Youth urged to exercise right to vote in Barangay, SK elections
May 5, 2017 Tweet3282
The Commission on Elections (COMELEC), in partnership with the National Youth Commission (NYC), made a stop at the Colegio as part of the Voter Registration Awareness Caravan, to encourage the youth of Letran to vote in the upcoming Barangay and SK Elections.
With the help of the Office of Student Welfare and Development, the Caravan introduced the campaign “Youth Vote 2017” last April 24 at the St. Thomas Hall.
Student leaders and interested Letranites listened to COMELEC Chairman Andres Bautista and NYC Comissioner for Luzon Perci Cendaña stress about the role of the youth and how the voting process matters in a democratic country like the Philippines.
“During the 2016 elections, 40 percent of the voters were from the youth sector,” said Bautista. “Around 22 million. The vote of the youth is one of the crucial votes.” He further said that it is because of that impact that they want the youth to be an informed electorate.
“We want you to be empowered. We want you to be involved in civic affairs,” he said.
Saldana said that by empowering the youth and their right to vote is “an act of hope, a renewal of faith in the youth.”
Letran Student Council president Renzo Sabanal signed the “Manifesto of Collaboration in Enhancing Active Youth Participation in the Elections” with Bautista and Cendaña, along with Rev. Fr. Boyd Sulpico, OP, the Executive Vice President of the Colegio, agreeing to – to “the best of their ability and in the spirit of empowerment” – “inform, engage, and involve the youth on matters pertaining to the upcoming Barangay and SK elections and other elections that will follow.
The Manifesto was based on the essence of Article II, Section 13 of the 1987 Philippine Constitution, which “recognizes the vital role of the youth in nation-building.”