BONTOC, Mountain Province – Some ninety youth and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) members participated in the Youth Leadership Summit (YLS) conducted in Barangay Gonogon, Bontoc, Mountain Province on July 1-3, 2021.
With the theme, “Moving and Empowering the Youth Towards Peace and Development,” the summit was initiated by the Bontoc Local Government Unit (LGU) through the Municipal Peace and Order Council (MPOC), in partnership with Youth for Peace, Sangguniang Kabataan, Mountain Province Youth Organization, Department of Education, Philippine National Police and Armed Forces of the Philippines.
The three-day summit aimed to minimize the recruitment of the Communist Party of the Philippines- New People’s Army (CPP-NPA) among the youth. Thus, the event is an avenue in educating the youth on the insurgency situation in Mountain Province and the Cordillera region. Also, it is geared towards empowering the youth to hone their leadership skills, foster camaraderie; and encourage them to participate and develop a culture of peace.
During the three-day summit, various activities like lectures, Poster and Guidon making, reflection, teambuilding, clean-up drive, and tree planting were included.
Topics discussed are Basic First Aid by the Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office (MDRRMO); Lecture on Illegal Drugs by Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA)-Mountain Province, 21 Laws of Irrefutable Leadership by Aida Paraguison, the Executive Council member of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCAA); Principles of Leadership with Gender Sensitivity Training (GST) by Tourism Officer II Tyronne Glenn Lawey of the Provincial Tourism Office; Role of the Youth in the Community and Youth in Nation Building by Rev. Marcial Lloyd Castañeda, VAWC and Crime Prevention by Police Staff Sergeant Benjamin Chumacog, Jr., of the Bontoc Municipal Police Station (MPS); Know One’s Values and Potentials in Life by the Provincial Mobile Force Company, COVID-19 and the Vaccination Program and Effects of Early Teenage Pregnancy by the Municipal Health Office (MHO); and Deceptive Recruitment of CPP-NPA-NDF by 2Lt. Ramil Sumague.
Bontoc Mayor Franklin Odsey who graced the closing ceremony of the YLS expressed his profound gratitude to all the concerned agencies for initiating the activity.
The mayor remarked that the youth plays a vital role in the realization of the government’s peace initiatives and their voices are powerful especially that they are inclined with the use of various media platforms.
In a separate interview, Gonogon SK Chairperson Demfloyd Dalilis encouraged other SK organizations to actively participate in the YLS and other youth leadership programs as these are avenues for them to learn their duties and responsibilities in helping the government to attain peace in the country.
Local Youth Development Officer –Designate Ross Kiat-ong mentioned that the positive feedbacks from the participants in the conduct of YLS in Barangay Tocucan and other Upland Barangays of Bontoc motivated the organizers to conduct similar events in Alab Oriente, Alab Proper, Balili, and Gonogon (ALBAGO). By Christy Che-es &Alpine L. Killa