GENERAL SANTOS CITY- Youth leaders from the comprising 31 barangays of Malungon Municipality in Sarangani Province have recently undergone three-day seminar workshop on the guidelines for the exact utilization of SK funds at the Sarangani Highlands Garden Hotel here in the city.
 
Malungon town MLGOO Rodolfo Jerez, said the opening of the May 15-19 activity was graced by DILG provincial director Flor G. Limpin and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency-12 director Gil Castro, who both talked around the importance of a youth dedicated and drug-free services to accomplish the main purpose of the newly created Youth Development Task Force.
 
Jerez  said this (training) will lead the barangay council-endorsed interim youth leaders, to raise their knowledge on the correct usage of the 10 percent SK funds that they will be tasked to handle pending the last year’s postponement of the Sangguniang Kabataan elections.
 
“Taking responsibility on behalf of the SK, these group of young people will be charge to take commission for the purpose of the funding until such time that the supposed scheduled October 23 Sangguniang Kabataan elections will push through, hopefully this year,” said Jerez, adding that the enhanced study is a must to beef up the capability of the interim, whose number per barangay has been reduced from 8 to only four members, this year.
 
Rizalina Aznar, one of the barangay captains who personally got to assist Brgy San Miguel’s youth participants, said the seminar had also supplied them (ABC members) with vital information on the do's and don’ts of the TFYD creation such, that each member of the interim must not be related within the second (2nd) civil degree of blood kinship or affinity to any incumbent elected barangay official in the locality.
 
“Aside, I have as well observed that such training will not exclusively benefit the younger level, but the entire municipality as well, for it braces with the call for change by our beloved mayor, Atty. Maria Theresa D. Constantino, who, despite of being young, is now running a quiet and well-arrange scheme of governance in Malungon town,” Aznar added.
 
In a phone interview, Sarangani DILG director Limpin said TFYD members must likewise be responsible in helping the programs of the government, specifically on sports promotion, anti-drugs campaign, and the climate change mitigation.
 
“This program also encourages and ensures our selected youth leaders … the access to voice their needs to equal access to quality education, youth work and livelihood, health, anti-drug prevention, gender sensitivity, and capability building through leadership training.
 
The seminar which generally anchors on the “Operational guidelines on the utilization of the SK funds for FY 2017,” is a joint undertaking by the Department of the Interior and Local Government and the Commission of Elections. (Isagani Palma – MALUNGON INFORMATION OFFICE)