Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Introduction
Participation is essential to democracy. Dahl (in Clark, Golder & Golder, 2013)
emphasized this when he identified two dimensions of democracy contestation and inclusion.
By inclusion, he refers to who gets to participate in the democratic process. High levels of
participation translate to a healthier democracy. Beetham (1998) wrote, It is from the citizens
that democratic governments receive their authorisation, and it is to the citizens that they remain
accountable and responsive, both directly and through the mediating organs of parliament and
public opinion. The citizen is both the starting point and the focus of the democratic process
The essential counterpart to the democratic principles of popular control and political equality is
thus a publicly active citizen body which is capable of exercising tolerance.
Researches on participation and democracy have focused more on the traditional modes
of participation, specifically on elections. Spoormans (in Garcia, Macuja & Tolosa, 1993) called it
the narrow definition of participation, that which limits participation to the electoral processes.
Such definition however, is narrow and need to be expanded to include all institutions that exert
significant influence in the organization of social life, giving more attention to local government
as a school for political participation (Gauthier, 2003; Silva & de Castro, 2014). This broadening
of participation definition is important for it indicated self-government and self-realization as
citizens develop a sense of their worth and significance (Spoormans, 1993). With these,
measures of participation have also been expanded such as the inclusion of newspaper
readership and scarcity of sports and cultural association in Putnams Civic Community Index
(in Buendia, 2005).
While adult political participation has widely been explored, this paper examines the
patterns of political participation among the youth and looks into a state-initiated participation
program instituted for a healthier democracy by encouraging higher levels of participation and in
the process ensuring government accountability.
Who are the Youth?
According to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
(UNESCO), youth is best understood as a period of transition from the dependence of
childhood to adulthoods independence and awareness of our interdependence as members of
a community.
Youth is usually defined according to age in relation to education and employment.
UNESCO uses different definitions of youth depending on the context. The UN, for statistical
consistency across regions, defines youth, as those persons between the ages of 15 and 24
years, without prejudice to other definitions by Member States. However, the meaning of youth
may depend on how the member-states of the UN define the term. For example, in the African
Youth Charter where youth means every person between the ages of 15 and 35 years.
(UNESCO, 2015)
In the Philippines, the definition of youth based on age group varies among
government agencies as shown in Table 1 (Velasco, 2005).
Agency
National Youth Commission
Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE)
Departyment of Interior and Local Government (DILG)
Department of Health (DOH)
Department of Education, Culture and Sports (now DepEd)
Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD)
Definition
15-30 years
15-24 years
15-21 years
10-24 years
7-18 years
7-18 years
drugs, teenage pregnancy, drug abuse and the like, they are actually not a problem to be solved
but are problem solvers themselves. The United Nations considers the youth as active agents of
change who can contribute their energy, idealism, and insights to a communitys growth and
progress, as emphasized in treaties and declaration of the UN such as the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights, The World Program of Action for Youth and the Convention on the
Rights of the Child (UNDP, 2012).
Despite the recognized significance of the youth in the society, they have been given
little attention compared to adults. Collin (2008) cites that youth participation has been defined
to refer to youth involvement in decision-making processes from which traditionally, they have
been excluded. This recognizes that the youth as agents of change in the society has not been
given adequate attention in political science research; thus, this paper.
However, current trend in youth political participation nowadays argue that the youth are
not as perceived, that they are not disengaged and apathetic. They argue that participation
should be broadly defined to include alternative forms of participation to understand how
participation among the youth actually increased, as they examined experience around the
globe (Gauthier, 2003; Collin, 2008; Tereshchenko, 2010; Silva & De Castro, 2014).
In Gauthiers (2003) study of youth interest in civic participation in Quebec, she found
out that young people are not passive actors; rather, they take active part in organizations which
aim to influence decision-making and power centers on a broad range of issues. Findings of her
study supported the theory of political generations, concluding that a new political generation is
emerging in Quebec as youth involvement takes new forms.
Silva and de Castro (2014) had similar findings among Brazilian youth. Their lengthy
discussion the changes in the contemporary youth collective action in Brazil showed that youth
participation when expanded to include fluid and non hierarchical collectives become active
agents of change in the society, contrary to the perception that the youth are apathetic and
politically inactive.
In Ukrain, youth participation has found to also follow the unconventional, informal
contextual political participation forms (Tereshchenko, 2010). Tereshchenko argued that
Ukrainian youth have the ability to make sophisticated judgments about various aspects of
social and political life, critically appraise their education and suggest a number of suggest a
number of practical democratic improvements to it.
Australian youth showed similar political identities active and engaged. Collin (2008)
examined young peoples experience of the internet at a platform for their political ideas and
stands. He found the youth to have been mobilized online through networks and are actually
engaged in everyday politics.
Similar findings have been found to be true in the United States. Dalton (2011) wrote,
turnout rates in elections are a poor indicator of the overall political involvement of Americans
there is more to democracy than elections. Other non-electoral modes of individualized or direct
political action have increased over time. Rather than disengagement, the repertoire of political
action has broadened. His study, just like the other researches cited, found that alternative
participation venues have widely been utilized.
However, there have been several legislative attempts to abolish the SK as it has
become a training ground of trapolitos or little corrupt politicians (Velasco, 2005). The most
recent attempt was that of Rep. Edgar Erice of Caloocan who called the SK a school of
corruption (Cabacunga, G., 2013). Henrietta de Villa, chair of the Parish Pastoral Council for
Responsible Voting (PPCRV), said that the 42,000 seats for SK chair and 300,000 seats for SK
Council were being used as an entry point for political dynasties (Cabacungan, 2003). The
controversies surrounding the SK led to the passing of RA 10632 otherwise known as the AN
ACT TO POSTPONE THE SANGGUNIANG KABATAAN ELECTIONS ON OCTOBER 28, 2013,
AMENDING FOR THE PURPOSE REPUBLIC ACT NO. 9340, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES.
This piece of legislation did not abolish the SK; it only placed it in an on hold status. SK
officials were required to vacate their position while 10% of Internal Revenue Allotment set aside
for SK activities and mandating the creation in each barangay shall be utilized based on the
implementing rules and guidelines set by the DILG. All these led to the freezing of state-led direct
participation of the youth in the Philippines.
Partnerships
Participation
This framework emphasized the need for people participation in ensuring good
governance in the city; both partnership and participation indicated in the framework refer to
participation of constituents only they are of different social roles and/or status. Robredo (2003)
wrote on people participation, These are mechanisms that ensure inclusion of individuals and
the community in government decision-making. They promote long-term sustainability by
generating broad-based stakeholdership and community ownership over local undertakings
Instead of confining deliberation on local government matters within a select group of elected
officials, the leadership encouraged and formalized mechanisms to enhance constituency
participation.
Naga City has instituted participatory mechanisms such as the establishment of the
Naga City Peoples Council (NCPC) which is composed of all accredited business, nongovernment and peoples organizations. The council (1) appoints representatives to local
special bodies, (2) observes, votes, and participates in the deliberation, conceptualization,
implementation and evaluation of programs, projects and activities of the city government, (3)
proposes legislation, participates and votes at the committee level of the Sangguniang
Panlungsod, and (4) acts as the peoples representatives in the exercise of their constitutional
rights to information on matters of public concern and of access to official records and
documents (Robredo, 2003). Other mechanisms instituted include continuing NGO
accreditation, multi-level consultation mechanisms, and referendum on development issues. In
December 2001, the iGovernance Program was launched. This program aimed to bring the
transparency and participatory governance of the city into world wide web.
6. Can fully attend to official functions during Regular Office hours, and;
7. He/she must accomplish the Application form and submit the same together with other
documentary requirements as prescribed by the Committee.
The top 14 examinees in the two-phased selection process shall be proclaimed by the
committee as follows: First Placer City Youth Mayor; Second Placer City Youth Vice Mayor;
Third Placer #1 City Youth Councilor; Fourth Placer #2 City Youth Councilor; and so on up to
the Fourteenth placer as City Youth Councilors, respectively. On the other hand, the examinees
who placed 15th up to the 45th slots shall be appointed by the City Youth Mayor to the positions
of City Youth Department Heads and Chiefs of Offices, as follows:
1) City Youth Administrator
2) City Youth Secretary to the Sangguniang Panglungsod
3) City Youth Planning and Development Coordinator
4) City Youth Treasurer
5) City Youth Assessor
6) City Youth Budget Officer
7) City Youth Legal Officer
8) City Youth Agriculturist
9) City Youth Veterinarian
10) City Youth Environment and Natural Resources Officer
11) City Youth Secretary to the Mayor
12) City Youth Market Superintendent
13) City Youth Population and Nutrition Officer
14) City Youth Accountant
15) City Youth Engineer
16) City Youth Metro Peso Manager
17) City Youth Social Welfare and Development Officer
18) City Youth Human Resource Management Officer
19) City Youth Civil Registrar
20) City Youth General Services Officer
21) City Youth Health Officer
22) City Youth Librarian
23) City Youth Urban Poor Affairs Officer
Conclusion
Participation has been established to be a vehicle of democratic health and vigor.
Supranational organizations, national and local governments and political science and social
development scholars agree that participation is significant in ensuring the strength of
democratic institutions. The youth, as the future leaders are in need of understanding how they
can become the agents of change. However, youth participation is very limited in the
Philippines. The Sangguniang Kabataan, which is the only institutionalized direct participation of
the youth has been frozen and is nearing abolition. There is no provision yet as to what
mechanisms could replace its function.
A close look at Naga Citys governance model centered on partnership and participation
gives light to Philippine politics and governance. Its programs that give primacy to participation,
especially of the youth, somehow provides a glimmer of hope that participatory governance is
possible. The national government has started replicating the Naga City model through the
Memorandum Circulars issued by the DILG when Jese Robredo was instituted as secretary in
2012. However, research on its implementation and effectiveness is yet to be conducted.
References
Beetham, D. (1998). Democracy: Key principles, institutions and problems. In Democracy: Its
principles and achievement. Switzerland: Inter-parliamentary Union.
Buendia, E.E. (2005). Democratizing governance in the Philippines: Redefining and measuring
the state of peoples participation in governance. Center for Leadership, Citizenship and
Democracy, National College of Public Administration and Governance, U.P., Diliman,
Quezon City
Cabacungan, G. (2013, July 5). SK Abolition gains support in Congress. Philippine Daily
Inquirer. Retrieved from http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/439161/sk-abolition-gains-support-incongress
Collin, P. (2008, Oct). The internet, youth participation policies, and the development of young
peoples political identities in Australia. Journal of Youth Studies, 11 (5), 527-542
Dalton,
R.
(2011).
Youth
and
participation
beyond
elections.
Retrieved
from
http://www.socsci.uci.edu/~rdalton/archive/OSI2011.pdf
Diemer, M.A. & Li, C.H. (2011). Critical consciousness development and political participation
among marginalized youth. Child Development, 82 (6), 1815-1833
Finlay, S. (2010). Carving out meaningful spaces for youth participation and engagement in
decision-making. Youth Studies Australia, 29 (4), pp. 53-59
Gauthier, M. (2003). The inadequacy of concepts: The rise of youth interest in civic participation
in Quebec. Journal of Youth Studies, 6 (3), 265-276
Hollis, M. (2002). The Philosophy of the Social Science: An introduction. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press.
Lauritzen, P. (2005, March). Participation revisited. In Revisiting Youth Political Participation:
Challenges for research and democratic practice in Europe. J. Forbrig (Ed.). Europe:
Council of Publishing
Magstadt, T. (2013). Political Participation. In Understanding politics: Ideas, institutions and
issues, 10th ed. Philippines: Cengage Learning Asia Pte Ltd.
National Youth Commission website http://www.nyc.gov.ph
Naga City Government Official Website. http://www/naga.gov.ph
Robredo, J.M. (2003). Making local governance work: The Naga City model. City Publications
Group, City Development Information Office, City Hall Complex, Naga City
Silva, C.F.S. & de Castro, L.R. (2014). Brazilian youth activism: In search of new meanings for
political engagement? Alternatives: Global, Local, Political, 39 (3), 187-201.
Tereshchenko, A. (2010, Oct). Ukrainian youth and civic engagement: Unconventional
participation in local spaces. Journal or Youth Studies, 13 (5), 597-613
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). (2015). What do
we mean by youth?. Retrieved from http://www.unesco.org/new/en/social-and-humansciences/themes/youth/youth-definition/
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). (2005). Enhancing youth political
participation throughout the electoral cycle: A good practice guide. Retrieved from
http://www.undp.org/content/dam/undp/library/Democratic%20Governance/Electoral
%20Systems%20and%20Processes/ENG_UN-Youth_Guide-LR.pdf
Velasco, D. (2005). Rejecting old-style politics?: Youth participation in the Philippines. In Go!:
Young progressive in Southeast Asia. Manila, Philippines : Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, pp.
79-121
ATTACHMENTS
Ordinances pertaining to the Naga City Youth Officials Program
City Administrator
City Human Resources Mgt. Officer
Metro Peso Manager
City Public Information Officer
Secretary to the Sangguniang Panlungsod
Immediate Past City Youth Mayor
NCPC Youth Representative
Naga City Press Corps Representative
The Secretariat shall be a staff from the Office of the Sangguniang Panlungsod duly appointed by the Secretary to
the Sangguniang Panlungsod,
SECTION 3. Function of the Committee.
1.
Five weeks before the official start of the City Youth Official Program, it shall communicate with different
youth organizations existing in each barangay, schools, colleges and universities of the City of Naga about
the City Youth Program.
2.
Cause the Dissemination of information to all radio and television station available in the locality.
3.
Prepare the conduct of written tests in English and General Information among the Official Youth
representatives to the City Youth Officials Program and after which the conduct of an oral interview;
JOSE L. GRAGEDA
Secretary to the Sanguniang Panlungsod
JOHN G. BONGAT
Acting City Vice Mayor and Presiding Officer
APPROVED:
GABRIEL H. BORDADO, JR.
Acting City Mayor
They shall elect from among themselves a Chairman, and may create various working committees as may deemed
necessary.
SECTION 2.a An Advisory Council is hereby created for this purpose, with the following composition:
Chairman The Sectoral Youth Representative to the Sangguniang Panlungsod.
Members City Administrator
- City Human Resource Mgt. Officer
- Metro Peso Manager
- City Public Information Officer
- Secretary to the Sangguniang Panlungsod
- SP Chairman on Peace & Order
- NCPC Youth Representative
- Naga City Press Corps Representative
SECTION 2. This ordinance shall take effect upon its approval.
ENACTED: March 17, 2009
AMENDED ORDINANCE: 2007-008
WE HEREBY CERTIFY to the correctness of the foregoing ordinance.
GIL A. DE LA TORRE
Secreetary to the Sangguniang Panlungsod
GABRIEL H. BURDADO, JR.
City Vice- Mayor and Presiding Officer
APPROVED:
JESSE M. ROBREDO
City Mayor
SECTION 8.- Committee Quorum - The Naga City Youth Sangguniang Panlungsod Members shall be included in
the determination of a quorum in various Standing Committees of the Sangguniang Panlungsod.
SECTION 2. The succeeding sections after adding Section 8 thereof shall be renumbered as Section 9, 10, 11, 12
& 13;
SECTION 3. This ordinance shall take effect upon its approval.
ENACTED: May 22, 2012
WE HEREBY CERTIFY to the correctness of the foregoing ordinance.
GIL A. DE LA TORRE
Secretary to the Sangguniang Panlungsod
GABRIEL H. BORDADO, JR.
City Vice Mayor & Presiding Officer
APPROVED:
JOHN G. BONGAT
City Mayor