Saturday, November 17, 2007 SK winners briefed, air misgivings By Rene H. Martel Sun.Star Staff Reporter
MANY who wanted to be Cebu City Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) Federation president now have second thoughts on taking the position, following an orientation by the office of City Councilor Glena Bontuyan.
“Daghang niingon nga mora’g dili na lang sila,” said Rolly Bontuyan, Glena’s executive assistant, after the series of briefings made by the councilor’s office.
The SK Federation instructed the winners in the Oct. 29 elections to prepare them for the job of leading the youths in their barangays.
They were also informed of the tasks and duties of being the SK Federation president.
Rolly said that his sister, aside from handling legislative duties as Cebu City councilor, also has to take care of the federation and the youth of Barangay Talamban, where she is the SK chairperson.
“They were told that they will have to sacrifice and their academics will suffer. A number said they would rather not become president,” Rolly said.
Aside from Barangay Parian’s newly elected SK chairperson, those of Apas, Mabini, Buhisan, Sambag 1, and Lahug’s Jerame Cabaral are said to be interested to succeed Glena.
Cabaral is facing an election protest filed by defeated opponent Charisse Menchavez, who lost by just two votes.
Yesterday, Charisse led several supporters in holding a “silent protest” directed at reelected Barangay Captain Mary Ann de los Santos.
They condemned de los Santos for allegedly exerting pressure on and influencing witnesses in her election protest filed before the courts.
They displayed placards by the side of the road across the barangay hall that asked de los Santos to keep off the issue.
“Has the youth of Lahug really spoken?” read one placard, which challenged de los Santos’s earlier pronouncement that Charisse should accept her defeat since the barangay’s youth already made their voice known in the Oct. 29 elections.
Charisse asked the court to do a recount over alleged irregularities she noticed in the counting of the ballots.
She also alleged that de los Santos’ camp pressured her witnesses by dissuading them from testifying for her (Charisse).
Others, she said, were enticed with barangay scholarships if they will stop supporting her.
Interviewed in her office while the protest was happening, de los Santos challenged Charisse to have those who alleged that she pressured them to come out in the open.
“Until now wala gihapon. Are these all products of their active imagination? I am challenging the Menchavez sisters to produce those who they said I pressured, harassed, enticed with scholarships,” she said.
Outgoing Lahug SK chairperson Llewelyn Menchavez, Charisse’s sister, said in a separate interview that those de los Santos’ camp harassed were afraid to face her.
Often, she said, they get frightened in her presence and would just shirk back.
Next choice
The protest, though, was short-lived after de los Santos ordered barangay tanods to remove the placards on the road railings.
“That is not a poster area. And they have expressed their sentiments already,” de los Santos said.
Llewelyn said they no longer objected to what the tanods did because they did not want a confrontation. They were also satisfied that they made public their concerns.
Meanwhile, Bontuyan’s office and the SK Federation will hold the last orientation today for south district SK chairpersons.
The Cebu City Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) initially said that the new SK Federation president will be chosen on Dec. 2.
But Rolly said that Glena was told that the National SK Federation and the DILG have agreed to have the elections in the middle of December, with the federation presidents for the towns picked first.
