The youth delegates to the Cordillera Day celebrations, held in Baay-Licuan, Abra on April 22-24, made up the youth caucus on the night of April 23. In the caucus, the participants shared the particular problems of the youth in their respective communities, schools and provinces and came up with a creative way to express their call for truth and accountability – through sacks sewn together, like a quilt, with their call and their signatures on these.
BY ZOFIA LEAL
Bulatlat
Vol. VIII, No. 12, April 27-May 3, 2008
The youth delegates to the Cordillera Day celebrations, held in Baay-Licuan, Abra on April 22-24, made up the youth caucus on the night of April 23. In the caucus, the participants shared the particular problems of the youth in their respective communities, schools and provinces and came up with a creative way to express their call for truth and accountability – through sacks sewn together, like a quilt, with their call and their signatures on these.
Statistics cited by John Panem of Youth Act Now (Youth Alliance for Truth and Accountability Now)-Baguio show that out of 100 elementary students, only 66 will be able to graduate in the elementary level and only 58 will be able to enroll in high school. Out of the 58 enrollees, only 43 will be able to graduate and only 23 will be able to enroll in college. Out of the 23 college students only 14 will be able to finish college.
The representative from Abra explained that most of the youth in Abra only graduate from vocational-technical courses due to the high cost of education. Also, most parents cannot afford to send their children to college because the universities and colleges are all in Bangued, the provincial capital.
Aside from the problem of lack of education, the youth of Benguet also have to face the issue of alcoholism and drug use in their province.
In Ilocos and La Union, most of the colleges and universities will increase in their tuition this coming school year. Also, the students have to face the “fascist acts” of their administration. The official student publication of the University of Northern Philippines (UNP)in Vigan, Ilocos Sur, The Tandem, is still closed due to its stand against tuition fee increase.
In Kalinga, militarization is one of the biggest problems that the youth face. Recently, a youth leader was killed by the military, who claimed that he was a rebel. Also, when visitors from other provinces come to Kalinga, the guides would usually be beaten up by the military. The presence of mining companies also attract most of the students to be miners instead of pursuing their studies.
Aside from the delegates from the provinces, the students from the University of the Philippines (UP) were also able to share their situation regarding the standardization of fees in UP and the repressive policies of the administration.
Louie Santos, Youth Act Now-Ilocos coordinator, explained that the issue of the youth is not separate from the issue of society as a whole. Santos added that aside from the problems brought about by the “colonial, commercial and fascist” system of education, the youth are also affected by the issues of corruption and rice crisis.
Santos explained that while the government is still not addressing the issue of corruption which includes the National Broadband Network (NBN) deal as exposed by Engr. Rodolfo “Jun” Lozada, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo added the burden of rice price increases to the common people.
As a resolution, the participants presented a signature campaign in “quilted” rice sacks dubbed as “Sako-Sakong Katotohanan” (Sacks of Truth). The signature campaign aims to call for truth and accountability in the government. (Bulatlat.com)
