The Oro Youth Story

“How can we, as young people, co-create the social good in our city?” 

A group of student volunteers asked this question during the 2013 election season, during a time when the Sangguniang Kabataan, the official elected-youth body in government, was suspended. Having no voice in local governance, these young people thought that this could be an opportune time to propose and experiment with the concept of a youth council that brings in together various youth sectors and organizations across the city. 

Like any other social innovation, this effort took time to take root. Its seeds started as an agenda item of the youth wing of a civic organization called the KGG or the Kagayanons for Good Governance who vowed to engage in a trans-partisan way, supporting local candidates who would commit to support the KGG’s development agenda. 

When the slate supportive of the development agenda won, the youth themselves knocked on the doors of city hall months after the inauguration to remind the newly-elected leaders about their promise, in particular, the establishment of a youth council. After several meetings, a technical working group was created with the mandate to organize the first Oro Youth Leaders Convergence in 2014. 

On March 22, 2014, the youth summit was convened where young people articulated their concerns that would form the basis of the local youth development agenda. They also elected their representatives as the pioneering officers of Oro Youth Development Council. 

In a display of empowerment, the pioneering officers themselves, with the help of the City Legal Office, drafted the executive order that would be the legal framework of the council. Among other functions, the EO mandated that all city bodies and committees should have youth representatives coming from the youth council. 

On 20 May 2014, EO 072 - 2014 was issued creating the Oro Youth Development Council. It marked the beginning of the gradual integration of youth involvement as a matter of local policy. At that time, the EO elevated the youth’s place in governance, not as beneficiaries of government-funded programs but as active partners for development. It also mandated the presence of the youth in various bodies such as the Local School Board, the Solid Waste Management Council, the Council for the Protection of Children, and many other bodies. 

This space for participation created an ecosystem of engagement that slowly produced innovative programs and policies. Examples are the expansion of the City Scholarship Program, the innovation of the Special Program for Employment of Students program, youth organizing in the barangays, and many more.   

The OYDC does not only create these initiatives, it also acts as a counter weight and accountability mechanism. Its programs both pressure policy makers as well as audit city services. An example of this social audit initiative is the Search for the Most Child Friendly Police and Fire Stations. This yearly search is unique in a sense that the youth themselves conduct the audit and physically inspect the stations. It has led to various improvements in the conduct and delivery of child-protection services in the city. 

Eventually, the social capital accumulated by the OYDC became ripe enough for one final push towards institutionalization. As a body created by an Executive Order, it became clear for the OYDC that in order to preserve its space and presence, it has to make a pitch for its establishment as a city office with a regular plantilla of employees. Now with the passage of the SK Reform Act, the motivation to pass an ordinance became stronger. 

Finally, in 2018, the Oro Youth Code was passed, becoming the crowning achievement of the movement that all started as a classroom idea. The Oro Youth Code of 2018 created the Oro Youth Development Office, which, among others, serves as the secretariat of the Oro Youth Development Council and the nerve center of youth programs in the city government. The Code likewise defined the various youth sectors and composition of the Council, with a yearly summit, and a mandate to appoint representatives to the various city bodies. 

Overall, the story of the Oro Youth Development Council is an insightful story of democratic participation and citizenship formation. Through the Council, young people have transcended individual organizational projects to shape city-wide programs and policies that contribute to the city's development goals.  This outcome, among others, has made the OYDC and the OYDO benchmarks for other LGU. But most importantly, their effort carved a path where young people can become engaged citizens who recognize their agency and power to co-create the social good for the city that they love.