KEY FIGURES in the Philippine government stressed the importance of the youth’s participation in politics in a two-part series of talks held on February 5 and 7.

Entitled “Life in Politics,” the event aimed to educate the student body regarding life in the Philippine political scene. The project was sponsored by The Ateneo Assembly in partnership with the School of Social Sciences Sanggunian.

The speakers were National Youth Commission Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Leon Flores III, former Malacañang Chief of Staff Mike Defensor and Senator Paolo Benigno “Bam” Aquino IV.

During their speeches, the speakers described the importance of the youth in politics.

“We need to encourage more young people to really be political,” said Flores.

“In 2013, our batch of senators is the youngest so far… and we’ve never had so many young senators voted into office [before], which offers well for the country,” he added.

Consequently, Flores said more young Filipinos are being encouraged to participate in politics.

“In 2010, the number of youth voters [increased]; in 2016, the majority [of the voting population] will be youth voters,” he said in a mix of English and Filipino. “That is how potent the youth will be come 2016.”

Aquino echoed the same sentiments, saying that several senatoriables who won in the last national elections were in their 40s. He believes that this shows that Filipinos are now more willing to risk voting for newer, younger faces in the government.

Defensor also believes that the youth play a big role in Philippine politics.

“The youth have had a strong participation in nation building,” he said. As an example, Defensor mentioned that young Filipinos were at the forefront of the 1896 Philippine Revolution and the 1960’s “Flower Power” revolution.

 “The difficult right”

Flores and Defensor, who were the speakers on February 5, talked about the difficulties of making the right decisions as a politician.

“When you engage in politics, there are difficulties when you run against highly entrenched politicians who have the money,” Flores said. “But if you feel that you can provide a reform alternative to that, feel free to do so.”

However, he added that the youth “can’t just run because you want to. You also need to be realistic and [you must] also be prepare[d] for it.”

Flores shared how he conducted consultations and built rapport with his peers first before officially running as a student government official when he was still in college.

Meanwhile, Defensor warned the youth about the difficulties and perils of entering politics.

“When you run or when you join the government, join or run for the right reasons,” he said. “[Do not run for office just because] you want to be powerful, but [because] you know you can do something, and you can do good for the country.”

He also mentioned that joining politics entails many financial problems.

According to Defensor, politicians still need to financially support their families aside from performing their duties as government officials.

“The middle-level person in government will be earning around P30,000 [a month]. The middle-level person in the private sector will probably be earning P80,000,” he said.

Defensor advised the youth who plan to join politics to also enter into business.

“When you go to the government, be sure that you are ready, because you don’t want to end up being corrupt,” Defensor said.

He added, “When I’m saying ‘be ready,’ I’m not saying don’t go into politics. I’m saying [that] you [should] know the kind of life that you [will be] facing.”

Unwanted attention

In his speech on February 7, Aquino explained how joining politics gives a person a lot of unwanted attention.

He shared how difficult it is for him to become a public figure. “It’s like everyone has an opinion on your opinion,” Aquino said.

Aquino, who co-founded the MicroVentures Incorporated social enterprise, contrasted the kind of attention he has been receiving as a social entrepreneur and as a senator.

“As a social entrepreneur, nobody hates your guts. You help people out. Why would the people hate your guts?” he said. “Now, you take the same experience of wanting to help, put it in politics, and automatically, X number of people hate your guts.”

Aquino added that this is a regular occurrence for politicians. “Eventually you get used to it,” he said.

Aquino also explained that should a young Filipino wish to be a government official, it will be his or her ideals and goals that will sustain his or her work as a politician in the long run.

“At the end of the day, you wake up every morning believing that by doing what you do… things will get better for everyone else.”