ALBAY Second District Rep. Joey Sarte Salceda, the Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, has asked the Civil Service Commission (CSC) to release the guidelines for the issuance of the Certificate of Eligibility for officials of the Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) under Republic Act No. 11768, which the solon principally authored.
The law, which amended the SK Reform Act, introduced the benefit to SK officials from Salceda’s bill, which was adopted into law.
“As principal author and sponsor of Republic Act No. 11768, which was enacted on July 26, 2021, may I respectfully request that the Civil Service Commission issue the guidelines for the issuance of the ‘appropriate certificate of eligibility’ which Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) officials, secretaries, and treasurers, are entitled to,” Salceda wrote to CSC Chairperson Karlo Alexei Nograles.
Also furnished were Interior and Local Government Secretary Benjamin Abalos and National Youth Commission Chairperson Ronald Gian Cardema.
“As the deadline for the implementing rules and regulations on this matter lapsed prior to your assumption in office, I, alongside the 420,000 SK officials in the country, will be most grateful to have this landmark measure take full effect under your leadership,” Salceda added in his letter to Nograles.
The law, which was enacted in July 2021, gave the relevant agencies 90 days to promulgate the rules and regulations necessary for the law.
The IRR, however, was only issued in September last year, and the guidelines for the CSC eligibility have not yet been issued.
The law also entitles SK Treasurers and Secretaries to the same benefit. The same law granted SK officials honorarium as part of their benefits.
Salceda says that “more needs to be done to truly make the barangay system, including SK, more functional as the most basic institution of government.”
The solon likewise reiterated that the Barangay and SK officials have proven their immeasurable worth during the COVID-19 pandemic, when the government needed to be able to reach out to its citizens at the household level, which only the Barangay has the capacity to do that in an effective manner, Salceda emphasized.
“We are hopeful that Chair Nograles will heed the call of the SK Officials who wish to avail of this benefit they are entitled to by law. Hopefully, the guidelines can be issued before we swear in a new set of SK officials,” Salceda added.