The Sangguniang Kabataan Federation of Municipality X in Bulacan: Do Nepotism and Partisanship Exist?

Abstract

Municipality X is the garden capital of the province of Bulacan. Municipality X is a first Class municipality comprised of fourteen barangays. The Municipal! SK Federation consists of SK chairpersons in the municipality. The members elect from among themselves the president, vice-president, and such other officers as may be necessary. The municipal federation presidency is the most contested position in the Sanoguniang Kabataan officership. During their Incumbency, SK officers are exempt from payment of tuition and matriculation fees while enrolled in state colleges and universities, provided that the officer is enrolled within or the nearest area of his jurisdiction. There were three candidates for the post of the municipal federation presidency. Due to some lobbying efforts of the padnnos of the inree candidates, the mayor decided to have a kasunduan in which the three years is divided among three chairpersons. They had draw lets to determine who will sit as first, second and third president. The federation in fact had an ‘election’ at the scheduled date and time as stated in the law. However. it was already scripted. Moreover, the unexpected extension of SK ienm brought havoc within the federation which also called for another mayor's intervention to the ‘appointment’ of the fourth federation president. For three years, due to pakikisama, hiya and utang na Ioob, the politics of the SK Federation has always been under the auspices of the mayor and other influential and powerful people in the municipality. They usually have some bargaining agreements with the politicians in their project implementations which would oftentimes result to diluted proposals. Thus, they fail to realize their full potential, advance the interest and promote the development of the youth in their municipality and make them ineffective and puppet leaders. The SK federation of this municipality has their foot in the door of governance and they have allowed themselves to be sidelined.