CAGAYAN DE ORO, Philippines – Sixty-six candidates in the October 30 barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections in Cagayan de Oro have no opponents.

There are also 25 youth council seats in five villages that will need to be declared vacant and filled by appointment because the positions have no takers, according to a Commission on Elections (Comelec) official.

Of the 66 unopposed candidates, 12 are running for barangay chairperson, eight for SK chairperson, and 46 for SK members.

Those running for barangay chairperson without opponents are in Barangay Nazareth, Barangay Taglimao, Barangay 1, Barangay 3, Barangay 4, Barangay 10, Barangay 16, Barangay 20, Barangay 24, Barangay 28, Barangay 38, and Barangay 40.

Uncontested candidacies for SK chairperson are in Barangay Taglimao, Barangay 1, Barangay 3, Barangay 10, Barangay 16, Barangay 20, Barangay 38, and Barangay 40.

All 80 barangays have enough candidates for the seven members of the barangay council. However, there are 46 unchallenged candidates for SK membership in various barangays.

There are also 25 seats in the SK with no candidates, including seven in Barangay 4, six in Barangay 3, five each in Barangay 2 and Barangay 38, and one in Barangay 18. There is no candidate for SK chairperson in Barangay 4.

Lawyer Ramil Acol, the Comelec officer for Cagayan de Oro’s 2nd District, said unfilled youth council positions due to a lack of candidates would be filled up.

The seats would be officially declared vacant first based on Section 44 of the Local Government Code of 1991.

Acol said even unopposed candidates must undergo the election process by garnering at least one vote, and such votes must be canvassed before proclaiming the winner by the election board.

While some numbered barangays have incomplete candidate slates, there are barangays where two or more candidates are contesting seats in the barangay and youth councils. Examples include Balubal, Bayabas, Consolacion, and Cugman.

In Bayabas, there are 77 candidates, with six vying for the village chief position, 39 for the seven seats in the village council, four for SK chairperson, and 28 for the seven-member youth council.

Consolacion has 76 aspirants, while Balubal and Cugman have 72 hopefuls each for various elective posts.

However, in Carmen, the city’s largest barangay in terms of population, land area, and income, only two candidates are competing for the village chief position, and three for the youth council’s top post. There are 43 candidates in the race for barangay and youth council seats.

Nestor Banuag Jr., chairperson of the National Movement for Free Elections (Namfrel) in Cagayan de Oro, noted that the smaller barangays in the city’s business district, all designated with numbers, are no longer as densely populated as when they were created five decades ago.

He said there are no active youth leaders in these urban barangays, as priorities among the SK-eligible population now lean towards academics rather than youth and community activities.

Banuag also noted that only 27 out of 132 aspirants for 80 SK chairperson positions participated during a candidates’ forum organized by the local Namfrel and the Central Student Government of Xavier University-Ateneo de Cagayan.

He said many skipped the forum due to class commitments or campaign activities. – Rappler.com