CHAPTER 2

REVIEW OF RELATED STUDIES AND LITERATURE

Sangguniang Kabataan as a Mechanism for Youth Participation in Local

Governance

Dr. Jose Rizal, the country’s national hero, immortalized in the poem A la

Juvertud Filipina (To the Filipino Youth) the line “Ang kabataan ay pag-asa ng

bayan.” Reluctantly, some agree, some do not. A few studies have found that

youth develop leadership skills, social skills, and life skills (Checkoway, et al.,

2003; Israel & Ilvento, 1995; Lerner, Dowling, & Anderson, 2003; Perkins &

Borden, 2003; Zeldin, McDaniel, Topitzes, & Calvert, 2000) and communities

also benefit from the endeavours set forth by such partnerships (Sandefur &

Laumann, 1998).

More than half of the Philippine population are young people aged 15-30

years old. The role of the youth in nation-building has been recognized in

Philippine laws. One mechanism for youth empowerment is the Sangguniang

Kabataan (SK or Youth Councils). Every one of the 42,045 barangays (villages)

has an SK composed of at least 8 youth officials elected by the youth

constituency of the barangay. Despite the weaknesses of the SK, there have

been success stories that show its potential as an important organization. Like

the KB, the SK has produced a crop of local government officials, as well as

national legislators (Aceron et.al, 2020).

It was in 1991 when Republic Act No. 7160 or the Local Government

Code created the Sangguniang Kabataan, formerly known as Katipunan ng

Kabataan. The Sangguniang Kabataan serves as one of the mechanisms for

youth to live up to the century-old challenge. The youth are not simply given

space for participation in government; through SK, the youth are given the

right and obligation to govern.

Philippine law has already set the stage for the youth to learn leadership

skills and create programs and policies that will benefit the Filipino people. The

law also encourages mentors to teach the youth how to speak and be heard in

the world of adults.

Surely, with the youth actively being involved in all affairs of the

community with their dynamism and energy, there is a bigger potential of

developing a society that is more inclusive and productive. According to

Malaluan et al (2014), the youth constitutes the most vivacious, energetic, and

prolific segment of the humanity, they are therefore without any elusiveness,

key stakeholders in any nation, as such the nation makes no greater

investment than that made toward the upbringing of its younger age band.

Motivational Factors of SK Leaders

Motivation is defined by the Merriam- Webster Dictionary as a stimulus

or influence. According to Turabik and Baskan (2015), the concept of motive

brings with it the concept of “to motivate” and “motivation.”

Certainly, the Sangguniang Kabataan Officials themselves are motivated

by something which inspires them to strive harder and perform better.

However, there are no available studies looking at what motivates them as SK

Leader.
 This study dwells on the domain of motivation studies in political

participation among the youth; more specifically, this study sought to

determine the motivation or what energized the Sangguniang Kabataan official

to run for office. In order to grasp the idea of what motivates the SK Officials to

engage in a particular activity, the researchers use the Weisbord’s six-box

model. In this vein, Weisbord’s (1976) six box model offers a good alternative

and has considerable intuitive appeal, including motivational factors that can

influence management practices (Kontic, 2012).

Weisbord’s Six-Box Model

A framework developed by Marvin Weisbord proposes six broad

categories in his model of organizational life including: purposes, structures,

relationships, leadership, rewards, and helpful mechanisms (Weisbord, 1976).

Purposes: There are several types of goals in every organization and particular

work should be done to meet each of these goals. There is difference between

the goals formally set and the operational goals that the organization is to

accomplish them (Daft, 1998, p.82).

Structure: Organizational structure determines how the tasks are formally

divided up, grouped, and coordinated (Robbins, 1999, p. 185).

Relationships: Relationship requires something more than using appropriate

information. The information needs to be properly assessed and delivered to

the main decision makers and leads to appropriate actions (Trans, 2004,

p.310-311).
Leadership: Leadership is the ability of influencing a group and shifting it

towards the given goals. The source of this power or influence is formal, similar

to holding the manager position in an organization (Robbins, 1999, p. 217).

Helpful mechanisms: Helpful mechanisms are necessary to coordinate

technologies and forces so as to institutionalize the thought of doing activities

systematically.

According to Weisbord, identifying and solving a problem is something

that should be done systematically by the same people, because – more than

anyone – they are familiar with the situation they’re in, enabling them to find

ways to improve. By its definition, a diagnosis is a way to bridge the gap

between what is and what should be. An organisational diagnosis implies that

data will be collected and that conclusions will need to be drawn using the

findings resulting from analyses into the following six research areas.

Thus, the Weisbord’s six-box model helps to determine what motivational

factors affect the job of Sangguniang Kabataan Provincial and Highly Urbanized

City Federation President of SOCCSKSARGEN

References:

Content uploaded by Faye Balanon - The Impact on Youth Participation in the

Local Development Process: The Sangguniang Kabataan Experience

Strengthening the Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) as an Accountability

Mechanism in Local Governance (#SKasGWatch Project) https://www.g-

watch.org/sites/default/files/resources//skasgwatch-pilot-final-report.pdf

Kenneth R. Jones, 2019 Influences of Youth Leadership within a Community-

Based Context

http://www.free-management-ebooks.com/news/weisbords-six-box-model/

https://leeds-

faculty.colorado.edu/Rosse/Courses/4003/Readings/Weisbord.pdf

https://www.toolshero.com/management/weisbord-six-box-model/