The Kabataan Party-list on Monday, October 31 urged the government to strengthen organizations, such as the Sangguniang Kabataan (SK), that can be tapped for disaster response efforts nationwide.

In particular, the group said the SK, as a civilian institution, can be tapped to help assist authorities in future disasters and other situations where disaster response efforts are needed.

“Although accuracy of flood forecasts and timeliness of advisories are important, we believe that local civilian community officials and leaders, especially youth organizations are supposedly best positioned with their knowledge of the grassroots to mobilize communities to safety, given the proper training, funding and support from the national government,” the Kabataan party-list said in a statement.

The group said the recent onslaught of Severe Tropical Storm Paeng, other typhoons and earthquakes highlight the need for a disaster response centered on the efforts of local civilian institutions and organizations.

“The military, given their resources and manpower, are indeed force multipliers and first responders in national scale emergencies, but at the end of the day would rely on advice from locals to execute any disaster response effectively,” they said.

“Instead of Malacañang passing blame on the coordination of PAG-ASA ang Local Government Units for flood casualties in the aftermath of Typhoon Paeng, it is best that they recognize local bayanihan efforts of citizens despite limited resources and ensure policies to strengthen such capacity,” the group added.

At the same time, the Kabataan party-list group also called on the National Youth Commission to finally release the implementing rules and regulation (IRR) of R.A. 11768 or the SK Compensation and Empowerment Law that should provide honoraria to SK officials, including the treasurer and secretary, as well as much-needed trainings and funding to professionalize local youth leaders.

“Despite the Marcos Jr. administration’s decision to postpone the 2022 Barangay and SK Elections, incumbent SK officials have persisted to serve through their prolonged terms; we would never forget how they decisively took part in our pandemic response even with little to no support,” they said.

“Moreover, SK officials inevitably form part of the backbone of any local civilian-led disaster response effort and should be properly trained and compensated according to this law,” they added.

The party-list group also noted that the IRR of the law is already late by a few months from its due release according to law, and it’s promulgation is overdue.