Thank you so much Brgy.

Captain Rullan, for your introduction and thank you so much to all of
you– leaders and members of the SK who are here today.
I would like to greet the officials who are here in the head table: Our Honorable Mayor Adrianne
Mae J. Cuevas, Sangguniang Panglunsod Officials, Sangguniang Barangay, guests and
visitors, a pleasant afternoon to all of you.

We, the SK, are important to this agenda because we represent the young, and we are
in fact a young nation. Our people are young — you represent those who are under 30
years of age and you make up more than half of the population. We are a young nation
— our democracy is just 60 years old. The growing pains are still with us. We are a young
nation — our heart is young. We love life. We sing. We dance. We love sports but our
minds are also young. We love innovation and technology. We are young because we
are true citizens of the world. We can keep up with change. We’re part of the rapid pace
of change that is taking place around the globe. In fact, we are on the cutting edge of the
global workforce.

And so on this occasion — of the best attended SK Congress in our history, organized by
you yourselves not by any professional — I call for a Vision for a Young Nation. It is us,
the youth of this nation who have the energy to make your dreams come true. And as SK,
we have a share in the internal revenue allotment so we have the means to make our
dreams come true.

It is now time for us, the young generation to get involved in civic life, as the SK is involved
in civic life, and to take action and take responsibility for our own fortunes.

We belong to the SK system. We can work within the system to make a better world. Use
the tools afforded to us by the government; meaning, our budget and the local
government. The tools accorded us by your family; meaning, our education. The tools
afforded us by the nation. On the tools afforded to us by your family (our income, our
family incomes), the tools afforded to us by our nation (the educational and career
opportunities) — use these tools to become doctors, lawyers, farmers, healthcare
workers, leaders in high tech and clean tech and many other noble professions.

The vision we have of a young nation must include creating high-paying jobs right here
at home, not just abroad. We love and value our expatriates. We honor their service and
their sacrifice. Yet, we must work for a day, a day when you will be at your peak when a
job abroad is a career choice and not the only option available to a hardworking Filipino.
In addition to jobs at home, we must build a new quality of life that keeps us our young
people here that keeps our nation young and beautiful like us, the majority of its people.

So, it is on us, the next generation that I ask to join me in a ‘Green Philippines’ campaign.
What is the meaning of this ‘Green Philippines’ especially for our young? We must take
back our forests and replenish fallen trees with new, protected forests to protect our land
and our people. That is for us who live in the mountain areas of the country. We must
reforest that land and bring back the beauty of the Philippines we all love and want. We
want to tap the enthusiasm of young and old alike to clean our environment. For you who
come from areas with no forest because you’re in the urban areas — we need to beautify
our trashy barangays and cities. We need to build more urban parks and recreation areas.
We need to purify our water. We need to clean up unhealthy and eyesore industrial sites.
Some of these need to be done by the national government and the regulators but some
of them can be done by the youth especially us, the SK.

As part of our ‘Green Philippines,’ we want an energy-efficient nation, free from reliance
on costly and exhaust-spewing cars and smokestacks — that is for our regulators. We
can harness our sun, wind and geothermal resources and produce our own clean fuels.
Again, to do geothermal power, solar power, wind power — that is for the business
community. But we can also produce clean fuel through biofuels and rely less on foreign
suppliers. And SK can plant the materials for biofuels. We need the will of the people to
encourage the political leaders to embrace this new clean, green Philippines. And we
represent the majority of our people.

This is a perfect time to devote ourselves to ‘Green Philippines’ programs because

Congress has passed legislation on the development and promotion of renewable energy
sources which is now a law.

We want to turn our coral reefs and beaches, the wonder of the world, into national parks
and international sanctuaries for eco-tourism and scientific research. The proclamation
will be done by the national government. The scientific research will be done by the
science professionals but promoting eco-tourism is something that can be done by the
young in the SK.

We have the chance to develop our nation right from the start: clean, healthy, productive
and beautiful. And I hope you, our young people today, you our SK will be part of this
‘Green Philippines.’ And your terms are… what? How long is it going to be, three years,
five years? Three years. Let’s try to make this happen within the three years of your term.
These are just a few ideas because we, the SK, can provide our own ideas when you
start thinking of what projects you should do. But I call on you our youth to respond to this
call to bring to action new innovative thinking on land management, on care for our
environment and ways to create jobs and have a clean, socially responsible environment
policy.

We need to get beyond the era of “either/or thinking” on the environment. We must
embrace change and be bold in creating a ‘Green Philippines’ that is both green and
economically successful. The Philippines can become a model of environmental
stewardship within ten years. In ten years, we will be at our prime —we will be the leaders
not only of our communities but of the nation. And if we begin this ‘Green Philippines’ now
,we will have a much easier time being a leader of the nation in ten years from now. That
is why I need your help to move that vision forward.

I have strong faith in our youth. I have strong faith in our SK. I know you will not shirk from
these challenges. I know you will not neglect your country and abandon your future.
Again, I call for an action. Let us build a green world for the future generation. May the
good Lord guide us in our mission.

Good afternoon and thank you everyone.