Corrupting the youth

“What has happened to us as a people? What have we done to our youth? With leaders like these, what kind of future do we have in store for our country?” - Legazpi Bishop Joel Baylon

SK ‘corrupting influence’ on youth–bishop
By Philip Tubeza
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 08:02:00 10/31/2010


MANILA, Philippines—What has happened to us as a people?

Mincing no words, Legazpi Bishop Joel Baylon and his clergy have condemned the “rampant” vote-buying in Albay during the recent barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections, particularly among young voters.

In a pastoral letter dated October 29 and e-mailed to media organizations in Manila, Baylon said the SK should already be abolished because it had become a “corrupting influence” on the youth, adding that even parents of SK candidates were “pushing” their children to “bribe” other young voters to get their votes.

In a sign of how things had worsened, Baylon added that some parish leaders might even have to leave their posts to prevent “further scandal” and for the “healing” of their communities.

“Reports coming from all over leave no doubt as to the scope and magnitude of corruption and cheating in the recent barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections,” Baylon said.

“Politicians shell out money to buy votes and maintain loyalty. The voters expect—and in many instances, demand—to be bribed into voting for candidates,” he said.

“What has happened to us as a people? What have we done to our youth? With leaders like these, what kind of future do we have in store for our country?” he added.

Baylon said that during the Legazpi Diocese’s Clergy General Assembly on Tuesday, “every priest present said that vote-buying and selling were rampant in their respective places of assignment and hometowns.”

“Radyo Veritas Legazpi and other local radio stations, as well as our local (Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting) units also confirmed this widespread terrible state of affairs,” Baylon said.

“Even worse, the Sangguniang Kabataan election was not spared from the same sin of corruption and vote-buying. In some places vote-buying for the position of SK Chairman reached as high as P1,500,” he said.

He said young people were suspiciously “quartered” in various beach resorts and other places “prior to and during election day by political patrons.”

“Most shocking were widespread stories of parents of SK candidates who funded, supported and pushed their children to bribe other youths into voting for them,” Baylon said.

He said when the next round of elections for the SK federation president on the municipal, city and provincial levels come, “another level of vote-buying, quartering and corruption of youth leaders would almost certainly arise, involving bigger sums of money and more scandalous forms of bribery.”

“Vote-buying is morally wrong. It is unfair to candidates who have lesser means or who choose the path of principled campaigning. It is unfair to the electorate because it puts undue influence on their right to vote,” Baylon said.

“It subverts the will of the people. Vote-buying feeds the vicious cycle of graft and corruption as politicians and their patrons later find ways to recoup their election ‘investments’ by stealing from government projects and exacting political favors,” he added.

He and the priests of Legazpi called on their parishes to gather together in prayerful dialogue and examination of conscience “about the conduct of the recent elections and plan ways to counter what has become a trend in our political culture.”

“Some may even find themselves needing to take a leave of absence for some time from active ministry or position of leadership in the parish, if communal or personal discernment calls for it, and to prevent further scandal and facilitate healing in the community,” Baylon said.

The bishop and his priests also called for the abolition of SK saying that it had failed in its goals of teaching the young the values of democracy and the skills for good governance.

“Far from being an empowering presence, it has become a corrupting influence on our youth. The problem is not with our young people but in the political structure and culture where the SK operates,” Baylon said.

“The voices of the young should not be stifled, there is a clear need for youth representation in governance. The training of the young should not be stymied, there is a definite need for their political empowerment. But not in the manner and form of the current SK,” he said.

see- http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view/20101031-300676/SK-corrupting-influence-on-youthbishop