Youth declare ‘vacation over,’ protest season on

By Abigail Kwok
INQUIRER.net
First Posted 18:31:00 05/30/2008

MANILA, Philippines — For Joey dela Cruz, a junior Philippine Arts student at the University of the Philippines-Manila, the role of the youth is not just to participate in protest actions but to educate and create awareness through the arts.

“Through casual conversations or through creative means, we can let other youth know of the pressing problems of the country. But rallies are also important because classroom discussions are not enough,” he said.

Dela Cruz is just one of the students who share the same beliefs in pushing for truth, justice, and accountability. He is one among the hundreds of youth delegates from different universities across the country who attended the National Youth Assembly at the University of the Philippines-Diliman on Friday, as the series of protest actions against the Arroyo administration resume.

Different student groups headed by Youth Act Now! Movement declared “vacation is over, let’s strengthen our ranks for youth power.”

“Here are the youth, ready and willing to organize their ranks for protest actions,” spokesman Alvin Peters said.

League of Filipino Students (LFS) president Vencer Crisostomo said the issue was no longer just the national broadband network (NBN) deal scandal, but students would also protest the government’s inability to address other issues including the rice crisis, education problems, and oil price hikes.

“Kung hindi magsasabi ng totoo ang gobyerno, mas magkakaroon pa ng maraming pagkilos ng kabataan [If the government does not tell the truth, the youth will hold many mass actions],” he said.

Crisostomo said there would be nationwide student walk-outs during the opening of classes on June 10, to kick off the series of protest actions as a build-up for President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s State of the Nation Address (SONA) in July.

“Although there was an expected lull from youth during the summer, we are now ready as the start of classes nears,” Peters added.

Groups condemned the government for the: alleged attempted cover-up of evidence possibly implicating the First Family on issues of bribery and corruption; “gross and systematic plunder” by key government officials; the unresolved issues of corruption; and, the alleged misuse of government machinery for the “betrayal of public trust.”

Also present during the assembly were NBN deal whistleblowers Rodolfo Noel Lozada, Jr. and Jose de Venecia III, and Jesus is Lord Movement Founder Eddie Villanueva.

“The youth did not take a vacation” Lozada said. “Rather, we should tell the government, tapos na ang bakasyon nila dahil nandito na ule ang mga kabataan [vacation is over because the youth are here again].”

He added that the government left the youth with a “sovereign guarantee,” where “lahat ng inuutang ng gobyerno kayo ang magbabayad [everything the government owes you will pay for].”