By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga

The newly-elected Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) officials from various localities in Negros Occidental are set to hold elections for the SK Federation today.

Teodora Sumagaysay, Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) in Negros Occidental provincial director, said they will follow the secret balloting process for the SK Federation elections.

The election process should be conducted in public, in accordance to DILG’s guidelines.

Whoever wins the SK Federation will become the ex-officio member of the Sangguniang Panlungsod or Sangguniang Bayan.

Despite being non-partisan, the SK Federation elections in all towns and cities in Negros Occidental are reported to be hounded by vote-buying allegations.

According to a reliable source, who requested anonymity, some individuals offer as much as P100,000 for each SK chairperson in their locality just to ensure victory to become SK Federation president.

However, Sumagaysay said they have not yet received any formal complaints about the alleged lobbying or vote-buying activities.

The Provincial SK Federation elections, based on the memo circular, should be held not later than November 29.

The newly-elected SK officials are required to attend a seminar from DILG.

Each village has one SK chairman and seven SK council members./DGB, WDJ