Members of the Technical Working Group from the Bangsamoro Youth Commission (BYC), Ministry of the Interior and Local Government (MILG), Mindanao State University, City and Provincial directors, Municipal Local Government Operation Officers, National Youth Commission (NYC), and Development Academy of the Bangsamoro (DAB) during the finalization of the SK Mandatory Training on Sept. 6-7, 2023 in Davao City. (Photo courtesy of BYC)
COTABATO CITY—Targeting to train an estimated 23,000 Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) from across the region, the BARMM’s Technical Working Group (TWG) responsible for the SK Mandatory Training (SKMT) held a two-day workshop on Sept. 6–7 in Davao City to develop and finalize the training framework equipping the youths on Moral Governance.
According to Barangay and Community Affairs Division (BCAD) Chief Cecilia Pelobillo, they are finalizing the SKMT module in preparation for SK officials who will assume office after being elected in the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections (BSKE) on Oct. 30, 2023.
“We seek your commitment, your insights, and the coordination necessary to ensure the successful implementation of our rollout for our SKs,” she said.
Bangsamoro Youth Commissioner for Maguindanao, Cotabato City, and Special Geographic Areas Nasserudin Dunding stressed the need to capacitate the youth to become effective leaders and public servants.
“The overarching goal of this initiative is to empower the youth with leadership and governance skills, aiming to prevent a situation where the Sangguniang Kabataan is marginalized among the youth population and labeled as a training ground for corruption,” Dunding said.
“We envision this module to be inclusive, ensuring that the entire BARMM institution is informed about it. Following this, we will endorse it to the Bangsamoro Youth Coordinating Council to gain further support for this endeavor,” he added.
During the meeting, Consultant Muhammad Abqary Alon recapped a series of previous workshop outputs and presented the consolidated ideas for the initial draft of the module.
The TWG members composed of several employees of the Bangsamoro Youth Commission, the Ministry of Interior and Local Government (MILG), and other partner institutions, provided their insights, recommendations, and suggestions to further enhance the content of the module.
The event also facilitated an agreement between the Commission and MILG during its coordination meeting on various points concerning the guidelines for implementing the SK Mandatory Training which include the roles and responsibilities in monitoring and evaluation, logistics, and resource mobilization, among others.
Present during the 2-day activity were Municipal Local Government Operation Officers, the National Youth Commission, the Academe from MSU-Maguindanao, and the Development Academy of the Bangsamoro, among others. (Kasan Usop, Jr./BIO with reports from BYC)
