LEGAZPI CITY – “In a land called the Philippines, amidst one great battle for freedom against colonizers, a wise man who used ink to spark revolution said the ‘youth is the hope of the fatherland’.”
This excerpt from a tale told by one of its members has tapped social awareness to some proactive young people and dared to form a movement, calling the Bicol youth to register and vote in the 2010 elections.
Not known by many, a group of goal-oriented young people in Bicol has been playing with words and has finally formed the YouthInk Movement (YM) that could spell a significant CHANGE for this country, according to them.
Jonathan Jaime Guerrero, 20, a BS Biology graduate of Bicol University (BU) and concurrent director of the alliance, along with the student leaders from BU, Aquinas University of Legazpi and Divine Word College of Legazpi has formally launched the YouthInk Movement last Friday (July 24).
Their objectives: Reaching as many youth as possible and encouraging them to register and vote based on concerns and issues, not on personalities.
“We chose July 24 for its launching because this is a hundred days before the last day of registration on October,” Guerrero explained.
Youth as “thinking vote”
Geared towards youth empowerment, the YouthInk Movement is a non-partisan youth-led group, calling for clean and honest elections, while raising a significant number from the first-time voters, particularly the youth this 2010 elections.
It also aims to scrutinize candidate for local and national positions.
“The YM is a localized version of the Youth Vote Philippines Movement. Although, it is not a regional chapter of the YVote, our movement encourages the youth and more importantly first-time voters to register and ultimately vote in theupcoming elections,” said Guerrero, who was one of the awardees of the 2009 Regional Ten Outstanding Students of the Philippines.
Out of jumbled words: You, Youth Think and Ink, the movement’s banner name was formed last May summer by four restless young individuals who were just playing characters inside a room yet ended up with a powerful YouthInk (combined word), which calls a move from the youth sector.
“At first, I came up with the name Bagong BUwan, but I realized lately that its scope is limited only within BU students,” Guerrero recalled.
The YM sprang from the idea of youth ink which is a symbolism of an indelible ink of the youth’s right to suffrage, while believing that the youth is a thinking vote – an intelligent bloc which could spell change.
Hence, “it is proper that you think before you vote,” he stressed.
Volunteers’ initiatives, caravans
Armed with their convictions to make a change in past electoral frauds, Guerrero, Jommel Grutas, Raymond Ordan and Edward Arellano, senior students from different college departments in BU, initiated the movement through their school-based and community-based campaigns.
The YM movement is partnered by internal college-based organizations, including the BU University Student Council; National Service and Training Programs (BU NSTP); four BU colleges: College of Business, Economics and Management; College of Nursing; College of Social Sciences and Philosophy; Bicol Organization of Neo-Journalists; supreme student councils of Aquinas University of Legazpi and Dive Word College of Legazpi.
Their objectives have been carried out through various ways such as for a, voters’ education workshops, live concerts and caravans to reach the youth in the rural communities in the region as well.
“We are still looking for more members who would serve as facilitators in the training workshops to encourage more students to register,” Guerrero said in Filipino.
He added that they have also information dissemination drive being conducted to far-flung villages, which is part of their activities for the formal establishment of the movement in the locality.
From being a local alliance, the YM is now on its regional level with affiliates from Ateneo de Naga University in Camarines Sur and working on in other colleges and universities around six provinces of Bicol.
On their first caravans, they conducted voters’ education forum last June 28 in local parish youth councils in Irosin, Magallanes and Casiguran in Sorsogon province. More facilititators’ training to those who want to devote their leisure time in community services were held in Ligao and Oas, Albay last July 19.
“We are increasing our members by establishing our chapters in the community,” Guerrero further said.
While the group has been making moves to call for more members and build one powerful youth alliance, it has also extended their partnership with external organizations. These include the National Youth Parliament (7th batch), Japan East Asia Network of Exchange for Students and Youth (JENESYS), Oikos (environmental organization), Ayala Young Leaders, Sirang (Bicol winners of 10 outstanding students in the Philippines), Brotherhood of Destiny (BROOD) and, the Kabataan Party List.
“All of these emanate from our concrete vision of a clean and honest election and a more in depth immersion of the youth into civic and government affairs in this country,” remarked Guerrero.
Resolute, unyielding voice
The move places a key part in raising awareness of the electorate, particularly the youth to towards a responsible democratic and sustain participants in electoral and governance processes, said NSTP Director Rowena Zoilo.
With more than 3,000 students enrolled in the NSTP program this semester, Zoilo added: “I will be requesting all the colleges in BU to have voters’ education as one of the activities in field immersions.”
“We believe in the competence of the youth on making positive changes in our government and the YM will serve as our partner in the implementation of the voters’ education,” she told the Inquirer.
As a resolute voice, Junne Garcia, internal vice president of the BU-USC said that young people has been patronized largely by multisectoral groups in the country, which could be an instrument to educate first-time and regular voters.
“Like Santino of May Bukas Pa and Goin’ Bulilit, the youth is being heard and watched by many to make great changes in the country,” Garcia added in Filipino.
“With that, there is something more they could still do”, the 20-year-old Iden Rojero of the DWCL College Executive Board urged that students’ responsibilities are not just bound within their comfort zones. “It is not just for us, for our family, but this is for the society, for the nation as a whole,” she remarked.
According to the Youth Vote Philippines (YVP), 54 percent or 34 million of the voting population in the 2010 falls under the youth sector and only 20 percent of the potential youth vote had registered, said Ma. Acela Katrina Padua, a representative of the YVP said.
As she conducted facilitators’ training at Bicol University, Padua believes the youth vote is such an influence that could set the tone and agenda for the 2010. “We must register now and not wait until October 31 because the biometrics can only accommodate 200 persons per day.
Juana Change videos
In workshops, Padua uses Juana Change videos, which are based on political scandals shaking the country, hoping to awaken Filipinos from apathy.
Juana Change, portrayed by Mae Paner, is a character who became famous because of her political mockery uploaded in YouTube. Some of her roles include a coy Sto. Niño, a government fixer, a ridiculous jail warden and a domestic helper.
Materials of the YVP are copyleft modules. “Copyleft because it is the reverse of the copyright law which is preventing (the public) to use the very same material without the permission of the producer and claim it as your own,” Padua explained.
“’Copyleft’ because at the end of the day, our voice is not to recognized ourselves but to recognize every Filipino youth,” she added. “We want everyone to copy our material so that one could share it to others and what he has shared to others would give the same effect,” the young volunteer stressed
Satellite Registration
COMELEC Regional Director Zacarias C. Zaragoza Jr. said the satellite registration is a “pilot” or mobilized form of registration.
He said that the COMELEC has a resolution wherein the election officers are allowed to set up satellite stations in “populated places.” An election officer determines where (satellite registration) to set up so the COMELEC could provide convenience to those applicants who would like to register and vote,’’
However, the 17-year-old Mary Grace Imperial, a sophomore student of the DWCL and the members coordinator of the alliance said they were disappointed when the Comelec Legazpi pulled out the mobile registrations in colleges and universities after it was found defective.
“Computers are very delicate tools. What if our computer breaks down because it was not handled well?” said the regional director.
“It happened in our Legazpi City machine (biometrics) and we have repaired it for two days,” said Zaragoza, noting the residents of the city could not register at that time. He further said that they could “only capture” a very minimal turnout in satellite registration conducted in schools. Johana Vi E. Gasga/Inquirer Sothern Luzon
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