THE MOUNTAINEER

The Sangguniang kabataan: A failure?
EDISON L. BADDAL

The synchronized sangguniang kabataan and barangay elections is just around the corner
and many individuals with desire to serve the public are filing their certificates of candidacy. Among the wannabees are teenage boys and girls who are joining their adult counterparts in seeking leadership offices in the SK, the governing body of the katipunan ng mga kabataan, in their barangays.

To a casual observer, one could not but observe their willingness to handle youth leadership posts. Their eagerness to serve their peers signifies optimism that the youth, despite their callow minds, frivolous nature and innocence, are aching to be part of the government via the SK.

Such eagerness disguises their genuine intentions but one thing seems certain, though; their effervescence in gunning for youth leadership posts betrays their manifest desire to train for higher leadership posts in government later on. Recently, many issues surfaced against the SK as a body tasked with authority over the youth organizations in the barangays.

Many are questioning the worth of the SK in nation building. Many are also cynical of it as a vehicle to catalyze the youth towards productive contribution in the villages where they are elected. From the comments of those who are against the SK, it is quite obvious that nothing good is expected from it.

Thus, its abolition is being vigorously pushed even while some SK leaders, past and present have been proven as effective and credible. With the cry of various quarters for its abolition what with its perceived non-productivity, its abolition won’t be lamented much as it is a good riddance anyhow.

By and large, critics have also assailed their indolence and irreverent attitude. The SK, which began its existence as a body in Jan. 1, 1992 (effectivity of the code) became a butt of jokes
and malicious comments several years hence when its officialdom proved unworthy.

It dismally failed the expectations of the people, much more the young ones. This was triggered by the fact that the succeeding crop of SK leaders had nothing to show as far as the objective of the code was concerned. The SK was created in order to make a dent in their respective communities and contribute to the development of the youth politically, socially, morally, intellectually, spiritually, economically and culturally.

This is aside from the SK serving as a training ground for leadership among the youth. Fact is, more than a decade of existence the SKs have nothing worthwhile to show as far as the codal objectives are concerned except for barangay sports competitions, worn-out sports equipment and uniforms and concrete, stylized boundary markers.

However, there are current and previous SK officers who made their mark in leadership through
initiation of worthwhile projects that impacted on the youth and the community in their turfs. But these standouts comprise a negligible lot compared to the predominant majority who proved
themselves not up to the tasks heaved upon them by their peers. At this juncture, it is timely
to reflect on the worth of the SK and offer some perspectives on its dismal failure as a body that caters to the youth. Past and present events and circumstances proved the purpose of the
program as having veered far from it.

This is because the members of the SK, just like their KB counterparts during the Marcos era, were used as instruments of obnoxious acts of their adult colleagues in legislative councils. Then and now, they are easily swayed by their colleagues, who are much older than them.

Being callow, naïve, oftentimes they just bow down to the perverse whims of their mature
colleagues. As for instance, in the case of the SK 10 percent percent fund prescribed by the code in the Barangays. This fund is supposed to be used only for sports equipment
and sports-related activities. However, due to undue pressure from the barangay officials, the SK chairmen just acquiesce to the use of the 10 percent SK fund for infrastructure projects.

Technically, the 10 percent should never be used for infra projects as such are supposed to be under the responsibility of the barangay officials. In order for the 10 percent SK Fund not to be diverted to infra projects, the national SK leadership promulgated a memorandum which enumerated other uses for the fund which are training of the youth for livelihood ventures and other capability-building programs, campaign against drug abuse and for environmental protection like tree planting.

Naivete and ignorance on the part of the SK leaders subverted their morals and courage and deprived them the confidence to fight for the proper utilization of the fund. Or in the case of the SK federation presidents at the municipal and provincial legislative councils, the bad examples of their morally deficient and mature colleagues usually cascaded to them and perverted them.

As their colleagues exercise moral ascendancy over them, oftentimes they just play blind and deaf to the dictates of their mature colleagues which is quite contrary to the purpose of the body existence. Worst, innocent as they are, they are unwittingly used as tools of corruption. Hence, unable to go against the odious practices and the perverse values of the older ones,
they just indifferent to the shenanigans of their colleagues and later become perverse themselves.

A certain case in point is a phlegmatic story shared by an SK leader in Mt. Province to a facilitator in a training on SK leadership a couple of years back. In a social hour, while the said facilitator was jamming with the SK chairs over a bottle of beer, one of the chairs became
locquacious.

As his inhibitions wore off, his temerity got the better of him and he told his drinking buddies, including the facilitator, that he once lost a handsome amount in a casino where he and his
older colleagues went for pleasure gambling. The flabbergasted facilitator raised his quizzical
eyebrows at such immodest revelation so he asked the chair where he got the money.

With caution thrown to the wind, the SK chair brazenly announced that it was his extra income from a project sourced from his share of the development fund of the council where he sits as an ex-officio member. While the SK leaders are regarded as generally inactive and unproductive given their gullible nature, they themselves become unwilling instruments or agents of corruption at such a tender age.

By kowtowing to every perverse whim of their mature colleagues who are supposed to epitomize integrity, they are instead drawn to their shenanigans. So that the training for future and bigger leadership posts via the SK is negated. The worst upshot is that it might become a vehicle
for a much more complex and subtle shades of perversion later. Heaven forbid, though, that this may happen.

The unproductivity of most SK Officials and perversity of many of them are the two most potent
reasons why many quarters are clamoring for the abolition of the SK. In fact, when a senator once proposed a bill for its abolition, many of those persistently against the SK were gladdened.

To all the incoming SK Officials, may you prove yourselves wiser, nobler and more imbued
with integrity than your outgoing counterparts. I am keeping my fingers crossed that many
incoming SK Officials will increase the ranks of their illustrious past and outgoing counterparts.