Tuesday, April 15, 2008 Seares: Scrapping the SK By Pachico A. Seares News Sense
AFTER “studies and consultations,” Sen. Aquilino Pimentel finally filed a bill seeking to abolish the Sangguniang Kabataan (SK).
SK is the youth sector’s political unit that has in each locality a barangay council, a town federation, a province confederation, and maybe, given the penchant for this sort of alliances, a national association of SK chiefs. An SK leader sits in each local legislature: barangay, town, city and province.
With the youths having their political apparatus, SK is a lovely theory. In practice, though, it mostly sucks.
Don’t count minor scandals in which female unmarried SK leaders get pregnant while in office. Senator Nene has other reasons not remotely tied with untamed hormones. And his arguments are compelling.
Pimentel lists failure of SKs to deliver services, exposure of the young to corrupt practices and absenteeism of leaders.
That SK heads cannot be found in their barangays, the senator says, is his “strongest argument” to scrap SK. Forceful, yes, but hardly the most persuasive.
Tentacles
Nene fails to cite tentacles of adult politics gripping SK and the ills they bring: busing, feeding and buying voters; herding leaders in resorts or hotels; and promoting dynasties by using political clans’ children and relatives as proxies of power.
Not surprising that the senator didn’t cite the core of SK failure. He’s a product of traditional politics. Now in his late years, Senator Nene may be less “trapo” but he can’t brazenly offend his own tribe.
SK has become a trapping of those entrenched in power. That’s why I doubt if the powerful blocs in Congress will let it go.
