By: Anthony Perez, Pro-Life Philippines
True to their promise that their voice will never be silenced, the youth sector has come out and came in droves of hundreds, attending the resumption of Congress after its summer break.
Hundreds of young people from different organizations and parishes attended the opening day of Congress in order to show their support for Pro-Life solons, especially the 9YL or 9 Young Legislators.
Even more young people attended the RH Forum which was held simultaneously at St. Peter’s Church at nearby Commonwealth Avenue, with many of them proceeding to the Congress after the said event.
Youth Manifesto
Earlier that day, a press conference was held at the CBCP conference hall by representatives from the youth sector: present to give their respective group’s position papers on the RH bill were : Kiboy Sagrada (UP for Life), Raymond Ibarrientos (Singles for Christ – Youth for Christ), Eilleen Esteban (Youth Pinoy!), Lea Dasigan (Federation of Nat’l Youth Orgs), Allen Guballa (Columbian Squires), Peter Pardo (NCR Youth Ministry)
Later on, they would sign the historic Youth Manifesto, which enjoins all young people to embrace the culture of life and to reject the RH bill. In effect, they have also declared that they will not vote for anti-life legislators.
“The youth, in defense of our welfare, can and will invest our support in legislators who know how to genuinely invest in us. In solidarity, we declare our opposition to the RH Bill. This is our voice. This is our vote.”
“We are opposing the bill as young people because it is us who will be directly and severely affected by the RH bill, not the congressmen who push it” adds Eileen Esteban of Youth Pinoy!
“We are not only the hope of tomorrow,” says Lea Dasigan of FNYO, “we are also the hope of today.
These youth leaders, along with their groups, would go to join more young people at the Congress later that day.
RH Forum
While the session in congress was going on, there was a forum on the RH bill held at St. Peter’s Church in Commonwealth Avenue. More than a hundred youth from the Singles for Christ and the Diocese of Novaliches attended the forum.
The Speakers were Atty. Marwil Llasos, OP, Anna Cosio, RN, and Dr. Rene Bullecer, MD, of Human Life International. They all spoke against the RH bill from the point of view of their expertise, Dr. Bullecer and Anna Cosio being medical professionals, and Atty. Llasos being an impeccable lawyer and an outstanding theologian as well.
Young Hearts, Tomorrow’s Heroes
Coming together in order to oppose the RH Bill and proposing concrete solutions, the youth leaders and their respective members deserve much of our respect and admiration. Young as they are, they have shown that they are indeed the worthy inheritors of the torch that is about to be passed on to them in the next few years.
They have all vowed to vote wisely and to vote Pro-Life. They have all vowed to preserve the culture of life. They have all shown their desire to eradicate poverty the right way and not just resort to shortcuts. There is fire in the collective gut of these young people, a fire which may have been long-extinguished inside our anti-life congressmen, who seem to be more into buying contraceptives instead of providing for the basic necessities of the poor like food, housing, and education. The likes of them should never be elected into office again.
Much of our future lies in what we do today, and if our young turn out to be citizens unworthy of her country’s proud heritage, then the blame lies solely on us who failed to raise them properly. Therefore we educate the young not only to oppose the RH bill, but to embrace the culture of life.
Patriotism used to exclusively mean dying for the country. Nowadays, to live one’s life defending life and protecting the small, the helpless, and the weak – that is patriotism, too.
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