11/09/2025
๐ข๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ฆ๐ง๐๐ง๐๐ ๐๐ก๐ง
๐ฆ๐๐ก๐๐๐จ๐ก๐๐๐ก๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ง๐๐๐ก ๐ ๐จ๐ก๐๐๐๐ฃ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ฅ๐๐ง๐๐ข๐ก, ๐ง๐๐ก๐ง๐๐ก๐๐๐ก, ๐ฆ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐ ๐๐ข๐ง๐๐๐๐ง๐ข
๐ฅ๐: ๐๐๐๐ ๐ฆ๐๐๐ฅ๐๐ง๐๐ฅ๐ฌโ๐ฆ ๐๐๐๐ ๐ง๐ข ๐๐๐ข๐๐๐ฆ๐ ๐ง๐๐ ๐ฆ๐๐ก๐๐๐จ๐ก๐๐๐ก๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ง๐๐๐ก (๐ฆ๐)
๐ฆ๐๐ฃ๐ง๐๐ ๐๐๐ฅ ๐ญ๐ญ, ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ฑ
The Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) Municipal Federation of Tantangan, South Cotabato, expresses its strong opposition to the recent pronouncement of the Secretary of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) to abolish the Sangguniang Kabataan. While we acknowledge the need to strengthen youth governance and address operational gaps, we firmly believe that abolition is not the answer. What is needed is reinforcement, reform, and the full and faithful implementation of Republic Act No. 10742, otherwise known as the Sangguniang Kabataan Reform Act of 2015.
The SK is the countryโs only institutionalized mechanism that gives the Filipino youth a direct and legitimate seat in governance, community development, and nation-building. To abolish it is to silence the voices of the youth sector at a time when their active participation is urgently required. The issues confronting young people todayโmental health concerns, climate change, gaps in education, unemployment, and civic disengagementโnecessitate youth-led solutions that must be pursued within government structures, not outside of them.
Rather than dismantling the SK, we call upon the DILG to intensify monitoring and accountability mechanisms, ensure mandatory capacity-building programs, and institutionalize values-driven leadership training. If the problem is inefficiency, then the remedy must be reformโnot eradication. Numerous SK councils across the country have already demonstrated their potential through programs addressing drug prevention, civic engagement, and disaster response. A few cases of dysfunction should never be grounds to invalidate an entire democratic institution, but instead should challenge us to improve it.
Furthermore, abolishing the SK runs contrary to Section 13, Article II of the 1987 Philippine Constitution, which mandates the State to โinvolve the youth in nation-buildingโ and protect their โphysical, moral, spiritual, intellectual, and social well-being.โ The SK is not a privilege to be withdrawnโit is a constitutional mechanism for youth empowerment. The Philippine Youth Development Plan 2023โ2028 likewise recognizes the SK as a vital partner in achieving inclusive and sustainable development goals at the grassroots level (National Youth Commission, 2023).
We, the youth leaders of Tantangan, do not only advocate for the retention of the SKโwe embrace the responsibility to make it work. We commit to uphold accountable leadership, implement inclusive and relevant programs, and serve with integrity. We urge our national leaders to join us in strengthening, not dismantling, this institution that has long been a voice and a vehicle for the Filipino youth.
