May 21st, 2021
Salceda pushes for SK Compensation Law; House tax chair elated with Senate passage of bill, says he is arranging speedy House passage
House Ways and Means Chair Joey Sarte Salceda (Albay, 2nd district), principal author of House Bill No. 1667 or the Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) Compensation Act, says that he is moving the bill towards approval by the Committee on Local Government “perhaps during sine die adjournment” before being approved by the House “soon after President Duterte’s SONA.”
Salceda’s statement follows the Senate’s recent passage on 2nd reading of its own version of the reform, which includes both SK Compensation and their eligibility for Barangay Official benefits, which Salceda also proposed under House Bill No. 1030.
“Compensating SK officials sends a strong signal that the State expects the degree of professionalism and dedication it expects of other paid government officials. It signifies that the State takes seriously the work of the SK,” Salceda said.
Salceda adds that he is “already working with the Committee on Local Government to fast-track the committee approval and plenary debates on the matter.”
“We will have to combine both of my bills into one committee report, so that we can discuss both during the eventual bicameral conference meetings with the Senate, whose version contains both,” Salceda said.
“I think we can have it passed maybe August of this year. It’s important that we pass it before we pass the 2022 budget, so that we can include the item still. Hopefully, by 2022, SK officials will now receive benefits,” Salceda added
SK as key government institution
“In terms of demographic consistency, the Sangguniang Kabataan is the most representative level of government in a country whose median age is 23. That is why I am a believer in making the SK a stronger institution. Let’s invest in them, and also expect better work from them,” Salceda said.
“The barangay system has, within itself, institutionally embedded dynamism in the form of the Sangguniang Kabataan. Long maligned as a ‘breeding ground’ for traditional politics, the Sangguniang Kabataan is actually a potent instrument of governance, if we can strengthen it,” Salceda added.
Under Salceda’s bill, SK kagawad will receive half the salary of a barangay kagawad. This amounts to around P6,250 even as benefits may vary depending on the income classification of the barangay.
“Given this institutionalization in pay, we have to clarify our expectations of the SK. As we will be employing secretaries and treasurers for the SK, we must also impose standard auditing rules and procedures. Rules of ethical conduct for government officials must similarly apply to the SK,” Salceda said.
“The SK was a prisoner of low expectations. We did not want to expect much of the SK because we as a nation-state did not invest enough in the institution either. With this bill, I hope we will release the SK from this quandary of low expectations and low investment, and truly realize its potential as a basic building block of representative governance,” he added.