Lived Experiences of Filipino Young Leaders on Participation in Community Development in a Municipality in Northern Negros Occidental
Authors: Reguindin John Christopher 
Published: July 2023

Youth are perceived as active citizens (Martinez et al., 2017). They are well aware of their local environment, idealistic, and always ready to provide logical solutions and innovations (Śmiechowski, 2019). Young people are dynamic and adaptable and are usually the source of innovation and creativity (Ekka et al., 2022).  According to Karagianni and Montgomery (2018), it is the time for the youth as an individual to develop their leadership. The same author also claims that this can help reinforce self-esteem and be a catalyst for flourishing adulthood.
Despite the promising results and the importance of youth participation in community development, youth have no authentic participation (Stocklin, 2017). SKs faced criticism and became an avenue for corruption, inefficiency (Bautista, 2021), and allegations of malpractices, misconduct, vote-buying, and patronage politics (Flores, et.al, 2021). Adversely, congress believes that an inclusive and empowered youth government should be given a chance to renew the perception of the community to the SK by giving them more accountability and opportunity in participatory governance (Flores et.al, 2021) and community development.
There were studies on youth and SK in community development such as youth engagement in agricultural development (Manalo et al., 2019), youth involvement in community extension programs (Rubio et al., 2016), and youth inclusion in peace processes (Cabanes Ragandang and Podder, 2022). However, there were limited studies that explored the Lived Experiences of Filipino Young Leaders on Participation in Community Development in A Municipality in Northern Negros Occidental. This is the research gap that this study aims to fill.
The purpose of this phenomenological study is to explore the lived experiences of young leaders on participation in community development in a municipality in northern Negros Occidental. At this stage in the research, the participation in the community development of the young leaders in the municipality will be generally defined as the participation in community development and activities implemented by the young leaders in a municipality in northern Negros Occidental.
The SK Officials encountered challenges and struggled in implementing PPAs that involve gathering the youth in the community. It was influenced by low esteem and confidence, far-flung sitios, criticism, change in perspective, the restrictions brought Covid-19 Pandemic. It is notable that in all the areas of youth participation, the sports program is the most participated program. Youth and community development is not limited to sports, it is only a small part of programs that should be initiated by young leaders to drastically improve the development of the community. The delayed release of guidelines and orientation of the COA affected the financial independence and transactions of the SK. Today, the SKs are now expediting the implementation of their PPAs because of the recent guidance of the COA. SK should foresee the conduct of programs for the youth with parental obligations and ensure the continuous development of the youth. SK should also incorporate and implement their PPAs with sports to ensure the participation of the youth. These experiences can create an opportunity to SK to further improve their delivery of basic services and implement PPAs that will ensure the participation and development of the youth in the community.