CEBU CITY— Twenty-one-year-old Jessica Resch of Barangay San Nicolas Proper was elected Tuesday as president of Cebu City’s Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) Federation.
In closed-door election proceedings held at the Cebu Parklane International Hotel here, Resch won with 44 votes against Barangay Tisa SK chairperson Sonia Cal, who only got 34 votes.
Resch, who thanked her fellow SK chairmen for believing in her potential to lead the SK Federation, said she will first meet and foster unity among the SK chairpersons in Cebu City before they plan their future projects.
“First, we have to set aside our different party affiliations and be united for the betterment of Cebu City. I want unity for all SK chairmen, then we will plan our projects,” Resch said.
Other elected SK Federation officials were Joseph Gepte of Barangay T. Padilla as vice president; Dexter Auxtero (Buhisan), secretary; Anton Miñoza (Pulangbato), treasurer; Trisha de Castro (Pahina Central), auditor; Sharmaine Maloloy-on (Mambaling), PRO; and Jhansien Malapit (Labangon) and Samson Go (Zapatera) as sergeants at arms.
All elected SK Federation officials are supported by Bando Osmeña – Pundok Kauswagan (BOPK), which is the local party of Mayor Tomas Osmeña.
The half-Austrian Resch is a fresh graduate of BS Industrial Engineering from the University of San Carlos and has a regular feeding program for children in her barangay.
After the elections, the mayor met with all SK chairmen in the city to tell them they can come to his office regardless of their party affiliations.
“All of you are equal,” Osmeña said. “Each one of you is welcome. Whatever side you think you belong to, you’re welcome to come to my office.”
The mayor also told the newly-elected SK Federation officials to live up to their positions and prove to those who think that the SK is just a waste of time that they are wrong.
“You have a major challenge because there’ve been arguments before that the SK is a waste of time and waste of money. You’re going to have to prove that wrong. And remember one thing: you took your oath of office. You also owe it to the people,” Osmeña said. (Luel Galarpe/PNA)
