NEWLY ELECTED Sangguniang Kabataan Federation president Kristine Abdul Mercado took an oath before the 20th City Council during the 43rd regular session, Nov. 21, which Vice Mayor J. Melchor Quitain administered.
Mercado said she will prioritize the visibility of the grassroots and skills development of the youth in the city during her term.
“We are committed to empowering the youth to be the agents of social change through skills development workshops, leadership training, and bettering initiatives. We will equip our young people with the tools they need to succeed,” Mercado said in her privileged speech.
Mercado said she also aims to visit every barangay, especially the far-flung areas as her first steps. The chair already had talks with the SK council of Paquibato and Marilog district, which will be the first barangays she plans to visit.
“Sa akong platform, akong ginaduso is ang SK Cares, mao na ang pag-adto namo sa far flung areas, mao nay paningkamotan namo kauban sa akong SK Council nga matuyok tanang barangays ug makahatag mig services, such as feeding programs,” she added.
The newly elected chair seeks to push for a sports clinic and the ordinance granting honorarium and other benefits to elected and appointed SK members, that the outgoing SK Federation Chair Jaffar Marohomsalic previously initiated.
Mercado will be the chair of the Local Youth Development Council, and chair of the committee on youth and sports development, including membership in the committee on future generations, which are the vacant positions left by the outgoing SK Federation chair Marohomsalic.
Mercado is the SK chairman of Barangay Sasa. She is from the Muslim Kagan tribe and a third-year accountancy student at the Davao Merchant Marine Academy (DMMA).
Meanwhile, Marohomsalic bid goodbye before the council during the suspended rules, expressing gratitude to his former fellow councilors. He also thanked the Duterte family for giving the Muslim sector a seat in the council and for the opportunity to represent the sector in the city.
The outgoing SK Fed chair served for three years in the 18th, 19th, and 20th City Council from 2018 to 2023.
Before his term ended, Marohomsalic pushed for the institutionalization of two significant youth ordinances, the Davao City Youth Development Council Ordinance and the Davao City Youth Development Division-Local Youth Development Office of Davao City Ordinance which was approved on October 10, during the 38th regular session.
