A NEW ERA OF POLITICS: Tara Takbo graduates seek SK positions

After training over 300 young leaders from Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao, Tara Takbo graduates file their certificates of candidacy for the historic Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections 2023 after five years and with 148,000 vacant seats.

Speaking to the community consultations she did as part of the Tara Takbo program, Kristelle Ibo, now an aspiring SK candidate from Naga, said “At first wala talaga akong balak mag-run as any SK position pero since ‘yung community na ‘yung nagpupush sa akin. Sila ‘yung pinaghugutan ko ng loob para mag-run sa position na SK chairman kasi marami nang issues na kailangan pang i-improve and kailangan tulungan na mabigay ‘yung benepisyong nararapat mabigay sa nasasakupan natin.”

Tara Takbo is a movement-based leadership program developed by Hirayang Kabataan and Simbahang Lingkod ng Bayan, with more than 14 partners nationwide including Fr. Leoni Mission Foundation Inc., Almujadilah Women Association, Bukal ng Tipan, Diocese of Malaybalay, Ateneo de Davao University-Blue Vote, University of the Immaculate Conception Davao, Siklab Lingkod Bicol, La Salle Institute of Governance, Bangsamoro Youth Commission, and more, and supported by several institutions including YouthLed.

The 3-day training aims to encourage young leaders to run movement-based campaigns together with their communities and to respond to issues of the youth.

In a comment from one of the runs he personally attended, former Commission on Elections Commissioner Luie Tito Guia shared how the program is critical in supporting aspiring alternative SK candidates.

“Elections should really be about voters but too often in the Philippines, voters have no choice. That’s why Tara Takbo’s work of training young people to become alternative candidates in the elections is so important. We need to prepare young Filipinos to become the leaders that our country deserves in the future, their future,” he said.

Hirayang Kabataan is a non-governmental organization that develops environments for increasing civic and political engagement. They partner with schools, NGOs and national and local government institutions to develop programs and processes that empower Filipinos.
Simbahang Lingkod ng Bayan (SLB) is a non-partisan, Church-based, Jesuit-led organization committed to the service of the Church and the Filipino people.