Cliché as it may sound, Jose Rizal’s belief that the Filipino youth is the “hope of the nation” has been proven time and again.
As had been seen in the 2022 national elections, a “re-energized” youth realizing that their future is at stake can (and will) mobilize their energies and resources to ensure that their voices will be heard by the electorate.
And it is in San Pedro City, Laguna, where the youth has been increasingly active in the local political scene before and even after the 2022 national elections, where candidates like former Senator Bam Aquino want to tap further the voice of the youth as the 2025 midterm elections draws near.
As part of wider efforts to engage the electorate, particularly the youth, in “voting wisely,” the city government of San Pedro welcomed the former legislator, who is now seeking another term in the Senate, at the San Pedro City Hall last Wednesday, January 8.
Aside from visiting with youth leaders and paying a courtesy call to San Pedro City Mayor Art Mercado, the former senator also led the distribution of grocery packs to residents of Barangay San Antonio’s GK Alaska Village.
Aquino’s visit to San Pedro City is part of a three-stop campaign in Laguna province during that day, where he was met by youth leaders from the cities of Calamba, Biñan and San Pedro.
"Sa maraming gulo na nagaganap ngayon sa liderato ng ating bansa, kailangan natin ng mga kagaya ni Senator Bam Aquino na ang inuuna ay ang kapakanan ng mga mamamayan," Councilor Bernadeth Olivares, who welcomed Aquino during his visit, said in a message to OpinYon Laguna.
"Kailangan natin ay isang lider na magbibigay ng focus sa mga problema ng bansa, may malasakit sa tao at bumababa sa grass roots para makita ang kalagayan ng ating mga kababayan at makipag-usap sa mga tao kung paano higit na makakatulong ang national government na bigyan ng solusyon ang mga suliranin na kanilang kinakaharap."
‘Boses ng kabataan’
In his campaign pitch to the youth leaders, Aquino expressed his desire, not only to become the voice of the youth in the upper chamber of Congress but also to encourage more active participation of the city’s youth in local governance.
"Narito po kami upang humingi ng tulong sa inyo – hindi lamang upang manalo sa darating na eleksyon kundi upang ipakita na marami pa ring nagmamahal sa ating bayan, handang maglingkod at handang dalhin ang mga pangangailangan, ang mga concern ng mga kabataan sa mga kinauukulan," the former senator said.
To recall, Aquino was one of the co-authors and major sponsors of Republic Act No. 10931, also known as the Free Tertiary Education Act, which institutionalized free tuition at state universities and colleges (SUCs) as well as local universities and colleges (LUCs) in the country.
During the event, the former senator bared that around 60,000 college students from Laguna province have successfully graduated, thanks to this program.
“Kung isasama po natin ang mga kasalukuyang nag-aaral, that means around 100,000 students na po dito sa Laguna province ang nakapag-aaral na nang mas magaan ang loob dahil sa programang ito. Ibig sabihin po nito, 100,000 pamilya na po ang hindi na kailangang umutang para lamang sa tuition ng kanilang mga anak,” Aquino stressed.
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