As part of the continuing campaign aimed at
reducing demand for illegal drugs, the Philippine Drug Enforcement
Agency (PDEA) is pushing for the creation of a uniform anti-drug
advocacy program for Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) nationwide.
According to PDEA Director General Aaron N. Aquino, the uniformed
anti-drug advocacy programs for SK will be implemented in coordination
with the Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB) and Department of Interior and
Local Government (DILG).
During the SK Summit in Bren Guiao Convention Center in San Fernando,
Pampanga last Aug. 2, Aquino urged the 8,000 SK officials who attended
the event to organize less basketball tournaments and beauty pageants
and focus more on organizing anti-drug advocacy programs.
“SKs has a 5 percent annual budget from the barangay funds that can
be used for the implementation of anti-drug advocacy programs in their
community,” Aquino said.
Aquino also cited the capability of the youth in utilizing technology
as a way to effectively disseminate information against the drug
menace.
“SK officials can use the different social media platforms in
disseminating correct information to the youth. They can discourage
young people from using illegal drugs and educate them on the harmful
impact of this industry to an individual and to the society as a whole,”
he said, adding that youth leaders are also role models in their
respective barangays, municipalities and cities.
“We dream to have a country that is free of drug menace. We want to
put an end to the killings and the criminality brought about by the
illegal drug industry. We dream of a nation with proud and rich culture
untainted by anomalies, corruption, greed and crime. We encourage you to
share this dream and start putting it into reality,” Aquino said.
“The youth is the voice of this nation. So, we appeal to them to
maximize such power and help the government change the future of this
country. They have the capacity to communicate among their peers, reach
out to them and understand them in many ways we cannot as adults, as
parents,” the PDEA chief added. (CD)
Source: PTV News. Photo credit: PDEA
Newly-elected barangay youth leaders
in this city gathered during the 1st Bacolod City Youth Leaders
Convention on Sunday for an orientation on the Sangguniang Kabataan (SK)
Reform Act or Republic Act 10742.
SK Federation Bacolod president
Ayesha Joy Villaflor said the convention aims to provide knowledge and
understanding among the new youth leaders about the law.
“Since this is a new law, it is hard for us since we cannot fully understand what it is all about,” she said.
Fifty-six out of the 61 SK chairpersons attended.
Villaflor said the SK leaders also learned how to draft resolutions.
She
added that since the barangay youth sector has been granted fiscal
economy under the SK Reform Act, they are waiting for the guidelines
from the Commission on Audit on how they could utilize the SK budget.
The
SK fund has been separated from that of the Barangay Council and they
are now free to use and appropriate their funds allied with youth
advocacy, Villaflor said.
The SK Reform Act mandates both the
Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) and the National
Youth Commission (NYC) to jointly design and implement the mandatory and
continuing training programs for SK officials.
These include
capability building on leadership, program and project development and
sustainability, financial management, and accountability and
transparency.
Assistant Secretary Jonathan Malaya had earlier said
the DILG had developed modules for the new set of SK officials aimed at
equipping the youth leaders with the necessary skills to perform their
functions well.
Malaya also said that during their incumbency, SK
officials must attend the continuing training programs to be undertaken
by the NYC in coordination with the DILG.
The DILG official
pointed out that another innovation of the SK Reform Act is that SK
officials will have a chance in truly participating in local governance
with the creation of a Local Youth Development Council composed of
representatives of youth and youth-serving organizations at the
provincial, city, and municipal levels. (Nanette Guadalquiver)
Source: Philippine News Agency. Photo Credit: Bacolod City PIO)
