 15- to 17-year-olds and the 18- to 30-year-olds.
Teachers who will serve in the May polls were also instructed to give two ballots (for SK and barangay) each to people belonging to the 18- to 30-year-old age bracket come the election day.
There are a total of 130,162 registered SK voters in the province, according to the Comelec.
RA 10742 provides that the “state recognizes the vital role of the youth in nation-building .and thus, promotes and protects their physical, moral, spiritual, intellectual and social well-being, inculcates in them patriotism, nationalism and other desirable values, and encourages their involvement in public and civic affairs.” (With a report from PIA/PN)
