CALLS TO abolish the Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) or youth council have once again been put forth by various sectors that believe that SK is no longer serving its purpose. Elections for SK and barangay officials are slated for October 28.

Some have pointed out that giving access to government funds and entrusting important responsibilities to young people have proven to be counterproductive, as they expose individuals to shady political practices at an early age.

Established by virtue of the Local Government Code of 1991, or Republic Act (RA) 7160, the SK was designed to replace the Martial Law-era Kabataang Barangay. It was originally intended to empower the youth through direct participation in government. Citizens aged 15 to 17 years old could run and be elected as the kagawad, or councilors, who comprise the barangay’s SK.

SK kagawads are expected to implement resolutions and projects that are relevant to the development of their respective barangay’s youth. The barangay council allots the SK a part of its funds to support such efforts.

“School of corruption”

In an interview with The Philippine Star, Caloocan City Representative Edgar Erice, author of House Bill 1122 that seeks to abolish the SK, believes that SK officers have been “exposed to corrupt practices of their unscrupulous elders in government service” and that the SK has been transformed “into a school of corruption.”

Erice plans to establish the Barangay Youth Council (BYC) as an alternative to the SK. The youngest elected barangay councilor will head the BYC, which will be composed of different committees such as sports, environment, education and culture and the arts. Members of the BYC will not be paid, unlike the SK wherein the SK chairman receives the same benefits and compensation as other barangay councilors.

Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chairman Sixto Brillantes, Jr. has also expressed his support for the SK’s abolition. According to a report by The Philippine Daily Inquirer (PDI), Brillantes observed an uncharacteristic surge of registrants during the last few days of the registration period for the barangay and SK polls.

“The high number of people were abnormal,” he said. “Did you see the large number of people? The unruly behavior? There was even a stampede. Has that happened before? No.”

“We are teaching them to resort to hakot even at their young age,” Brillantes told PDI, referring to the practice of herding supporters to register.

Comelec Commissioner Lucenito Tagle, also in favor of SK’s abolition, has called the SK a “breeding ground for political dynasties” and “corrupt politicians.”

For Tagle, veteran politicians have used the SK to extend their influence over barangays. “We don’t see anything of importance that has been produced by the SK. We have many cases here where parents are the ones intervening in vote-buying and irregularities (in SK elections),” he told PDI.

Reforming the “voice of the youth”

Yet some believe that the SK still deserves its spot as “the voice of the youth.” What is needed, however, are reforms to ensure more efficient operation. Senator Teofisto “TG” Guingona III told PDI that the issue lies in whether or not 15 to 17-year-olds should be given the responsibility to handle public funds.

“An SK member who is only 15 does not yet have the capacity to enter into contracts and would have to encounter issues on fiscal management as part of the job description. Since he is young, he is vulnerable to influence by adults,” he said.

One change former National Youth Commission chair and now Senator Paolo Benigno “Bam” Aquino IV has in mind is to again include people aged 18 to 21 in the SK. He believes that they are more “mature” and capable of handling the responsibilities of an SK officer. Aquino tells Rappler that what the SK needs is an “overhaul,” not abolition.

Meanwhile, Quezon City Representative Winston Castelo has proposed eliminating the budget of the SK, envisioning it as a purely volunteer-driven council.

“Big loss”

Tuburan SK Federation President and legal management junior Bret Monsanto thinks that since “the SKs are the only [form of] youth [representation] we have in the government, it would be a big loss to rip that from the system.”

Yet Monsanto concedes that the SK is in need of much improvement. A major problem he sees is the lack of “development planning” and training for the officers on basic bureaucratic processes.

“In my two year[s] as president, I have noticed that the SK officials under me find it hard to liquidate projects on their own because of the lack of proper training and guidance,” he said.

He also observed that SK officers find it difficult to balance their responsibilities in the youth council with their roles as students.

“SK can do only so little, not only because of the small amount of budget allocated to them, but also because most of them are studying in school. Being a student is considered a full-time occupation and even our international laws would tell us that education is paramount,” Monsanto stressed.

Since only the SK chairman is given salary as an ex-officio member of the barangay council, he proposes giving the SK kagawads some sort of “allowance” to motivate them into being more active in the youth council.

To remain noble

Ironically, it seems that those who are expected to be exemplary guides and models for the young officers are in fact, the biggest stumbling blocks to fully realizing the SK’s ideals.

According to Monsanto, some projects cannot be implemented simply because the SK kagawad proposing them has differing political views from the barangay captain.

However, silver linings still persist. Barangay Wack-Wack SK Kagawad Kat Gabriel says that, in her chapter, activities are overseen by the elders of their barangay and their budget is not directly managed by SK officials themselves.

“In our area, the SK is very much controlled by elders who restrict and guide them to fully utilize our capacity to engage the youth in worthwhile activities. The SK Budget is managed by the elders in our barangay. No allocation to individual members is given,” Gabriel explained.

“My opinion is that SK remains to be a significant tool to train younger individuals to become good, conscientious leaders of our society. Guidance from the more knowledgeable elders of the barangay is important, for as long as the elders remain noble in their intentions and will guide the SK officials to the right path,” she said.