Sangguniang Kabataan: Starting 'em young, training 'em right

The Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) will be put in the same spotlight as the barangay on election day on October 30, 2023.

No longer seen as saling-pusa in Philippine politics, the youth council has been institutionalized by a law and entrusted with its own budget to expend.

Five years since the 2018 elections, young Filipinos now have a chance to vote for other young people making their first foray into the political arena, hopefully with fresh ideals that will pave the path for good governance.

SK evolution

From its inception as the Kabataang Barangay (KB) in the 1970s, the SK came about with the passage of Republic Act No. 10742 or the SK Reform Act (RA) of 2015, which took strides in engaging the youth to participate in governance.

Prior to the law, the 1987 Constitutional explicitly provided that the youth is an integral component of nation-building, and thus, in the Local Government Code of 1991, a section on the SK was established.

In 2022, RA No. 11768 was enacted or the SK Governance Reforms and Compensation Law, a move that one of its authors, Albay Representative Joey Salceda, said was “vital to reimaging the role of the SK in the skills development, youth employment, and learning.”

But since October 2016, Congress has postponed the Barangay and SK Elections (BSKE) four times. It was first moved to October 2017 and later pushed to May 2018.

The supposed May 2020 BSKE was also postponed to December 2022 and is now about to be held on October 30, 2023.

This has left a number of SK officials overstaying in their posts and overaged, as the law mandates that they be 18 to 24 years old.

Over 1.4 million candidates have filed their certificates of candidacy for the BSKE.  However, due to a Supreme Court ruling, the winners of the October 2023 elections will only have a two-year term or until 2025.

Breeding ground

Commission in Elections (Comelec) spokesperson Rex Laudiangco highlighted the key role the SK plays in bridging the gap between the government and the youth.  Good and well-trained SK leaders, thus, bring potential for the nation.

“This bridge has huge potential. SK officials will mature into leaders who are known in the community, who have concern for their constituents, who are responsible,” Laudiangco said.

For SK officials aspiring to become better leaders and to serve, the SK is indeed a good training ground.

The Comelec official said that a number of congressmen, senators, mayors and other local officials have started their political career in the SK.

“It’s a valuable training ground.  When you become a part of the local government unit, you will learn the administrative aspect, parliamentary proceedings, fiscal management,” he said.

“If an SK official takes to heart his role, then he can ripen into a seasoned politician,” he added.

Former Caloocan Representative Edgar Erice recalls his plunge into politics when he was 15 years old as KB chairman of a small barangay in Grace Park, Caloocan City.

“The difference is then, KB is purely volunteerism, there are no funds involved, so the projects that we do are really what you can say out of the resourcefulness of the youth,” he said.

Now, Erice said the SK gets 10 percent of the barangay funds.

“In the big, wealthy barangays, this means the SK gets millions in funds as well,” he added.

Political analyst Michael Yusingco of the Ateneo School of Government said the SK offers a venue for the youth to have an early start in public service or in politics and governance “in an organized manner.”

“Theoretically, we don’t want to elect public officials or political leaders that just come out of the blue, although that happens,” he said.

“We want to have a mechanism or an institution whereby young people can start early and engage in an organized manner in politics and governance with the hope that some of them will pursue a career in government –whether as an elected official, as in a local government official, or Congress, or the Senate, or the Presidency, if that's possible, …like a civil servant,” he added.

Yusingco said being involved in public service needs serious training.

“It’s not just about randomly posting in Facebook your pro or anti views on issues, it entails more.  The design of the SK is to provide our young people that forum or venue to engage in politics and learn firsthand what politics is about,” he said.

Challenging the system

The youth council has had its share of controversy in the past years, prompting some lawmakers to question its existence.

In 2013, Erice was so frustrated that he filed bills pushing for the SK abolition.

For Erice, SK became more synonymous with “School of Korapsiyon,” to depict how the youth councils have become the breeding ground of corrupt officials and political dynasties.

Erice explained that the corruption within the SK may be due to the exposure of young officials to the malpractices of the older officials. They misinterpreted graft and corruption as norms and mirrored them in their practice, he said.

“‘Yung nakikita sa matanda, akala nung bata tama,” he said. (What the youth see from their elders they think is right.)

Major reforms were institutionalized in the amended law, including:

•           expanding the age requirement from 15-17 years old to 18-24 years old

•           financial independence of SK and allocation of 10% of the barangay funds

•           creation of a local youth development council tasked with assisting in planning and executing SK projects

•           inclusion of an anti-political dynasty provision, prohibiting relatives up to the second degree of consanguinity of incumbent officials to vie for SK

•           mandatory training programs for SK officials before assuming office

The reformed law made Erice change his mind about SK abolition.

He said the council should be supported and supervised by the Department of Interior and Local Government and the Commission on Audit.

“Kung mababantayan sila, magkakaron ng mga checks sa barangay at SK, palagay ko magiging epektibo ang kanilang mga ginagawa para sa kapakinabangan ng kanilang mga communities,” he said.

(If there are checks in the performance of the barangay and the SK, then they can effectively serve the communities.)

Yusingco said that while corruption and other issues hounding the SK system are present, these should be addressed not by abolishing the SK.

“Right now, the bulk of our population,,, are the youth. Close to half in the next couple of years, will fall into that category of 18-24 years old, right? Instead of saying let’s abolish it, we have to instead reform it because there's still a constituency to be served,” he said.

The National Youth Commission (NYC), which serves as the national secretariat for SK, acknowledged that the council remains susceptible to the wrong practices of some barangay officials but said that corruption is not exclusive to the body.

“Every political or government position can be a breeding ground for corruption when tolerated. It just happened that the SK are the youngest officials,” NYC chairperson Ronald Cardema said.

Cardema said “mobilizing” the SK officials early on in their careers and boosting their leadership capabilities through training programs will help them avoid corruption.

In 2024, he said NYC is eyeing holding nation-building activities for SK every month in partnership with various government agencies.

Overstaying, overaged

With the delays in the elections, the youth also lost chances to vote for their new leaders in the communities.

For the SK leaders who have overstayed, did the postponements mean  lost opportunities at a career, raising a family, and chasing dreams outside of public service?

“It’s hard to give a blanket yes or no answer,” Yusingco said. “You may find a case where the community benefited because of the continuity, there was no vacancy, thus, services continued. To a certain extent, this is positive.”

But he said that there are those who aspired to be SK officials have reached the maximum age and could no longer run. In the same way, some sitting officials who have been given the mandate to carry on the task could not leave because their tenure has been extended.

“It’s a two-headed monster, it needs to be balanced.  But as to the benefits to the officials, maybe we can lean on the positive that they have received training, capacity building, so that’s going to help in terms of acquiring the skills they need,” Yusingco said.

“But it’s not the fault of the incumbent that they are still there; it’s the decision of Congress to postpone the elections.  The incumbents, they got the benefit.  For those who have been deprived of the opportunity, sorry.  But that’s the decision of Congress so we have to accept it,” he added.

The political analyst said that aspirants who are overaged for the youth council can run as barangay kagawad instead.

“By all means, go for it.  This is the opportunity, the barangay level.  The playing field should be leveled.  If they want to get into politics, this is the best time to start for them,” he said.

Hard right, easy wrong

The upcoming BSKE on October 30 will be a graduation of sorts for the youth officials, including those overstaying and overaged, who are now faced with the chance to make a fresh start.

Yusingco said the country has yet to fully see the effect of the reforms on the youth legislature but maintains its existence is vital to nation-building.

“There will be more generations of Filipino youth. We still need the SK because that is still going to be one of the ways to help our young people develop that political consciousness that they will need to be responsible citizens of the country,” said Yusingco.

“Not necessarily to become politicians or public officials, but to have that political consciousness that they need to be responsible citizens of the country,” he said.

For Laudiangco, the barangay can be a venue where one’s mettle for public service can be tested.

“Wala ka naman talagang makukuhang ikabubuhay at ikayayaman ‘pag matino ka sa barangay. Hindi ka yayaman diyan. Puro tulong, puro sakit ng ulo talaga. Nonetheless, kung gusto mo talaga tumulong, ‘yan ang paraan,” he said.

(You can't get a livelihood or get rich if you are an honest leader in a barangay. You won't get rich there. It’s purely helping others, and you would get headaches for it. Nonetheless, if you really want to help, that could be one way.)

Erice said the youth should be concerned and conscious of their role in community building.

“Mahalaga na conscious sila para madevelop yung kanilang sense of patriotism. Palagay ko 'yan yung kulang na kulang sa ating bansa –makabayan na diwa ng mga kabataan. Madedevelop ito through SK kung tama lang 'yung programa na gagawin ng mga local governments, ng DILG at ng NYC para sa kanila,” he said.

(They need to be conscious so that their sense of patriotism will be developed.  I think, that’s what the youth of today lack, and this will be developed through the SK if the right programs and training will be given to them by the Department of Interior and Local Government and the NYC.)

“Ang message ko lang, kayo ay dadaan sa matinding pagsubok. Maraming mga temptations, mga tukso. Sa aking experience kapag pinipili ko yung daan na madali para lang maabot ko yung aking mga hangarin, karaniwan na napapahamak ako. Pero kung mas pinipili ko 'yung mahirap na daan pero tama mas nagiging mabunga at matagumpay ang aking mga gawain. Kaya ang payo ko sa inyo: always choose the hard right over the easy wrong,” Erice said.

(The SK officials will go through a lot of tests and temptations.  From experience, whenever I choose the easy way to achieve my goals, sometimes unfortunate things happen.  My advice to the youth is:  Always choose the hard right over the easy wrong.) — LDF/KBK, GMA Integrated News