MANILA, Philippines – Because 39 barangays (villages) had no Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) candidates in the recent elections, the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) is asking the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to hold special polls.

This was disclosed to Rappler by DILG Assistant Secretary and Spokesperson Jonathan Malaya in a text message on Wednesday, May 16.

“39 lang naman silang barangay [na walang SK] (It’s just 39 villages without youth councils). We’ve asked Comelec to hold special elections. It’s still pending with them,” Malaya said.

Rappler reached out to the Comelec for their position on the proposal and when the elections would happen – should they push through but officials have yet to respond.

Why special elections? Holding special elections is one of the 3 options the government has been considering ever since reports surfaced that there are villages with no SK bets.

The other two options include either the appointment of municipal local youth development officers to assume the role of zero-candidate SK councils, or the appointment of all members of the youth council.

The DILG earlier told Rappler that they prefer holding special polls as the process would be most representative of the members of the villages.

The question now should a new set of polls be scheduled is how the government would encourage youth candidates to run this time. – Rappler.com