PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s administration has failed to address the pressing issues that concern the youth sector of the country, particularly on providing free education for all and helping graduates secure jobs that match their courses, a militant leader said.
Kyle Enero, chairperson of Kabataan Party-list Cebu, said they were not disappointed with Marcos’ performance in his first year in office since they did not expect him to do projects that will be beneficial to the disadvantaged members of the youth.
"We are not expecting from him at all. Because in reality, he wasted his first year in presidency, he wasted the opportunity in helping the common Filipino. If we rate him, it will be 0/0," Enero told SunStar Cebu during a protest rally on Monday, July 24, 2023, hours before Marcos will deliver his second State of the Nation Address (Sona).
The militant youth leader urged the National Government to invest more on quality education in the country so more youth can avail themselves of free and accessible education, in contrast to the slashing of budget of state universities and colleges (SUCs) last year.
Based on the proposed national budget for 2023, SUCs were allocated funds amounting to P93.08 billion, lower than the P103.97 billion budget in 2022.
He also challenged the government to increase the budget allocation for education to six percent of the Philippines' gross domestic product (GDP) following the international standards or education set by the United Nations.
According to the Philippine Institute for Domestic Studies (PIDS), since 2010 to 2019, the government has only been spending amounts equating from 2.2 percent to 3.6 percent of the GDP to education.
Job mismatch
Enero also hit the National Government for not intervening on the lack of job opportunities available for college graduates, which led to job mismatching.
Job mismatch is a growing phenomenon wherein the skills required to be successful in a certain position and the skills possessed by a certain employee are not completely aligned with each other.
According to a Pids report in August 2022, 40 percent of employed Filipinos have academic credentials beyond what is needed in their jobs and that these Filipinos were only earning five percent more for finishing their studies despite being relatively overeducated for their positions.
Enero said more youth chose to enter the freelancing industry now instead of applying for a job where they can fully utilize the degree program they have graduated from in college.
No crimes
Police Major Efren Diaz Jr. of Cebu City Police Office told SunStar Cebu that the protest rally in Cebu City remained orderly, adding that they have not recorded any crimes relating to the event.
Diaz said the police office deployed around 100 personnel on standby to maintain the peace and order during the demonstrations.
He said among the places that they focused on were Colon Street in downtown area, Plaza Independencia in Barangay San Roque, Fuente Osmeña Circle in Osmeña Boulevard, and Carbon Freedom Park in Barangay Ermita.
Aside from Kabataan Party-list Cebu, 11 other groups joined the protest rally in Cebu City on Monday. These include Bagong Alyansang Makabayan Central Visayas, Partido Manggagawa, Sentro ng Nagkakaisa at Progresibong Manggagawa, Kilusang Pambansang Demokrasya, Freedom from Debt Coalition, Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino, Urban Poor Alliance Cebu, Akbayan Citizens Action Party, Alyansa ng mga Mamumuo sa Sugbo-Kilusang Mayo Uno, All UP Academic Employees Union Cebu, University of San Carlos Supreme Student Council and Independent Vendors for Empowerment and Development.
The groups said there were more or less 600 activists from Cebu-based progressive groups who joined the rally on Monday to air out their grievances concerning issues from different sectors in the community. (KJF)
