Interior and Local Government Secretary Jonvic Remulla called for major structural changes to local governance on Thursday, urging lawmakers to lower the age limit for Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) officials and restrict the regulatory powers of barangay chairpersons.
Speaking at the Senate finance subcommittee hearing on the Department of the Interior and Local Government’s (DILG) proposed budget, Remulla argued that the current age bracket for youth leaders, 18 to 24 years old, contradicts the primary intent of youth representation. He proposed reducing the age requirement back to 15 to 19 years old.
Highlighting the disparity, Remulla noted that the minimum age requirement to run for governor is 23, creating an overlap in eligibility despite vast differences in scope and responsibility. He added that older SK officials frequently abandon their duties mid-term due to career, family or educational relocations.
“In one term, after one year of their election, 50 percent of the SK are no longer functioning. They got married, they took a job or they started studying in another LGU. So that is the problem,” Remulla said.
The DILG chief also criticized the fiscal autonomy granted to youth councils by the Commission on Audit (COA). Intended to insulate youth leaders from political influence, Remulla warned that the policy has instead backfired by removing critical oversight.
“Some people thought that it would remove them from the clutches of the barangay captain, but it acted in reverse. Mas maagang natuto yung mga SK na magloko at gumawa ng kalokohan sa pera ng SK [SK officials learned early how to spend SK funds irregularly],” he stated.
Beyond youth council reforms, Remulla targeted the authority of barangay captains over localized permit approvals, citing complaints from major telecommunications providers. According to the Secretary, local leaders in remote areas frequently obstruct infrastructure projects or demand bribes to allow cell tower construction, stifling the nation’s connectivity goals.
“And one big reason why our telephone service in the Philippines is underserved is because the barangay captains hold enormous powers over the location of the towers. So instead of putting the towers for the service of communities, the barangay captains either hostage the towers by asking money or reject it outright delaying the rollout of communication towers for our telcos,” Remulla said.
He emphasized that curbing these local administrative powers is essential to ending project delays and expanding telecommunication coverage across underserved areas in the country.