Wednesday, November 07, 2007 Mayor mulls SK law review
MAYOR Celso Lobregat is keen on supporting the move to review or amend the law creating the Sangguniang Kabataan, the youth group in every village or community.
Lobregat specifically cited the provisions on age limit and the need for representation in the City Council.
“Let us ponder on the question on how effective the SK is when it comes to having membership in the City Council?” the mayor said, stressing that studies and school activities should be the first priority of the youths.
The law states that the SK members should be between 15-17 years old. The elected presidents in the municipal and city federations sit as ex-officio member in the municipal or city council respectively while the provincial president represent the youth in the Provincial Board. All of these ex-officio members automatically chair the council's committee on youth and sports development.
“Our 15 to 17 year olds should attend to their school activities and that should be their first priority,” Lobregat stressed.
The age requirement set under the law also becomes insignificant, he said, as by the time the SK official finishes his three-year term he is already over the age limit.
The mayor at the same time cited the poor voter turnout in the recent SK polls which was held simultaneously with the barangay election last October 29.
He said in some barangays, a number of youth groups could not even complete the number of candidates required for the election.
Several national legislators have proposed the amendment and review of the SK law in the House of Representatives and the Senate.
The SK is the governing body in every chapter of the Katipunan ng Kabataan or youth federation. Each barangay in the country is mandated by law to have its own chapter of the Katipunan ng Kabataan in which the members elect officers called as the Sangguniang Kabataan. (Sheila E. Covarrubias)
