“I am 100% in favor of the move to abolish the SK ( Sangguniang Kabataan ),” declared Tagbilaran Mayor Dan Lim. Lim issued the statement in reaction to the proposal made by Department of Interior and Local Governments (DLIG) Secretary Jesse Robredo. The mayor said the move is overdue but it is “most welcome”. Robredo is pushing for the scrapping of the SK and instead recommended that a single youth representative will sit in the barangay council. The DILG chief said the youth council “has not proven itself to be functional and effective” in delivering services to the community. Robredo added that the abolition of the SK will save the cash-strapped government P3.5 billion in expenses. In categorically supporting Robredo's move, Lim said the SK has not addressed any particular need.

Instead, it has served as the springboard of the children and relatives of politicians who are initiated early into the world of traditional politics. “Most of the time, the SK president is either the children, relatives or political supporters of the mayors and governors,” Lim added. The mayor said the constitutional ban that imposes term limits is the reason politicians prepare for the time when they step down. “Before you know it, your three terms is over so you have to prepare early by putting your children in the SK,” he added. This will help ward off allegations of inexperience when the time comes for the offspring or relative to replace the incumbents. He said he cannot blame politicians for doing this because it is part of their political survival. The mayor pointed out that in places where the equation in the council can go either way, every vote counts. “This compels the mayors or the governors to do everything they can to ensure that they have one more vote,” he added.

The mayor said that even if the ruling politicians do not have a particular relative in mind, they are forced to field a candidate just to deprive their opponents from snatching it. Lim said they hardly initiate activities that directly address their constituency but oftentimes simply duplicate the programs of their political patrons. He noted that most of the time they just hold basketball tournaments and benefit dances “because they have to show something and because that is what most of them know what to do.” Lim said he does not mean to denigrate the youth but held his ground about his position saying that the SK oftentimes does not espouse the youth agenda.

“The SK is supposed to be the voice of the youth. In actual experience, the only voice that many SK presidents has are those of their parents and political patrons,” he added. The mayor said that in an impoverished country where every peso counts, the P3.5-B spent for the SK can be better put to good use elsewhere. Lim said he is not surprised with Robredo's move considering that the DILG chief was a multi-awarded former local executive. “As a city mayor himself, he knows the real score and because he is sincere, he would rather court the ire of politicians than just go along with the practice,” he added. Robredo and Lim are both fellows at the Institute of Solidarity in Asia.