Speaking to SK leaders from all over the country last Thursday, Governor Edgar Chatto affirmed that Bohol is a pro-SK province and spoke of Bohol’s opposition to circulating rumors proposing to abolish the Sangguniang Kabataan.
The governor attended the proceedings at the height of the assembly proper of the four-day SK National Congress at the Panglao Island Nature Resort, together with fellow former congressional representatives and former Liberal Party senatoriables Risa Hontiveros and Neric Acosta.
Makati Mayor Junjun Binay and Liga ng mga Barangay National President RJ Echeverri, themselves former SK stalwarts, were also present, together with current SK National President Jane Censoria Cajes. Cajes also sits as an ex-officio commissioner of the National Youth Commission (NYC).
Governor Chatto defended the institution of youth leaders as a training ground for the country’s next generation of government officials. He said that, instead of abolition, he favored reforms to the Sangguniang Kabataan that would increase its participation in governance.
This sentiment was echoed by former Akbayan Rep. Hontiveros as she spoke about House Bill 468, or the SK Reform and Empowerment Act.
Hontiveros remarked that all over the country, the SK has been reduced to a token and trivial representation of the youth and is usually limited to sports programs and recreations in the barangay.
HB 468 proposes to involve the SK in economic and political decision-making, strengthen the Katipunan ng Kabataan (KK) as a youth assembly and a venue for accountability of SK officials, formulate a comprehensive youth development plan, and put a stop to political dynasties in the Sangguniang Kabataan.
The bill further seeks to raise the age requirement for SK chairpersons to 18 so that they have the personal capacity to enter into contracts. It will also expand the age bracket for KK membership, which at present is from 15 to 17 years old. It had been from 15 to 21, but this was changed without consultation from the youth or the NYC before the 2002 SK elections. HB 468 will raise the maximum age limit to 25.
On criticisms that the SK has become corrupt or that it is immature, Hontiveros said that corruption and incompetence are not age-based but that it does not begin among the youth. She noted that most SK officials are known by their fiscal responsibility, trustworthiness in their duties, and competence.
In his message to the youth leaders, Governor Chatto stated that his career in public service would never have been possible without his stint in the Kabataang Barangay. He gives credit to his training in the KB for preparing him for the rigid realities of governance. The KB is the precursor of the SK in the late 70s and early 80s.
Asserting that their capacities as leaders are limitless and boundless, Governor Chatto challenged the youth leaders present to make use of their experience in public governance and that they have to be ready to face the trials of leadership that lie ahead of them. (Paul Joseph J. Vistal/EDCom)
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