By Harvey Keh
Team RP

LAST March, I was invited as commencement speaker of the Western Mindanao State University (WMSU) in Zamboanga City, one of the biggest state universities in the Philippines. During my brief stay, I was able to sit down and talk with some student leaders. I started our discussion with a question. “Who among you here still believes and supports President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo,” I asked. About a third of them raised their hands. “Who among you here wants the President to resign and step down,” I continued. About half of them raised their hands. I pressed on and asked again, “Who among you here is still undecided?” still some few raised their hands. But when I asked, “Who among you here wants change and reforms in our country and government?” All of them raised their hands.

When I got back to Manila, I held the same discussion with some student leaders from Miriam College in Quezon City and I got a similar response. What am I trying to say?

1. Yes, our country is divided on how we view President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. You have on one side, a group supporting Arroyo despite all the anomalies, allegations of corruption and scandals that have rocked her administration, while on the other, you have groups and highly-influential leaders which have called for her immediate resignation and ouster from power.

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By Niel Lim
Team RP

MANY people dismiss the strength of a youth vote. In the last three elections (2001, 2004 and 2007), the youth have constituted a bulk of the votes, enough to make a candidate win, but these votes were dispersed. Pundits say that because the youth’s voting patterns can’t be classified as much as other demographics, a so-called youth vote does not exist.

But the youth definitely has an agenda to pursue. In 2005, the National Youth Commission (NYC) reported that across regions, education, employment and health ranked as the top three survival and developmental issues of which the youth were most concerned. Substance abuse, juvenile delinquency and child abuse were also cited as the top protection issues and governance (national, local and in the Sangguniang Kabataan), youth involvement and access to information as the top participation issues. So how can a demographic with a concrete agenda and shared aspiration not constitute a powerful voting bloc?

In the last 2004 presidential elections, around 13 million voters were within the 18- to 24-year-old bracket and almost five million of them were first-time voters. Unfortunately, roughly two million more failed to register. In the same year, the President won with only one million votes more than her closest opponent. Had the two million youth voters registered and voted, it could have tipped the scale. In fact, the youth comprised a third of the overall voting population in 2004 and had they rallied behind a single candidate, who embodied their aspirations, that candidate could have won with at least 15 million votes.

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HERE’S an excerpt from INQUIRER.net multimedia editorial assistant Abigail Kwok’s Breaking News story.

MANILA, Philippines — Yes, former president Joseph Estrada has a “50-50 chance” of running in the 2010 presidential elections, but only as a last resort, a spokesman for the opposition said Tuesday.

Lawyer Adel Tamano said that Estrada’s claim of possibly running again as president was a message “for the opposition to come together.”

“[Estrada’s] claim is consistent with the clamor of the people,” he said.

FORMER president Joseph Estrada has refused to name a candidate for the 2010 presidential elections, but he’s all praises for Senate President Manuel Villar in this video taken by INQUIRER.net reporter Veronica Uy.

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Pretty ironic if he does end up endorsing Villar, if you remember the dramatic role Villar played in the impeachment of Estrada in the House of Representatives when Villar was the Speaker

At any rate, Erap is saying that his candidate for 2010 should be “pro-poor” and “anti-corruption,” according to this Breaking News article.

Here’s an excerpt:

Estrada issued the statement in response to reporters’ questions on what his criteria was in choosing the standard bearer of the opposition.

But at the same time, Estrada refused to name his candidate, saying that all presidential aspirants of the opposition would go through a process of selection that would include a series of three surveys to determine winnability.

Earlier in the day in Dinalupihan, Estrada was reported as having hinted that he was going to endorse the candidacy of Senate President Manuel Villar, who was said to be eyeing the presidency.

THAT’S the advice of Senator Edgardo Angara to presidential wannabes.

Here’s an excerpt from the Breaking News story:

“I think it’s too early to mess up and confuse the public. It’s all right for them to prepare for their candidacy individually. But to stir up public attention and consciousness about 2010 is bit too early,” he said at the Kapihan sa Senado.

“If [the presidential hopefuls] make 2008 a highly politicized year, because it’s already campaign or election mode, they will forget about any reforms of getting through Congress,” he added.

Angara said his advice goes for everyone thinking of running for president in the 2010 elections, including Senators Loren Legarda, Panfilo Lacson, Richard Gordon, Manuel Villar, Manuel Roxas II, and even Bayani Fernando, chairman of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority.

Um, anybody have an idea how to keep 2008 “politics-free”? I mean, this is the Philippines. Any suggestions?