I had almost forgotten to write about our partylist’s national convention. Kabataan Partylist held its national convention last November 17 and 18, 2009. The first day was allotted for a plenary session among delegates from our chapters across the country. The second was a public convention with speeches from guests and performances from cultural organizations, capped off by a concert from a handful of popular bands. More then three thousand students from different schools, residents from various communities and delegates from all over the country filled the UP Bahay ng Alumni that night.

Senatorial candidates Liza Maza & Satur Ocampo were also in attendance to give solidarity messages to the youth. Other politicians also arrived and delivered brief speeches.

In his speech, Kabataan Rep. Mong Palatino laid out a youth agenda for the 2010 elections. From reforms in the education system (increase budget of public schools, universities and colleges, among others) to providing decent employment and protection for the rights of workers, Mong also stressed that good governance should also be a key platform of every candidate, taking off from the myriad of corruption scandals of the Arroyo administration. Mong also reiterated the need to prioritize the needs of the Filipino people over that of foreign interests. He stressed that the youth will make up almost 40% of the votes in the 2010 elections, and that the collective strength of the youth can determine and greatly influence the outcome of the said democratic exercise.