#BotongPinoy – UPOU holds voters’ education event for BSKE 2023
The University of the Philippines Open University Faculty of Management and Development Studies (FEMDS) in collaboration with the UPOU Faculty of Education (FED) and the UPOU Committee on Elections successfuly organized “Botong Pinoy: A Conversation on the 2023 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections” last October 25, Wednesday.
The event featured three speakers: Ranze Aaron Calderon, executive director of GoodGov PH, Samuel Madriaga, co-chairperson of San Pablo Youth Development Council, Boyd Luis Antonio Tolentino from Kaya Natin Youth, and yours truly, an assistant professor from UPOU FED.
I am grateful for the opportunity to discuss a brief history of the right to vote and youth movements in the Philippines. Together with two other speakers, we highlighted the need for proactive youth participation for this year’s polls, and the suceeding ones.
More likely than not, most Filipinos are not really familiar with the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan officials in the village where we live, and this is unfortunate because these people play a huge role in our everyday lives because they’re the ones that implement rules that directly affect us from the distribution of ayuda, implementation of curfews, repair for lamp posts, peace and order, etc.
Thankfully, we still have two days to go before the elections. That means we still have the time to get to know the people who are seeking to lead us. We always wish for good governance, and this is our chance to have competent leaders at the grassroots level.
There are 1.6 million new voters, and they have the potential to make a big difference on Monday!
PS: Special thanks too to Dr. Joane Serrano, the dean of UPOU FMDS, Dr. Charisse Reyes, the dean of UPOU FED, and Assistant Professor Lianne Angelico Depante.
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