Our youth, our hope

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A totally-random encounter with students at the EDSA commemoration organized and held Feb. 25 at Silliman University led me to discover a movement  that is growing and gaining traction in our community.  A movement that isn’t random, a movement that is deliberate, planned, and well-thought through.

Unbeknownst to most of us, student leaders and their confrères from colleges and universities in Dumaguete have been going out to our barangays every Sunday afternoon to talk with the people about the upcoming May 12 election.  They’ve been doing this for a few weeks now.

Their focus is on helping our people recognize the right qualities to look for in the myriad of people, incumbents and newbies, running for office – for political positions.

Qualities in individuals who have a track record for introducing programs that benefit our people in the right way. Who have no record of enriching themselves, their families, and cronies. Who produce results that are worthy of notice.  Photo op after photo op does not count in my books as a tangible result, though they do get a lot of media coverage.

In speaking with these students, I learned something new about two of our politicians:

Former Sen. Paolo Benigno Bam” Aquino IV, a former youth leader and world-renowned social entrepreneur, was the youngest senator during the years 2013-2019. He chaired the Committee on Trade, Commerce, & Entrepreneurship, and the Committee on Youth.

My ears perked up on hearing this because of my shared belief in our youth.  Bam Aquino has dedicated his entire career to empowering the youth and the poor, helping thousands of Filipinos improve their lives through access to opportunities and crucial support systems.

In just two years as Senator, Bam Aquino was able to have four of his measures implemented into laws. I wonder if many of the incumbents can claim the same.

The most recent law he authored on the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act will make tuition and other miscellaneous expenses free in our state universities and colleges, local universities and colleges, and in institutions accredited with the Technical Education & Skills Development Authority.

Bam Aquino was principal sponsor of this law, making a college education more accessible to Filipinos. Although former President Duterte is being given credit for this.  And rightly so, FPRRD deserves some credit because he enacted it into law, but the research to determine what the needs are, what is already in place, the negotiations to determine what is doable, in other words, the hard work was spearheaded by Bam Aquino — he deserves the credit, and should be recognized for this.

This, too, is important to me because education is what will help a person move forward in their lives.

Bam Aquino says he believes that with the right support and programs, Filipinos will rise above poverty. He continues to work and fight for prosperity for every Filipino family.

Former  Sen. Francis Kiko” Pangilinan was a Martial Law baby. Typical of middle-class children of the 1970s, he was apolitical. It took the assassination of fellow Upsilon Sigma Phi fraternity brother, and political firebrand Sen. Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr. under the government of fellow brod Marcos to shake him off his apathy, and veer from his regular teenage pursuits of girls and music and sports. It was then that Kiko Pangilinan began to question his unexamined assumptions about politics and society.

The first years of his first term at the Senate may be described as peace time, so he focused on what would sustain peace and progress: justice.

Kiko Pangilinan proposed the landmark Joint Judicial Executive-Legislative Advisory & Consultative Council, composed of the President, the Senate President and the House Speaker, and the Chief Justice.

A peace- and justice-making tool, this brainchild of Kiko Pangilinan became a forum for the three branches of government to strengthen consultation and coordination in upholding the rule of law.

In the last couple of years of his second term, Kiko Pangilinan discovered a new passion: farming.  He initiated the convening of Agriculture & Fisheries 2025, a summit that paved the way for increasing the agriculture budget by 52 percent in 2012.

His active partnership with agriculture and fisheries stakeholders also led to an innovative and empowering way to fix the age-old problems of the sector: Sagip Saka, an advocacy program that has raised the incomes of participant-farmers by modernizing agriculture processes from pre- to post-production. (This is now law, institutionalized after its enactment in May 2019.)

Speaking to farmers and fisher folk all over the country inspired him to start his own organic farm, from which he drew this insight: the success of the country lies in the success of the poorest in Philippine society — our farmers and fishers, our food producers.

With my own family and relatives owning farms in La Libertad, it is important to us that someone who can make a difference believes strongly in this.

Having been appointed in 2014, and responsible for our government agencies associated with food authority and farming, Kiko Pangilinan was able to stabilize the price of rice by institutionalizing greater transparency, accountability, and competition in the rice importation process at the National Food Administration. This cut down the average per metric ton price of rice imports, saving the government some P6 billion per year.

From 2016 to 2019, Kiko Pangilinan filed at least 24 measures, four of which have become laws.

Our country desperately needs hardworking, honest, knowledgeable, educated politicians to get back the progressive Philippines that I knew in the 50s and 60s.

Enough of the media stars, please, who make great photo opportunities but not a whole lot else.

The odds were not in favour of our students that day. They had no adult support, and were relying on their personal resources to make their plans happen. But they overcame through sheer determination and teamwork. They met where they could, to strategize and organize for their next campaign afternoon.

Sometimes a meeting was held in someone’s home, places that aren’t exactly large enough for 10-15 people.  They’ve even sat on sidewalks for their meetings, as there was nowhere to go.

Out of the pockets of those who had some of their allowance to spare, they arranged for jeepneys to take them to their destinations.  Onerous trips on occasion as it’d start with pedicab rides before they got to the jeepney.

Then at the end of each campaign afternoon, they’d reconvene to have a small snack before dispersing and going home. All covered by the few who could do it.

In a previous article Our youth are doing it; we can, too! (March 25, 2023/MetroPost),   I challenged our adults to step up to the plate, and help our youth.

This time, the call has been answered. They now have a place to meet.  They now have someone to drive them to and from their destination. They now will have snacks provided at the end of each campaign event. I am deeply grateful to my relatives and a friend for hearing my call.

More and more students are showing up, and getting involved in this voter education campaign.  Will more adults also step up to support them?

Ultimately, the credit goes to our student leaders who are determined to change the course of this otherwise bleak, corruption-riddled, dynasty-driven Philippine government so they can have a better future.  A better future for them and others who cannot do what they’re doing but who can vote wisely.

For now, I had met these student leaders: Wilkens Abordo and Pil Lantao from Silliman University, Ynah Tulabing and Ram Lazan from NORSU, and Andrea Bandico from Foundation University.

The youth are my hope. Let’s not break their hope.

 

Diana Banogon-Bugeya (She/Her)

DianaBugeya@gmail.com

 

 

 

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