11/05/2025
๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ฬ๐ | ๐๐จ๐ญ๐๐ซ ๐ฌ๐ ๐๐๐ฎ๐ ๐ฆ๐๐จ๐ง: ๐๐๐๐จ๐ซ๐ฆ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐๐ฎ๐๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐๐จ๐ซ ๐๐ฅ๐๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐ฌ
The 2025 Philippine general elections have cemented themselves to be another chapter in the long-lasting and often scrutinized series of Philippine democracy, always coming through with its victories and failures of historical proportions. In addition to the arrest of former president Rodrigo Roa Duterte by the International Criminal Court for criminal charges of crimes against humanity of murder, the recent months have spawned multiple controversies and issues, dividing the country into several political allegiances with differing ideas about how the government should be run, and which family or who should take the reins that have run even deeper than before. Some could begin to argue that this is the Philippinesโ tribal mindset at work, deeply rooted in the Filipino subconsciousness, where social groups come together and mark their territory, at the expense of coexisting with one another.
Whatever the case, Filipinos have become more inclined to take an active part in determining the trajectory of their rights and the nation's future, especially the youth. In recent statistics, as of May 2023, there are approximately 69 million registered Filipinos eligible to vote for the 2025 midterm elections, and 63% of the voting population consists of millennials and Generation Z. With these estimates, political awareness comes into play. According to a survey conducted by PARTICIPATE, a non-partisan political organization, 85% of the population has little to no awareness of reforms currently being proposed, including reforms such as House Bill 488 or the Political Party Development Act of 2022, which aim to promote political transparency further and informed political participation. On top of that, outside of the National Capital Region, the majority population of Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao has been reported to lack familiarity with political parties.
This calls into question the state of the Philippine education system in terms of how it integrates courses related to political participation and governance. It is part of the recently implemented Matatag curriculum, instituted by the Department of Education, that students will be taught civic education, incorporated into their respective subjects based on grade level, such as the Makabansa subject for Kindergarten up to Grade 3, Araling Panlipunan for Grade 4 to 10, and Understanding Culture, Society, and Politics for Grade 11 to 12. In the curriculum, students are instructed on topics related to ongoing political and social issues, namely the West Philippines Sea conflict, extrajudicial killings, red-tagging, and the like.
Despite this, the prevailing influence of political dynasties and their fierce competition against each other in the elections has hampered the delivery and availability of proper civic education. Activities of disinformation mobilization are spreading throughout social media as a means of increasing their power over the Filipinos, sponsored by various government leaders and tailored to suit their agendas, eventually diluting the contents of the curriculum. As a result, students, particularly Millennials and Gen Zs, have retaliated against the disinformation by using the same social media platforms to conduct online protests and voice their political viewpoints, some of which have led to student activists getting red-tagged by the Marcos administration.
Ultimately, millions of Filipino youth desire to engage in politics with the right awareness and critical thinking skills necessary to make informed decisions. Aside from the online activism, student forums all over the Philippines are being conducted to encourage responsible voting within students, partaking in mock-elections and other similar activities, instilling the idea of a better democracy through the new generation of Filipinosโa democracy for the people, by the people, and of the people.
IN THE RADIUS | Rai Lemana, Roniel Quilla
