Name: Joulo Nico P.

Ricote
Course and Section: AB Political Science PSC31
Subject: Political Economy PSCE314
Professor: Mr. Jumel G. Estrañero
University: De La Salle University Dasmariñas

Political Engagement and Socioeconomic Status of the Filipino Youth

I. Introduction

Youth has been a key player in the social events of the world. Greta Thunberg, an
environmental activist that is only twenty years old in the current year, has long been
making noise through every platform she knows about the dangers of carbon
footprint. To add, Sonita Alizadeh, wherein she expresses her stand through
performing rap. She voiced out the struggles of being a woman in her country,
wherein women are being sold off into marriages by their families. Another activist,
specifically a children rights activist, Payla Jangid who escaped child slavery from her
country, India. She fought for the basic rights of children, especially their right for
education, which is the most important of them all. Based on the mentioned youth
activists, it shows that even youngsters have voices. And these members of the youth
have different ways of voicing their advocacies and have different platforms that they
use to spread their messages. It is not new to see youth participating in political
discussions. However, in every year that passes, another set of youth arises. Hence,
youth experiences change and their boldness eventually evolves. Thus, this paper
aims to show the status of the political engagement, specifically the Filipino youth,
through the struggles of the Filipino society.

As mentioned above, Payla Jangid experienced child slavery and Sonita Alizadeh has
been married a few times because of being sold in marriages. This means that not all
activists came from the same socioeconomic status. These activists experienced
struggle and poverty firsthand. Hence, they had no choice but to be a representative of
their own people so that more people could listen and hear their story. As the
environment greatly affects one's upbringing, their status in life might contribute a
thing or two on the way they develop their perception around the world. This may not
 be applicable to all, however, this paper aims to show if socioeconomic status plays a
big role for the political engagement of the Filipino youth.

Together with political engagement and socioeconomic status, this paper aims to
show the youth of the Philippines and where they are in the country's politics.

II. Body

Political Engagement

Jessica Taft (2019), a scholar, believed that not including youth in political discourse
is ant-democratic as youth have their own power. She asserted that they deserved to
be listened to and to be treated as equals. This take from a scholar emphasizes the
importance of having youth engagement in politics. They are also part of the
community, and they clearly share their own experiences and are gravely affected by
the ripples of the decisions that the politicians have made.

In the Philippines, youth activism has been very active and loud. During 2020, where
pandemic affected the country, voices of the youth cannot be silenced as for stating
the fact that the government had poor response to the pandemic. To add, due to the
youth being vocal about their stand, Junk Terror Law became a trivial discussion in
different platforms. Reiteration on the call on the government in amending the law,
ensuring that it is consistent in international human rights standards. Youth activists
expressed their disdain about it and how it leads to dangerously red tagging of
Filipino youth activists. It was argued that it poses a threat to people who may be
wrongly accused of terrorism, such as activists, human rights defenders and
marginalised groups. Furthermore, it came to the point where Angel Locsin and Liza
Soberano, both actresses and the latter participated in youth forums hosted by
GABRIELA, a National Alliance of Women in the Philippines, who educates and
empower women, primarily the marginalised, in fighting for their rights and interests.
Also, student activists of Cavite State University have been red tagged and threatened.
Students of this university are not the only victims of red tagging, there are still many
of them. Due to the Filipino youth's boldness and courage in different platforms, there
are numerous attempts to silence them.
Recently, in October 2022, three students of Far Eastern University have been
sentenced to expulsion as they participated in a rally commemorating Martial Law.
These three students are members of KABATAAN-FEU and were accused of
insurgency. The partylist, KABATAAN-FEU said that other than insurgency, they
were also accused of "subversive acts, “hazing and or recruitment or membership to
fraternities, sororities, or other organisations not recognized by the university.”
(Madarang, 2022). In addition, a statement from KABATAAN-FEU insisted for the
university to uphold academic freedom, that the students' political belief and mindset
should not be a reason to withhold and deprive them of their right to education. It was
also pointed out that schools should be a safe space for demonstrations of dissent due
to critical thinking being a crucial part of learning. With the help of other professors
and legal assistance, these three students are currently appealing to review the student
handbook, in hopes of the expulsion to be nullified as these students argued that they
did not violate any rules or policies of the university.

As the times move into the digital age, activism also has reached the internet as a
platform. Undeniably, the internet has been an effective medium to voice out one's
opinion, especially during the pandemic where gatherings are prohibited. Social
media became a beneficial tool to aid misinformation about and how Chinese students
and famous Tiktokers or influencers in Thailand had raised funds to help healthcare
workers. According to Cohen and colleagues (2012), youth who participate in online
political activities are most likely to participate in the real setting, such as voting. This
asserts that the youth community, being engaged in politics through the internet, are
also most likely to be active even without the internet. They are most likely to have
the guts to participate and initiate change.

Arugay (2022) wrote an article about how social media contributed to the recent
election in the Philippines that happened in May 2022. He asserted that the
Philippines is the best example of mobilization of social media during the elections.
Youth had witnessed the overwhelming political discussions in social media. Many of
them also participated in educating and informing people about each candidate.
Hence, activism does not limit to demonstrations but also in social media. Each
member of the youth community had tried their best to contribute in their own ways
and in the platform they know.

Socioeconomic Status

There are youths who rely on their parents for allowance, and there are youths who
only have themselves to rely on. Hence, Vital (2021) published a study that identifies
Filipino youth that are capable of being employed, educated, or receive training and
those who are not. The result of the study is that more young women tend to not have
the capabilities to be employed, educated, and be trained than their male counterparts.
Working young men also prevailed in the statistics. In urban youth, they tend to be
either not employed, educated, trained or to advance in tertiary education compared to
their rural counterparts. To add, young women in rural youth also tend to be not
employed, educated or trained. Hence, if the place or the population is old-fashioned,
there are more likely young women to be deprived of employment, education, and
training.

This study shows that not all youth have the opportunity to even pursue tertiary
education. In 2016, 10% of the almost 39 million Filipinos, ages 9 to 24, were out of
school children and youth. Most common reasons for dropping out of school are
family matters, high cost of education or financial problems, and lack of interest. To
add, 53% of the out of school youth comes from families whose income are in the
bottom 30% based on their capita income. This shows that more than half of the out
of school children and youth are struggling with poverty that they had to drop out of
school.

The data mentioned above may have shown the activeness of the Filipino youth in
engaging in political discourse however, not all are given the opportunity to be
educated, be employed or be, at least, be trained to have skills that are necessary for
employment. Thus, the information stated conveys the varying situation of the
Filipino youth's political engagement and socioeconomic status. Hence, the next
section indicates the analysis of the relationship of political engagement and
socioeconomic status of the Filipino youth.
III. Analysis

Due to our socioeconomic status, many citizens are at a disadvantage when it comes to their
right to proper distribution of food, money, and their daily livelihood. These are the
individuals who must work and act in order to survive. Others claim that education is the key
to poverty, yet the majority of students did not graduate due to the cost of education, financial
difficulties, or lack of interest. Because of this, youth are participating in movements in an
attempt to help their fellow youth, who are victims of the corrupt system and also the
politicians who do nothing, but instead use the circumstance for their own advantage. In
addition, corruption is endemic in the Philippines, and because of corruption, many public
assets, public money, and people's lives are lost.

In the Philippines, poverty is rampant, and so is child labor. Even though the
government, international organizations, and civil society groups all have plans to stop child
labor, it is getting worse. The problem of child labor has a lot to do with the way society is set
up, it becomes more apparent when even the parents could not provide for the family. Child
laborers are often forced to drop out of school and work instead, which makes them more
vulnerable to abuse and gives them few chances to have a better future. In fact, 2.1 million
child laborers have been recorded in 2011 (PSA, 2015), and is still growing as 30.5 million
child laborers have been recorded in 2019 and it grew even more in 2020, recording 31.17
million. Therefore, child labor has been normalized in the Philippine setting. It has been a
normal sight in the streets of Manila, and even in the provinces. In a documentary, “Minsan
Lang Sila Bata”, which tackled child labor in certain areas of Cebu, Dapitan, and Leyte, the
children were working in dangerous places, such as slaughterhouses, ship docks and
sugarcane fields, and was only paid for “taba”, “laman”, hence are doing free labor, and the
employer even admitting that what they are doing is unethical and wrong, however, the
parents of the children are the ones that are forcing them to work.

In addition, the story of Reymark, a 10-year old boy who garnered praises from the viewers
online for working tirelessly so that he can provide food for their family went viral in social
media, is one example why child labor is apparent in the Philippines.. Nevertheless, calls to
prioritize the rights of the children, and protect them from hardship, and labor should be
made. It should not be normalized, and even praised, such as what happened to the video of
Reymark. Despite having this knowledge, some Filipinos normalize these situations and even
glorify resiliency in the Philippines, having the ability to push forward, when in fact, these
situations are what people should fight for. Being a victim of exploitation and a victim of
poverty does not directly mean that the youth are aware of its causes, such as a broken system
and corrupt politicians. More so, these people, significantly youth, often think that having
help is not possible, therefore they should be able to provide for themselves. These youth
have lesser resources, knowledge and connection to the right people who may be able to
provide help for them. Their survival is first, thus, political engagement is not a part of this.

On the contrary, privileged people, despite some youth having enough resources does not
mean they are likely to have more political engagement. There are youth who are undisturbed
from what is happening around them as long as it does not affect, nor concern them. Privilege
enables people to have what others, specially those who have lower socioeconomic status are
less likely to have, does not equate to being more “educated”, and empathic and open-minded
to the status of other people.

Due to both of these realities, however, according to data, Filipino youth under the age of 18
are more likely to become influential in their engagement in democracy in the Philippines.
However, not only are the issues that are stated above are the barriers in this, as the youth are
often marginalized from these political engagements, and are excluded from public affairs.
Even in the past, Filipino youth has been involved in many forms of political engagements,
may this be informal, such as activism done in school or in the streets, volunteering and
online participations. Despite this, access to more formal ways of political engagements is
still limited or non-existing, even with the existence of platforms for political involvement
for youth such as the Sanggunian Kabataan, there is still not enough education and lack of
knowledge is still rampant.

IV. Recommendation

1. It is recommended to address as many of the concerns discussed in this paper as

possible in order to raise public awareness while simultaneously providing insights
and information.
 2. It is recommended to acquire credible articles on how the Political Engagement and
Socioeconomic Status of the Filipino Youth for their day-to-day basis.

3. It is recommended for other researchers to find factors for political engagement with
direct link to socioeconomic status.

V. Conclusion and Way Ahead

This paper shows the political engagement and socioeconomic status of Filipino youth, which
typically refers to people who have suffered from poverty due to economic and political
exploitation. As a result of the shortage of funds, the majority of young people have struggled
to complete their education. In comparison to their rural counterparts, they are less likely to
be employed, educated, trained, or progress in tertiary education. The socioeconomic status
of the majority, particularly the youth, will encourage their participation in the numerous
political engagements occurring in our country. This is due to the realization that politicians
who take advantage of the low quality of life of Filipinos are making the poor suffer and the
rich get richer. Therefore, for most youth in this generation protest is second nature; it's how
they ensure their rights are protected, upheld, and achieve a more balanced distribution of
resources.

In addition, not only youth who have lower socioeconomic status participates in such fights,
there include powerful figures, artists, social media influencers, and other people who may
have access to more resources, which helps them learn more of what is happening in the
country, and help such messages reach more audience using different platforms, such as
Twitter, Facebook, TikTok, etc., that not only the youth uses, but also the older generation.
Furthermore, not only are protesting, and voting a part of 'political' engagement, there are
many ways in which the youth can be a part of a civic and political action, such as
persuading, and proving to other people that a particular candidate is better, fighting
disinformation in social media, signing petitions, posting and engaging in political matters
online, and even directly providing for people in need, volunteering, raising funds, and even
donating, are engagements that help the community, the marginalized and the nation.
In conclusion, the socioeconomic status of the youth does not directly affect its political
engagement. Having more resources, being privileged enough to get facts, sources, and other
things that those who have lower socioeconomic status are less likely to have, does not mean
a higher percentage of political engagement. On the contrary, being exploited, and a victim of
poverty does not make a person more aware of broken systems and corrupt ways of the
leaders of the country. Regardless of the youth's socioeconomic status, they have the capacity
for political participation. However, it would be preferable if we could require everyone to
participate in political activities. For a society to function, youth participation is essential and
advisable. Youth engagement by public officials gives young people a voice in decision-
making and gives them a chance to learn more about the world.

VI. References

Pimentel et al,. (2020). 32 Young Activists Who Are Changing the World
Retrieved From: https://www.complex.com/life/young-activists-who-are-changing-
the-world/

Mendoza, K. (2020) Defending democracy: How young Filipino activists fought back
in 2020 Retrieved From: https://www.rappler.com/moveph/student-activism-yearend-
2020/

Arugay, A. (2022) Stronger Social Media Influence in the 2022 Philippine Elections
Retrieved From: https://fulcrum.sg/stronger-social-media-influence-in-the-2022-
philippine-elections/

Madarang, C. (2022) FEU urged to drop charges after insurgency accusations vs 3 students.
Retrieved From:
https://interaksyon.philstar.com/politics-issues/2022/11/08/233832/feu-urged-to-drop-
charges-after-insurgency-accusations-vs-3-students/

Vital, M. (2008) Then and now: analyzing Filipino youth education and
work decisions following the K-12 basic education reform. Retrieved From:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/19ZYTVPbCjs8RZ-8VbfwTzPO4k7l5lDkX/view?
usp=drivesdk
McNulty, J. (2019) Youth activism is on the rise around the globe, and adults should pay
attention, says author .Retrieved From:
https://news.ucsc.edu/2019/09/taft-youth.html

Estimated Number of Working Children 5 to 17 Years Old Who Worked During The
Past Week Was 3.3 Million (Final Results of the 2011 Survey on Children).
(2015, December 9). Philippine Statistics Authority. Retrieved December 9,
2022, from https://psa.gov.ph/content/estimated-number-working-children-5-
17-years-old-who-worked-during-past-week-was-33-million

Child labour in the Philippines. (n.d.). International Labour Organization. Retrieved

December 9, 2022, from https://www.ilo.org/manila/areasofwork/child-
labour/lang--en/index.htm

Working Children and Child Labor Situation. (2015, December 15). Philippine
Statistics Authority. Retrieved December 9, 2022, from
https://psa.gov.ph/content/working-children-and-child-labor-situation

“Idea”(2020) Democracy Talks in Manila – The Role of Youth Voices in Philippine

Democracy. Retrieved From:
https://www.idea.int/news-media/events/democracy-talks-manila-%E2%80%93-role-
youth-voices-philippine-democracy?fbclid=IwAR0HQzEkFFbmat4WbyE-
kNqJs7z2fjH0wlOl3ZI6srrKre1ggxS0RrXOaV4

V. MESSAGE TO PROFESSOR
Mr. Jumel G. Estrañero
I learned a lot from you, Sir, and I'm sad that you won't be my professor next
semester. You are an excellent teacher, and I have a lot of information, despite the fact that I
can tell you are struggling a little because you are studying law. The readings that you
provide us with are helpful to our reading comprehension and contribute knowledge that we
may use in future lessons. And the advice you give us about our daily lives, including how to
overcome challenges, sadness, and fears, may help us to relieve those conditions. Thank
you, sir, for being a part of our semester.
Joulo Nico P. Ricote
PSC31
1/21/2023