Comelec reminder: Only Filipinos aged 18-24 are allowed to be candidates in the SK polls

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) is reminding the public that only Filipino citizens 18-24 years old are allowed to be candidates for the forthcoming Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections.

Comelec Spokesman James Jimenez noted that the age requirement for those seeking to be elected as youth officials is provided under Republic Act No. 10742 or the SK Reform Act of 2015.

"SK candidates, under the SK Reform Act, have to be 18-24 years old," he said in his Twitter account, @jabjimenez.

But the age range for those seeking SK posts is different from the one set by the said law for qualified voters, which is from 15 to 30 years old.

Under R.A. 10742, qualifications for SK candidates include being a citizen of the Philippines; a registered SK voter; a resident of the barangay for not less than one year immediately preceding the day of the elections; at least 18 years but not more than 24 years of age on the day of the elections; able to read and write Filipino, English, or the local dialect.

Prior to the passage of the said law, candidates for the SK are only limited to 15-18 years old.

Another requirement for those seeking a position in the youth polls is that they must not be related within the second civil degree of consanguinity or affinity to any incumbent elected national official or to any incumbent elected regional, provincial, city, municipal, or barangay official, in the locality, where he or she seeks to be elected.

The poll body official believed that the 18-24 age bracket will allow SK candidates to fulfill their duties.

"It seems logical to set the minimum age at 18, which is also the minimum age for entering into contracts. Setting the maximum to 24 years old achieves both the training aspect of SK and acknowledges that, any older than that, then, perhaps the candidate should be participating in regular elections," Jimenez said in an interview.

Voters aged 15 to 30 years old will be electing the officials of the SK, which is composed of one chairperson and seven members for their barangays, on Oct. 31, 2016. (PNA)