[1] In January 2016, the Sangguniang Kabataan Reform Act was signed into law, which made changes to the SK and initially scheduled new elections for October 2016.[5] Each barangay houses a Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) composed of a chairperson, seven members, a secretary, and a treasurer.[7] The SK developed out of the Kabataang Barangay, which was established during martial law by President Ferdinand Marcos.[7] The age range of the youth eligible for the KK and SK was reduced to 15 from below 18 due to the changes by Republic Act No."[11] A 2007 study by UNICEF and the Department of the Interior and Local Government said, "The SK's performance for the past ten years has been generally weak.This is especially true in terms of coming up with legislations, promoting the development of young people, submitting reports and holding consultations with their constituents."[11][12] Because of concerns that SKs are "breeding ground[s] for political dynasty and exposing the youth to corruption and the practice of traditional politicians" known colloquially as trapos,[13] Republic Act No.10632 was enacted in 2013 to postpone the scheduled October 2013 SK elections until some time between October 28, 2014, and February 23, 2015, and leave all SK positions vacant until new officers are elected, and explicitly prohibits the appointing of officials to fill said vacant positions.[17] Among the reforms are raising the age of SK officials from between 15 and 17 years old to between 18 and 21, raising the age of voters from between 15 and 17 to between 15 and 21, an anti-dynasty provision that forbids candidates from having a relative in public office that is within the second degree of cosanguinity, and provisions to increase SKs' fiscal autonomy.
Infographic from the National Youth Council of the changes made by the Sangguniang Kabataan Reform Act.