Sunday, November 25, 2007

Social scientists, politicians, youth leaders unite to kill SK

Social scientists, politicians, youth leaders unite to kill SK


OUTRAGED by the trapo-linked politics of candidates in the last barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections, social scientists, politicians, youth and student leaders are moving to abolish barangay elections and abolish the SK itself.

The barangay and the SK are forbidden by the Local Government Code from being political and partisan.

Nearly everyone wants to kill the SK—including the creator of that body itself, Sen. Aquilino Pimentel.

Other politicians who want the SK abolished are former Iloilo congressman and now Vice-Governor Rolex Suplico and Batangas Vice-Governor Jose Antonio Leviste 2nd.

Besides the SK’s having become as bad as trapo politicians, Suplico is for abolishing the youth assembly because of its dismal performance.

Leviste was an SK official before he became a professional politician. He is also disgusted with the SK’s failures and present trapo-style behavior.

The sentiment in the House of Representatives is growing that SK should be abolished because it can never be kept pure from partisan politics and the manipulation of powerful political parties and individual politicians.

It seems that most of the mayors of Pan­gasinan also want the SK abolished. The Inquirer even reported League of Municipalities of the Philippines President Mayor Ramon Guico as having said, “The mayors do not openly speak [about the issue] because of political reasons, but they are for the abolition of the SK.” The Inquirer report also quoted Guico saying, “many SK presidents fail to attend the municipal, city and provincial council sessions held during school days because they need to go to their classes.”

A report by the Philippine Council for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ) came out just after the October 29 elections. By Avigail Olarte, it had the title “Kickbacks and love gifts SOP for SK execs.”

The report details how corrupt the young trapo-clones of the SK have become.

Samar News of Catbalogan City ran a well-reasoned article, “The case against the Sanggu­niang Kabataan [SK],” by political scientist Antonio Morales. It is the most incisive and devastating paper written to support the death of the SK.

Several student groups have also registered their desire to see the SK abolished by Congress.

The National Confederation of Youth Advocates, however, insists that the SK merely needs to be reformed not abolished.
--The Manila Times staff

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