Despite continued pronouncements of the Philippines having a bullish economy, the state of the youth sector has further worsened under Aquino, with the cost of education and basic services continuing to soar and the government failing to provide aid and relief in times of crisis.

On the 27th anniversary of the EDSA People Power, Kabataan Partylist called on the youth to relive and rekindle the nationalist spirit of EDSA 1 by playing an active role in defending the country’s sovereignty and responding to pressing issues of the time.

Youth groups led by Kabataan Partylist and the National Union of Students of the Philippines (NUSP) marched to the office of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) in Diliman at 11 a.m. today to protest the proliferation of “bogus” tuition hike consultations in both public and private colleges and universities throughout the country.

Youth groups, environmental advocates and people’s organizations troop to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) in Visayas Avenue, Quezon City at 9 a.m. today to denounce DENR’s recent approval of the Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC) of Sagittarius Mining Inc. (SMI), a local affiliate of Swiss mining firm Xstrata for its Tampakan copper-gold mining project in South Cotabato.

“The youth challenges Comelec to man up and face the challenges posed by the AES. It is no longer enough for the commission to continue issuing half-hearted assurances and empty rhetoric. The mandate of the people is at stake, and we simply cannot afford another massive electoral fraud.”

On the same day that Pablo survivors staged another barricade demanding genuine relief and rehabilitation, Kabataan Partylist showed support by joining other progressives in a protest at the Department of Social Welfare and Development or DSWD office in Quezon City.

“It is not enough that top US officials promise ‘appropriate compensation’ to the Philippines in light of the incident. That statement in itself lambasts our national sovereignty. Are US troops thinking that they could just enter our shores and destroy our precious coral reefs then just pay something like an entrance fee? That is absurd and downright deplorable.”

National youth formations led by Kabataan Partylist join the women’s movement in their campaign to end violence against women.

Kabataan Partylist has called on volunteers and supporters to adhere to Comelec rules on posting campaign materials in public places.

At 9 a.m. today, youth groups led by Kabataan Partylist and the League of Filipino Students (LFS) joined the ranks of several other progressive groups in a multisectoral mobilization outside PICC to denounce the “grand deception” happening in the said economic briefing.