Friday, August 03, 2007 SK needs to be reformed, but not abolished: Dayap By Grace L. Plata
THE Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) only needs to be reformed, but not abolished, Davao City SK Federation chair April Marie Dayap said, reacting to a Commission on Elections (Comelec) official's statement that the SK should be abolished as it has become too politicized.
Even Councilor Diosdado Mahipus, as SK alumnus, agreed that the SK indeed has become politicized, but did not see the need to abolish it, a view mirrored by Dayap.
Dayap said though abolishing SK is not a solution to the problem that has cropped up. Instead, a system reform should be placed in order.
According to Dayap, members of the Congress have admitted lapses in crafting laws pertaining to SK. These include synchronizing SK elections with that of the barangay.
"Kung sabay man gud sa (if together with) barangay election, SK candidates are forced to campaign side by side by barangay candidates or run under political parties that barangay candidates are affiliated with. If they win, siyempre (of course) they will be in some way owing to the barangay officials. Thus, the great amount of influence ng mga adults sa mga SK officials in the barangay," Dayap said.
Dayap added that separating the SK elections from that of the barangay is part of the bill that the National SK Federation has submitted to Congress.
Aside from that, Dayap said SK seeks to have an implementing arm, which also serves as an overseeing committee that will make sure that SK projects are implemented in a synchronized manner from the national to the grassroots level.
"SK is often compared to the Kabataang Barangay (KB) in the past. Ingon nila mas maayo daw ang performance sa KB (they say KB is better in terms of performance). Maayo man gud sila sauna kay naay naga-guide sa ila (what was good n the past is that they were guided) on what to do and how to go about doing it. Ang SK, walay body nga designated to guide us. Dili pa mi hanas, so nangangapa (we grapple in the dark) in many ways. Naay untay body nga makatabang mag train ug mag guide sa (I hope there is a body that helps and train and guide us at) SK," Dayap said.
Dayap said the proposal submitted to Congress also aims to adjust the age bracket of the SK membership, from 15 to 17 to 15 to 21 years old.
"Senator Loren Legarda has already passed a bill in the Senate proposing some of the reforms that we have suggested pero wala pa yung hiwalay ang elections ng SK. Senator Legarda's proposal is more on the allocation for the SK. But members of the Lower House have expressed commitment to support us," Dayap said.
Dayap also said it is always good to have youth representatives in the legislative body thus SK need not be scrapped.
