The Senate approved on third and final reading a measure which
seeks to strengthen the Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) by, among other things,
barring family and relatives of elected officials from seeking SK elections,
adjusting the age of SK officials, and providing trainings to professionalize
and make the elected SK members aware of their responsibilities.
Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, Jr., sponsor of
Senate Bill No. 2401, also known as the proposed Youth Development and
Empowerment Act of 2014, said that a provision in the bill prohibits family and
relatives of any public official, from national, provincial, city,
municipality, and barangay levels, including appointed ones, up to the second
degree of affinity and consanguinity, from seeking any SK position.
Originally, only family members and relatives of
provincial, city/municipal and barangay officials are prohibited from running
for any SK position.
“The anti-dynasty
provision prevents elected officials from exerting undue influence so that
their sons or daughters could be elected as ex-officio members in SK,” Mr. Marcos
said.
Senate President Franklin M. Drilon then said that the
approved bill is an important reform initiative that will help implement the
anti-political dynasty provision in Article II, Section 26, of the 1986
Constitution: “The ban on political dynasties at the youth governance level is
a good start in finally realizing the anti-political dynasty stance of our
Constitution, which is yet to be fully enabled in our laws.”
Among the other criticisms hurled against the SK is that
it exposes the youth to corruption. Comelec officials alleged that some
candidates had been engaged in poll fraud in 2013.
An offshoot of the Kabataang Barangay, the SK which was
established during martial law by then President Ferdinand Marcos, was designed
to give the youth a chance to be involved in community affairs and to provide
the government the means to inform them of the government's development
efforts.
According to Mr. Marcos, the proposed measure also calls
for the increase of age of the qualified SK applicants from 15 to 17 years old
to 18 to 24 years old to allow the youth to have a “more mature perspective on
their roles and responsibilities as elected SK officials.
“Increasing the age of SK officials from 15-17 years of
age to 18-24 years old would provide them with the necessary training to
professionalize their skills and enable the youth to be more accountable for
their actions,” Mr. Marcos explained.
He said elected SK officials would also be provided with
more training programs to “professionalize their service and make sure that
they would serve not on the basis of bloodline or affinity but because of a
dedication to serve.”
Mr. Marcos said the measure also calls for the creation
of the Local Youth Development Council (LYDC), a body composed of
representatives from different community-based youth organizations that will be
tasked to ensure wide and multi-sectoral youth participation in local
governance.
“This measure leads the way in preparing a new generation
of leaders, bringing with them new ideas and energy, fired by a passion and
idealism that burn strong in today’s youth,” Mr. Marcos stressed.
The measure is co-authored by Sen. Cynthia Villar and
co-sponsored by Senators Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III, Francis “Chiz” Escudero,
Paolo Benigno “Bam” Aquino IV, Joseph Victor “JV” Ejercito and Ramon “Bong”
Revilla Jr. (Yvonne Almirañez)
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