Tuesday, October 30, 2007 Legislators mull SK abolition
THIS year’s election for officials of the Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) in more than 43,000 barangays in the country may be the last with the snowballing move in both chambers of Congress to abolish the SK.
Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr. said the proposal to phase out the SK is being considered by lawmakers in view of feedbacks coming from across the archipelago that this youth organization has lost its usefulness to the community.
Pimentel said the first objection to the continued existence of the SK is the observation that youth leaders “are too young to participate in serious discussions of the local government.”
“Many of them are studying and they are forced to leave their barangays to attend to their schooling in the poblacion, and some other distant places. Thus, they neglect their official functions,” he said.
He said a lot of people are concerned that the SK has exposed youth leaders to situations that makes them susceptible to dishonest practices in the handling of public funds due to absence or inadequacy of safeguards.
Pimentel said while he is inclined to favor the abolition of the SK, there should be alternative mechanisms for giving the youth some kind of representation or involvement in government.
He said the youth should have an involvement in the running of affairs of the local communities, but a primary question that must be resolved is whether the SK officials should be merely appointed instead of elected.
“Related to this is the question that must be resolved is whether the SK officials should be merely appointed instead of elected. And there is the issue of who will be authorized to appoint the SK officials,” he said.
Pimentel feared that having the city or town mayor become the appointing authority will lead to problems of partisan politics.
He said he will continue to consult the next batch of SK officials on the alternative structure for the political representation of the youth. (CPB/Sunnex)
