Day 003: Three Years in One Post (Not quite)

So, I wont be too wordy this time as much as this bullet-type outline of major achievements I prepared for the End-of-Term Reporting. (You bet, this is a long sentence, wink)

End-of-Term Report: Nagapasalamat, SK Batch 2010-2013

Outline

Good morning!

If you are a part of the said activity, please stand up to be recognized.

Cultural Games/ Sports – Kag. Kent Harold Rudis

SummerKadahan

Volleyball Women 3^rd Runner-Up (Consistent)

Senior Division 1^st Runner-Up (2011)

Junior Division Champion (2013)

Inter-District Basketball Competition

Laro ng Lahi

Livelihood – Kag. Sheryl Neres

Electrical Installation Maintenance

30 enrolled, 27 graduated

Welding

25 enrolled, 17 graduated

Green Brigade – Kag. Joila Abao

Attendance to Youth for Environment Summer Camp and Training (YESO)

Output: Clean-up drive

Health – Kag. Jessa Boncales

Red Cross Youth Training

Medical Mission (Post-Linggo Ng Kabataan Celebration, 2011)

            >50 Dental Extraction

            100 Medical Check-up with medicine

Moral Recovery & Education – Kag. April Rose Villa (SK Treasurer)

Scholarship Program

            Currently serving 150 young people

            Expansion of grants for MSU students

            Increase in stipend

Legislative – Kag. Lovely Manzo (SK Secretary)

Sumbanan Awards

            Sir Larry Laroco

            Atty. Rochelle Mahinay-Sero

            Mrs. Rosalinda Mondido

            Ma’am Frenila, wife of our Punong Barangay

            Ma'am Marissa & DSWD

            Clai Pasion

SK Governance

Infrastructure – Kag. Krayna Savares

Pedestrian lane repainting

Movable Goals

Renovation & Expansion of AVR at FNHS (P500,000; on progress)

Collaborative Programs

Purok Visitations (2011)

Purok SK Elections

            2,064 PSK Enlisted

Kal’ton Festivals

            Mutya Ng Fatima

            Drum & Bugle Competition

            Dance & Singing Competitions

            Academic Competition

2012 OutreachProgram

            5 Stations: Handwashing; Segregation; Games/ Activities; Story Telling; Feeding

            50 volunteers from FNHS SSG Officers, PSK Officials, PYAP, & NGOs

            More than 500 children from different puroks

iLead 1, 2, 3

            More than 50 participants every year

            Sessions for:

                                    Purok governance

                                    Resolution making

                                    Parliamentary Procedure

                                    Environment & Sanitation

                                    Financial Management

                                    Love & Relationship

                                    Sunday Fellowship, Devotional

            Who can forget XY, The Amazing Race, and Talent’s Night?

Linggo NgKabataan

            Laro Ng Lahi

            Literary, & Arts Competition

            Evangelical Night

            Awards Night

            Photo booth & Fireworks!!!

Travel Opportunities

Attendance to International Youth Day, Ilo-Ilo (Output: MDG for LNK, Music Video)

Attendance to Youth for Environment (YES-O) Summer Camp and Training, Baguio City (Output: Outreach, & Clean-up Drive)

Major Assistance/ Donation

Aside from the solicitations, and sport materials given:

Assistance to Fatima (ShowTime) Performers
Assistance to Purok 39.2 Sports Festival

Assistance to Dianne Eve Abellana, Girls Scout (National)

NASA & FNHS for National Science Competition

Kalilangan Festival Representation through FNHS (3 years)

Donation to ALS (Alternative Learning System)

            Computer Set

            DSLR camera

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To God be all the glory!

Any more words?

Yes, to God be all the glory! ;)

Day 095: It Tells Us Something...

As of now, lamentations will suffice what’s been said and done on the bicameral Sangguniang Kabataan Polls discussion resolution. However, let’s have a run-down and try sifting positivity.

Terms.

Hold-over, postponement, and reformation are the three words the participative circle of Sangguniang Kabataan has been hearing these past few weeks.

It is important to contextualize the terms posed above before we move along: a ‘hold-over’ will practically mean that the current Sangguniang Kabataan officials will still be serving until reformation is carried out, of course, with the years to be defined by our legislators; ‘postponement’ is the arrangement of the Sangguniang Kabataan Elections much later than scheduled; and ‘reform’ is the realignment and specification of new or enhanced set of Sanggguniang Kabataan governance guidelines, along with its composition, qualifications, powers, functions, and duties, among others.

Versions.

The lower house approved a 3-year postponement without bestowing power to the incumbent Sangguniang Kabataan to hold power. Thus, a ‘vacuum’ of youth participation is imminent. The Senate’s version is postponing the polls to 2014, while the present officials are allowed for a ‘hold-over’. After reviews and discussion, the bicameral panel produced what can be most congruent to the anticipated Sangguniang Kabataan reform.

“Whether Congress approves the SK Reform bill or not, elections will still be held anytime between 28 October 2014 and 23 February 2015 thereby giving Congress a natural deadline for the passage of a law that would massively address the iniquities and structural limitations of the SK as an institution. Failure to approve an SK Reform Law would have put this postponement to naught.” (NYC; Full article available here.)

Arguments.

The decision made last Tuesday 24 September that there will be no hold over AND the positions will be vacant until reformation ensues raised brows with regards to major provisions of law. These will be just citations with minute annotations. These can be personal points of interpretation and guidance is highly solicited.

Article II, Sec. 13 of the 1987 Philippine Constitution states,

“The State recognizes the vital role of the youth in nation-building and shall promote and protect their physical, moral, spiritual, intellectual, and social well-being. It shall inculcate in the youth patriotism and nationalism, and encourage their involvement in public and civic affairs.”

The ‘vacuum’ stripped away the constitutional rights of the Filipino youth, since their involvement in public and civic affairs made through the Sangguniang Kabataan. It is unacceptable to think otherwise because the Sangguniang Kabataan is the youth arm of the government in the barangay that provides constitutionally specified growth and enhancement opportunities. NGOs and POs may have had their share in the grassroots but since we are emanating this discussion from the constitution, the direct response would be “It’s the Sangguniang Kabataan!”

As member of the Sangguniang Kabataan, arguments of inefficacy, corruption, or irrelevance, which many proves to be true, cannot be discredited. That said, there is still a violation of our constitutional rights. We uphold reform but we cannot uphold non-representation of the youth sector in the barangay.

Lastly, this point will come from the bible of local governance and creation, the Local Government Code of 1991, otherwise known as RA 7160.

“Sec. 423. Creation and Election. - (a) There shall be in every barangay a sangguniang kabataan to be composed of a chairman, seven (7) members, a secretary, and a treasurer.”

The word shall in this statement direct a future action and its completion is not a request but a strong assertion and intention of doing what it demands. Since there will be no holdover, and not even an election, we violated the founding principles of local governance.

The argument here is the unlawful decision of keeping the positions vacant. And it should not have happened. Now, what else can be transgressed? The constitution was held no use, RA 7160 bland. What can possibly stop these legislators totally removing youth participation and representation in the government?

Even these are brought out it will not change their decision but perhaps ignite something for us young Filipinos.

This the way we are shaken, reminded, with the voices calling us to stop addiction, end sloth and unproductivity, and wake up from slumber! There is no intention of breeding activists but a generation that will rise up proving the purpose of our kind, the purpose of nation building and progress.

What now?

The 10 per cent SK fund will not longer be at the disposal of the SK, youth representative in the barangay, but on the hands of the Sangguniang Barangay. So the committee on Youth & Sports Affairs, dutifully stated by law to be given to the SK Chairperson, will be assigned to an SB member and it’s up for him or her to appropriate. Gladly, the divisions, e.g., 10 per cent Livelihood, 10 per cent Capability Building, will be maintained. What we can’t be sure is the details of the said appropriations.

To promote accountability to where it’s needed the most, it can be suggested that a resolution be passed that in the years,until the Sangguniang Kabataan polls and reform is completed, the committee chairman must allow youth from the barangay form part his ‘external’ committee membership. Through this, the youth will still be an active participant of what concerns them.

The subsidiary members will also have their qualifications as well, which are to be set and evaluated by the Sangguniang Barangay Council members. After completing the phase, the SB members will make the final approval of memberships.

There might be no financial assistance for the members of the aforementioned committee, unless they are employed as part of the government employees in the barangay with supplementary functions. This will at least ease the threatening situation of total exclusion of youth participation from local governance. There might be a better suggestion than this and it is greatly invited.

Any more words?

The sunset is closing our term of office. We still have some important activities coming.

Day 108: 2013 SK Election Postponed

In every proposition is an opposition. Many would like a postponement of the Barangay Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) election and the same expanse of people affirms the contrast.

Key players and the SK.

Inefficacy. Irrelevance. Corruption.

The gist of postponing the SK Elections. However, what remains the burden of the pro-reform groups and the legislators are: First, the assurance that a year will satisfy all consultations, synthesis and legal promulgations needed for an effective, relevant and productive Sangguniang Kabataan (Perhaps this would not be the name after reformation, but let’s use it for the meantime); And second, how would the higher government reconcile the policy to the newly registered SK voters.

COMELEC and the SK Elections.

Before the postponement is the aggressive stance of the Commission on Election (COMELEC) of SK's abolition, which is funny. It’s not for the COMELEC to say!

It should be crystal to the populace that the commission is tasked “to make sure we have fair, honest, clean and orderly elections. It is beyond their jurisdiction nor competency to say whether an institution should be abolished or reform.)”, Undersecretary Leon Flores III, Chairman of the National Youth Commission. Read full article here.

Besides, Republic Act No. 9340, otherwise known as “AN ACT AMENDING REPUBLIC ACT NO. 9164, RESETTING THE BARANGAY AND SANGGUNIANG KABATAAN ELECTIONS, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES”, states that a synchronized Barangay and the SK Elections is to be held every three years in last Monday of October. Let's keep it that way, until further notices.

The SK Election Postponed!

Granted the SK Election is postponed, there are ways the newly registered SK, specifically the prospective SK Officials, can take part on the SK Governance.

Every five years, the barangay conducts Barangay Development Investment Plan (BDIP) where the present SK Chairpersons can invite the intending SK Officials to incorporate their plans and aspirations for the barangay. We also have the Barangay Annual Investment Plan (BAIP), where a more specific one-year goal setting is discussed and laid-out.

The involvement of the potential SK Chairpersons/ Officials will be very healthy for the barangay as we spend that waiting period for the next youth council election.

BUT it should be noted that whether or not there is postponement in the SK Elections, the youth in the barangay must be involved in the planning, in one way or another. Some input collection venues would be during the General Assembly, purok meetings, or a special meeting called by the present SK Officials, to name just a few.

Any more words?

Well, I must bring out that I’m against the generalization of having Sangguniang Kabataan as breeding ground for corruption, and not the fact that some barangay verifies the comment. These are two different things.

Also, there's no need to be bombastic on concepts that one is not comfortable with, such as the postponement, that's why in the latter section instead of being reactive tried to be proactive in rendering ideas of what can be done given the SK Election is postponed.

We, in behalf of the council, will be glad to have a new set of SK Officials this year. However, with the brewing postponement we can just hope that decisions will turn out right, for the better. What the present Sangguniang Kabataan officials best do as of the moment is to spend this year as their last, with maintained “best”, until valid pronouncements from the houses are delivered.

We would like to hear from you! Comment below.

Day 162: SK Governance v.5.0

Our last session for the SK Governance program is "The SK Budget". We had it in the SK Office  with Mrs. Elizabeth P. Sorilla, Budget Officer IV, as lecturer.

Mrs. Sorilla will be retiring soon and she expressed her gratefulness to have her last lecture on budget, before retirement with the young. But the Sangguniang Kabataan of Barangay Fatima had the pleasure of having this seasoned public employee with us. However, her public service might not end here since she's posed for a position in their barangay, as an official.

She has given notable insights on how we the barangay budget came to be, and how the SK budget took its form. She further identified important aspects of the SK fund's allocation requirements and gave points to which project it may be put to good use in a barangay setting.

A focused discussion on SK Budget is available on this audio presentation via Youtube. This being said, she also discussed allocation of the barangay funds and a good amount of life experience.

Any more words?

We will be providing profiles of prospective Sangguniang Kabataan candidates, especially the Chairpersons. How these profiles are generated will be best explained on future posts.

I was thinking of sharing something funny on my next post.