President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said on Wednesday that there is a need for the government to revitalize itself with new blood and fresh ideas to be in sync with the call of the times.

In his speech at the oath-taking of new Liga ng mga Barangay (LnB) officers and Sangguniang Kabataan national and island representatives, Marcos told the youth to contribute their insights that may have been overlooked by senior officials.

“It is very clear that government, for example, needs to be revitalized, needs to have new blood, needs to have new ideas, needs to have that determination and energy, that maybe the very high-ups have lost sight of,” Marcos said.

“If you see a better way, speak up. Tell it out. The elders may not listen to you, but insist. It’s not... Every time something like that happens, they say --- if the result is good, what’s wrong with that? If it’s not successful, if the outcome isn’t good, it’s okay, let’s move on, let’s try something else, let’s try another system,” Marcos added.

Marcos also called on the youth to actively engage in shaping the country’s future while embracing innovation and new technologies to improve the future of governance.

According to the Local Government Code of 1991, the SK, in conjunction with the Katipunan ng Kabataan, was established to enable youth engagement in local governance.

Similarly, as stipulated in the Local Government Code, the LNB functions as a collective body representing all barangays, which are the smallest political and administrative units in the Philippines.

Its main roles include determining the representation of the Liga in the sanggunians, articulating issues affecting barangay governance, and seeking solutions through legitimate channels.