SK top officials get their ‘first bribe’

Newly-elected Quezon City Sangguniang Kabataan chairpersons on Monday admitted they had experienced their first bribe from a colleague who wanted to become the city's SK Federation president.

One of the SK chairpersons told the Daily Tribune on condition of anonymity that last Thursday during the oath-taking of all BSKE winners, an aspirant for SK Federation president gathered about 70 SK top officials and treated them to dinner and drinking spree at a resto-bar along Kalayaan Road near the city hall. There, the person told them about her wish to become the SK Federation president. Then, she handed down red envelopes containing "big amounts of money".

The informant added that they were also promised another bigger amount of money if they would vote for her as the SKFederation president.

The aspirant, he said, figured in dirty tactics done by her advisers who were former political operators in the city. Her opponent was charged with rape and become the talk of their village leading to her victory.

This SK chairperson who is eyeing the federation's highest post is also the daughter of a losing candidate for a congressional seat last 9 May 2022 when her opponent capitalized on her involvement in a pharmaceutical company that cornered a big deal during the pandemic that became a scandal.

The aspirant's political adviser seemed to have reached out to the leadership of the Quezon City Youth Development Office (QCYDO) because, after their mandatory training scheduled today, an election for the SK Federation's officer took place.

"But that (election for Federation posts) was not mentioned in the memorandum sent to us for the mandatory training," he said.

Under the law, it should be supervised by the National Youth Commission (NYC) and the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG). But in Quezon City, the QCYDO is tapped to oversee the said activity.

"Madami pa namang SK Chairmen sa QC. Baka dinidirect na nung mga tao diyan sa QC kung sino bata nila," NYC chairman Ronald Gian Cardema suspected, suggesting that holding the election for the SK Federation could be done "after the MT".

According to Cardema, these are allowed even if the training is done in one day, as long as the topics that should be taught to SK chairmen are all discussed. A memorandum he shared with this reporter showed that the topics were divided into three modules: first, decentralization and local government, SK history, and salient features; second, meetings and resolutions, planning, and budgeting; and third, code of conduct and ethical standards.

Being the SK Federation president is one way to become more popular in the city if one wishes to have a higher post, a veteran politician said. Once elected, he or she will become an honorary member of the Quezon City Council, sitting as one of the councilors in every session representing the youth sector, and also receiving the same salary a city councilor gets.