By Rjay Zuriaga Castor
Esara Javier of Sara is elected unopposed as the new president of the Sangguniang Kabataan Federation Council in the province of Iloilo.
Javier is a 22-year-old fourth-year Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, majoring in Marketing Management student from St. Paul University Iloilo.
“Makita niyo sa line up wala gid nagkontrahanay despite lain ang political color or group man, nag-isa gid kag gin pili nga mag tib-ong sa isa ka kawsa,” she said in an interview on Friday.
Javier said her priority programs will focus on education, sports and development, and mental health.
“Grabe gid ang problema sa mental health awareness kag ako isa man ka pioneer sa MindShift Initiative kung diin gina hatagan namun first-aid training… kag assistance ang mga kabataan,” she said.
The MindShift Initiative is a youth-driven mental wellness campaign in Iloilo.
As the new president, Javier will be an ex-officio member of the Iloilo Provincial Council (Sangguniang Panlungsod) and will chair the committee on youth and sports development.
She is succeeding Ma. Angelica Bianca B. Requinto-Espinosa of Estancia, who held the seat since 2018.
The complete list of officers for the province’s SK Federation Council is as follows:
President: Esara Javier (Sara)
Vice President: Jenel Madronero (Guimbal)
Secretary-General: Jan Brix Palmares (Passi City)
Asst. Secretary: Kelly Florence Brillo (Mina)
Treasurer: Eduardo Jorque (Anilao)
Auditor: Verna Angelique Pastolero (Pototan)
Public Relations Officer: Wilson King Salarda (Janiuay)
Sergeant-at-arms: Gerard Peter Zaldarriaga (Pavia)
The federation council will also be composed of two board of directors in each congressional district.
All the newly-elected officials were unopposed during the elections.
Meanwhile, Iloilo Governor Arthur Defensor Jr., who administered the oath of the new SK Federation officials, expressed the provincial government’s desire for the SK to be the “nerve-ending” of its programs.
“We want you to be the nerve endings. That is the minimum that we want. You are at the forefront in detecting the concerns of our youth,” he said.
He added that he wants to collaborate with the SK in the management of the teen centers in secondary schools after announcing plans for the construction of more teen centers next year.
“We want to constitute our teen centers in secondary schools as youth development centers and we want to build a counterpart in the municipal level,” he added.
These centers will also serve as offices for the SK at the municipal level according to Defensor.
