DILG to Comelec: Require bets in SK, barangay polls to submit résumés

The Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) has urged the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to require candidates in the barangay (village) and Sangguniang Kabataan elections to submit their résumés to help voters choose their bets.

DILG Asst. Sec. Jonathan Malaya said the DILG would formally ask the Comelec to require candidates to submit their résumés, which could serve as a basis of their qualification for the position.

“The DILG will not set a template or format. It’s up to the SK and barangay candidates what they will disclose to the public,” Malaya said in a joint press conference with Comelec and the National Youth Commission on Wednesday.

“We think that this requirement would enable the public to determine if this person is even able to read and write, among other things,” he added.

Malaya explained that the résumé would be a proof of their fitness and capacity to lead and part of the DILG’s efforts to educate voters to choose competent leaders.

The suggestion was based on the National Movement on Free Elections’ (Namfrel) earlier proposal to Comelec.

Comelec spokesperson Director James Arthur Jimenez said the DILG’s proposal could be done on a voluntary basis as it is not a requirement for candidates seeking an elective post under the Constitution.

“The DILG and NYC are far more proactive now in the barangay and SK elections than they have been for quite some time now in terms of voter’s education campaign. It’s a massive development. We just don’t want to trip up with legal technicalities. But in terms of the résumé proposal, it can be done on a voluntary basis,” Jimenez said in the same briefing.

The barangay and SK elections will finally push through on May 14 after being postponed twice. It was originally scheduled for Oct. 31, 2016. It was later moved to Oct. 23, 2017.  /muf