The newly launched 1Sambayan Youth group on Monday, September 13, urged its sector to unite and vote for candidates in the 2022 elections who are competent, full of integrity, and who will advance the welfare of young Filipinos. 

Through the youth alliance, 1Sambayan – the coalition that aims to create a single slate of candidates for the opposition – reached out to students, young professionals, and out-of-school youth by establishing local university and regional chapters to secure votes in the 2022 polls.

“What if [the youth united] and we vote for a person that is full of integrity, somebody who would probably not repeat the mistakes of this administration, somebody who cares about what the youth thinks?” said 1Sambayan Youth convenor Rae Reposar in a video presented during their launch on Monday.

He acknowledged the youth as a “decisive force” in the upcoming elections.

In the same video, another youth convenor, Renee Co, said they will use the alliance to campaign for the administration they want in 2022.

“Ine-embrace ‘nya (1Sambayan Youth) ‘yung capabilities, advocacies ng iba’t ibang sectors, forces, formations with the goal na lahat ito ay magamit natin itong connections together to forward a competent administration for the 2022 elections,” said Co. 

(1Sambayan Youth embraces the capabilities and advocacies of different sectors, forces, and formations with the goal of using all these connections together to forward a competent administration for the 2022 elections.)

Four out of the six presidential and vice presidential nominees identified by 1Sambayan, however, already declined. Only Vice President Leni Robredo and former senator Antonio Trillanes IV welcomed the nomination. 

But the 1Sambayan convenors continue to be open to talks with Manila Mayor Isko Moreno, who is performing well in pre-election surveys. 

While 1Sambayan targets to finalize its slate this month, Co said its youth arm was still conducting a survey among members to determine their preferred candidates for 1Sambayan’s slate. Other affiliate organizations of the alliance were also being surveyed as a part of the selection process of 1Sambayan.

“Kung anuman ‘yung maging results don sa survey ay yun ang bibitbitin ng 1Sambayan Youth na candidate sa loob ng 1Sambayan. [1Sambayan Youth] will be campaigning for them since sila yung naging translation ng boses kabataan,” said Co.

(Whatever the results of the surveys are, that’s the candidate that 1Sambayan Youth will carry within 1Sambayan. [1Sambayan Youth] will be campaigning for them since they are the translation of the youth’s voice.)

The youth’s agenda

1Sambayan Youth had also unveiled their youth agenda, which was formed after consultations with other national youth organizations. 

Co said they would ensure that the upcoming elections would focus not on personality politics but also on the most pressing issues and policies for the youth as identified in their 11-point agenda. 

“We will say no to personality politics, and we will forward ‘yung pagtingin ng buong kabataan sa susunod na eleksyon sa anong klaseng lipunan ang gustong gawin, and hold our officials accountable beyond and ensure that we ourselves will be the leaders stepping up in positions of authority and shaping kung ano ang kinabukasan na gusto namin,” Co said.

(We will say no to personality politics, and in the next election, we will forward the view of all youth about the kind of society they want to make, and hold our officials accountable beyond and ensure that we ourselves will be the leaders stepping up in positions of authority and shaping what future we want.)

1Sambayan Youth’s 11-point youth agenda included the following:

• Safe, quality, and accessible education
• Attainable and quality basic social services
• Decent jobs, livable wage, and economic security
• Rural development
• Environmental protection and climate action
• Uphold human rights
• Just and lasting peace
• Genuine equality and social protection for all
• Press freedom
• Independent foreign policy and national sovereignty
• Good governance, strong democratic institutions, and youth empowerment

Each point was presented by representatives of 1Sambayan Youth and its consulted organizations, namely: Rise for Education, Millennials PH, Innovative Youth Movement, KATRIBU National, Youth Strike 4 Climate, We The Future PH, Student Christian Movement of the Philippines, PANTAY, and College Editors’ Guild of the Philippines.

“We will continue uniting with different youth organizations, and we will campaign for the issues in the youth agenda starting today and until May 2022 and beyond,” she added.

1Sambayan Youth also launched university chapters in the De La Salle University and Ateneo de Manila University. The group is targeting to open more school chapters in the country. – Jacq Martinez/Rappler.com

Jacq Martinez, a Rappler intern, is a third year journalism student at the University of Santo Tomas. This article was reviewed by a Rappler reporter and an editor. Learn more about Rappler’s internship program here.