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FEU PUBLIC POLICY CENTER

U Vote Insights from the College

Experience Survey and Pinoy
Voter’s Vibe: Your Edition Survey
MARCH 22, 2022
 U Vote
Insights from the College Experience Survey and Pinoy
Voter’s Vibe: Your Edition Survey
November 20, 2021, 2:00-4:30 PM, via
Zoom Meetings
I. BACKGROUND
The Filipino youth, particularly first-time voters, constitute an important voting
demographic that could influence election results across all levels of
government. In the 2016 elections, Vice President Robredo won over former
Senator Marcos with a margin of less than 300,000 votes. In the upcoming
elections, both politicians will once again compete against each other, having
filed their respective candidacies for President. In other levels of government,
particularly LGUs with fewer registered voters, results can be decided by
one vote.
Despite the challenges of voter registration brought about by the COVID-19
pandemic, the Filipino youth have expressed their interest in the upcoming
elections through voter registration. As of 14 October 2021, COMELEC reports
that the total number of newly registered voters aged 18 to 21 years old have
breached 4 million.
Given the importance of first-time voters, different sectors of society have and
will make various efforts in helping the youth process information and decide on
the country’s next set of elected officials. The FEU Public Policy Center (FPPC),
with its access to rich data on college students, is in a unique position to
contribute to efforts on voter education.
FPPC administers the College Experience Survey (CES), a longitudinal study that
covers a wide range of topics, including voter registration, public expression of
opinion, time spent on activities organized by student organizations, time spent
checking social media platforms, and socio-political views. By looking at student
responses on these topics, it is possible to gain some insight on topics that voter
education efforts may cover and platforms where voter education efforts could
be implemented.
The FPPC is also a partner institution of the Ateneo School of Government
(ASOG) in the implementation of the Pinoy Voters Vibe: Youth Edition (PVV). The
PVV surveys students enrolled in partner universities on topics such as voter
preferences, behavior, and perceptions of government; and misinformation.
Voter education efforts can be made more holistic by combining insights from
data-driven analysis from actual implementation experience. Educational
institutions and advocacy groups provide a wealth of experience in such efforts.
III. FORUM OBJECTIVES:
Primarily, the forum aimed at providing school officials, student organizations,
and advocacy groups with insights on youth voters, which could serve as inputs
to voter education efforts that may be organized in the lead up to the 2022
National Elections in May 2022.
This forum will/may answer the following questions:

1. What is the relationship of student characteristics to voter registration and

their socio-political views?
2. What are some of the topics that voter education efforts could focus on?
3. How well can the youth spot fake news?
4. What are some of the best practices observed in previous voter
education efforts?
IV. FORUM PROPER

A. Opening Remarks by Atty. Gianna R. Montinola

Senior Vice President for Corporate Affairs, Far Eastern University
Atty. Montinola touched on the relevance of the national elections in charting the
country’s direction and stressed the importance of exercising our right to vote.
She gave a rundown of the program, mentioning the presentations from the
FEU Public Policy Center and Ateneo School of Government as well as reactors
from the TAMang Boto Campaign, FEU Office of Student Development, and
YouthLed PH.

B. Presentation by Mr. Justin Muyot

Technical Consultant, FEU Public Policy Center
Mr. Muyot brought up figures on first-time youth voters and discussed the
results from the study using the College Experience Survey (CES).
As of mid-October 2021, more than 4,000,000 first-time voters registered for the
upcoming national elections. To put that number in context, the vice-presidential
race in 2016 was decided by a margin of fewer than 300,000 votes.
Coincidentally, the top two candidates for vice president in 2016 filed their
candidacies for President in the upcoming elections. In local politics, electoral
races had been decided by a single vote. In 2019, the next mayor of San Isidro,
Leyte won by a single vote.
The study looked at data from freshmen students at FEU schools who
participated in the 2020-2021 CES. Two simple statistical tests were performed
to examine how student characteristics related to voter registration and socio-
political views.
Findings of the Study:

Females are more likely to be

registered voters compared
to males. Voter registration
efforts must ensure that
both males and females
are equally encouraged
to register.
Students who publicly
expressed their opinion
online or signed online
petitions are more likely to
be registered voters
compared to those who did
not. Moving forward, the
limited resources available
for voter registration efforts
could be targeted to
 individuals who have
previously shared opinions
or supported causes. This
could be a more effective
use of resources that would
maximize the number of
registered voters.

Students who spent time

participating in activities
organized by student
organizations back in Senior
High School are more likely
to be registered voters.
Student organizations in
Senior High School offer
avenues where voter
registration efforts can be
implemented early.
Frontloading registration
would lessen the burden on
COMELEC whenever the
deadline for registration
draws near.

Almost 30% of students spend more than 20 hours a week checking social
media platforms. Despite heavy exposure to social media, there is no
evidence linking time spent on social media with voter registration. This
raises the need to study the role that social media can play on voter
registration further. Given the ongoing public health crisis, many voter
registration efforts have been utilizing social media platforms.
Based on student responses, there are several issues that students cannot
decide on:
Public Services – Students are undecided on state ownership of major
public services and industries. This is an important issue that tackles
the government’s responsibility to provide goods and services to the
public. Students can be encouraged to think about this issue by
introducing them to three simple questions: Between governments and
the private sector, who should provide public services? Should
services be paid for by the government (through taxes) or should they
be paid for out of private individuals’ pockets? Lastly, should the
government regulate private sector provision?
Economic growth and the Environment – Students are also undecided
on the harmful impact of economic growth on the environment. Moving
forward, today’s youth will have to contend with seemingly competing
objectives of economic growth and environmental protection.
Economic growth is necessary for the provision of goods and
services that increase our quality of life. Meanwhile, environmental
protection affects our quality of life through environmental quality and
climate change.
Other topics that students have difficulty taking a stand for it deals with
justice, democracy, and personal values, are obedience to authorities,
premarital sex, death penalty, and economic growth over civil rights
and political freedoms.

Student characteristics have

a relationship with socio-
political views:
Assigned sex at birth is
associated with 17 out 19
statements, however, even if
it does not directly affect,
one must still understand
issues of the opposite sex.
 Student engagement is
associated with all 19
statements, providing space
for discussion and
engagement regarding
social-political views.
Joining school activities for
16 out of 19 statements,
providing discussions among
peers to probe and engage
topics deeper

Student characteristics have a relationship with socio-political views:

Assigned sex at birth is associated with 17 out 19 statements, however,
even if it does not directly affect, one must still understand issues of
the opposite sex.
Student engagement is associated with all 19 statements, providing
space for discussion and engagement regarding social-political views.
Joining school activities for 16 out of 19 statements, providing
discussions among peers to probe and engage topics deeper.
Mr. Muyot ended the presentation by stressing the importance of providing
students space; student organizations and online discussions are possible
avenues, where the youth can engage with others to discuss their socio-political
issues to form and refine their positions. Their positions can then be aligned with
candidates’, consideration is taken when voting.
C. Presentation by Dr. Imelda Deinla

Senior Fellow, Ateneo Policy Center, Ateneo School of Government

Dr. Deinla began the presentation by noting that the youth are the most prone to
misinformation. The Ateneo School of Government launched the Pinoy Voters’
Vibe (PVV): Youth Edition to gather insights on misinformation and disinformation
among the youth. The project aims to fulfill the following objectives (3 Vs): Voice,
provides a platform for electoral discourse, Vibe, collect insights and views, and
Vote, gather, and inspire to participate through voting.
The PVV’s survey is focused and divided into four parts: demographic question,
perceptions on job performance of the government, and self-rated confidence in
determining fake news, lastly, a fake news quiz was also given to the
respondents. The survey employed a snowball sampling method and was
distributed to partner academic institutions, targeting the top vote-rich cities in
the country.

The results of the survey were analyzed to determine whether political

polarization increases the Filipino youth’s susceptibility to believing in
misinformation. Although the Philippines does not have a stable political party
system, nor political personalities embody different political ideologies, which
contribute to political polarization. Division in political opinions, however,
signifies a healthy democracy, though it may lead to antagonism and violence.
The study asked respondents about their support for President Duterte and Vice
President Robredo as a proxy for measuring political polarization. Their support
was then regressed against their fake news score.

The study found that supporters of President Duterte have a lower capacity
for spotting both real news and fake news. On the other hand, supporters of
Vice President Robredo have a higher capacity of spotting both real news and
fake news.
The observations regarding supporters of the President have also observed
similarities among supporters of the US Republican party. According to Dr.
Deinla, the results may have been due to the type of content they are exposed to
in their social media feeds.
Using data from Round 2 of the PVV, the study found that a high likelihood to
vote is correlated with high accuracy in identifying real news.
Respondents who answered that they will vote are 43% more likely to detect real
news items. However, there is no statistically significant relationship between the
likelihood of voting and the likelihood of detecting fake news.

The average score in the fake news quiz of those who will vote is 7.0 while those
who will not vote is 6.3 out of 10. The results imply that voters will more actively
seek a variety of information and are more likely to seek real news, as it
stimulates political awareness and engagement.
The study also explored trust in media sources as it decreases the odds of
identifying real and fake news by 3% and 14%; higher trust in mainstream media
is correlated with higher accuracy in identifying official real and exaggerated
fake news.
Other studies have shown that trust in mainstream media lessens the likelihood
of engaging in conspiratorial thinking. Meanwhile, the results also revealed that
higher trust in Facebook as a source of information is correlated with lower
accuracy in identifying real and fake news.
Dr. Deinla concluded the presentation by noting that fake news is endemic in the
Philippines and that many students have difficulty in identifying fake and real
news. The youth are immersed in a culture of fake news and efforts at the
individual and societal level are needed to combat the proliferation of fake news.
Dr. Deinla invited the participants to the upcoming Round 3 of PVV this coming
February-March 2022, and “What the Fake?! Fake News Challenge ng Bayan”
fake news diagnostic tool through inclusivedemocracy.ph/fakenewschallenge.

D. Panel Reactions
1.) Mr. Rigel Alvaran
4th Year AB Political Science Student
Far Eastern University
Proponent of TAMang Boto
 Mr. Alvaran started off with an
overview of TAMang Boto, a
student-led initiative that started
in his organization, the FEU
Political Science Organization.
Since then, TAMang Boto has
aimed at encouraging the
Tamaraw community to
register and vote wisely in the
upcoming elections.
The first phase of the initiative’s
three phases, focused on getting
the Senior High School and
College students from the FEU
Group of Schools to register so
they can participate in the
elections as a major exercise
of their democratic and
political rights.
It also included a series of
webinars on the technical and
civic aspects of the elections for
first-time voters, as well as
social and political issues that
candidates should prioritize
to address.
As Mr. Muyot shared in his presentation, joining and organizing discussions
about elections and the social and political realities that the next set of officials
will have to address can be a ‘game changer’, as it can inspire the youth to
influence peers to register and select their candidates according to correct and
credible information through social media and actual conversations, and
collectively ensure that candidates who will work on the protection of
democratic institutions and the improvement of Filipino lives will win.
The last activity under the TAMang Boto Initiative was Pulso ng Tamaraws (The
Tamaraws’ Pulse). This was a roundtable discussion that gathered FEU student
leaders representing various advocacies to openly discuss the youth’s
perceptions on the upcoming 2022 Elections.
So far, the TAMang Boto campaign has been largely conducted on social media
to take advantage of the youth’s online presence and, as mentioned and to be
mentioned by the presenters and panelists, the scale of social media’s influence
in the youth’s attitudes towards candidates and voting per se.

The Phase 2 of TAMang Boto will commence after the filing of candidacy ends. It
will focus on empowering their fellow youth to become “wise voters” in 2022.

This phase aims to make the youth change the current state of affairs with their
vote, and, in order to do so, be more cognizant of the realities that increase the
stakes in the upcoming elections—from the damage inflicted in democratic
institutions, to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic which is seen to continue
impacting lives and livelihood—and make these their guideposts in casting
their ballots.
Phase 3 of TAMang Boto focuses on accountability aspect of governance and
politics. It aims to break from the tendency of ending voter education after
elections. It aims to make voter education a cycle that starts from voter
registration and continues with the tracking of the winning candidates’ policy
action vis-à-vis their promises, and well into the next election cycle.
Mr. Alvaran concluded by sharing that the TAMang Boto team is exploring
partnerships with like-minded groups to carry out their campaign more
effectively, especially as they enter the second phase. He said youth
engagement is very crucial as their vote, if decided wisely, can save millions of
lives and change the society we live in.
2.) Mr. Glenn Concepcion
Academic Services Coordinator
Far Eastern University
Office of Student of Student Development
Mr. Concepcion highlighted the data from PVV on the impact of the youth vote in
the 2022 National Elections. With 4,000,000 new voters aged 18-21, the youth
now comprise half of the registered voters and hence, can be a powerful
political force to influence election outcomes.
He emphasized the importance of election in a democracy. It enables the nation
to select the next leaders of the country that requires responsibility and
accountability. The election is an opportunity to dismiss corrupt officials and
place deserving leaders who can change the course of the country.
Academic institutions must provide students with learning opportunities to
develop political awareness and voting behavior. An environment must be
created where students can freely express their civil engagement by supporting
programs discussing social, political, and economic issues. Correspondingly,
FEU’s Office of Student Development supports participatory leadership all year
round; developing proactive student leaders who volunteer to act on issues
regarding the society and leading the community towards nation-building.
Projects like advocacy concerts, talks, competitions, leadership training, and
open forums competitions organized by FEU students are made to influence
votes and inspire civic engagement.
Mr. Concepcion emphasized that while being an educated voter is easier with
today’s age, when information is conveniently available through the internet, the
irony lies in the rampancy of malicious lies that usually takes the form of
legitimate online information sources. Hence, the youth should develop and
strengthen their discernment. Academic institutions can help by teaching
students to evaluate information presented to them and striving to learn more
about fact-checking through webinars or course activities. Additionally,
institutions can provide and recommend credible sources to instill a culture of
verification and discernment among students as they write their academic
papers. These initiatives can help students become honest, responsible, and
discerning consumers of information, both as students and voters.
Mr. Concepcion believes that voter education projects that underscore social
and political issues will help students in forming their stance and making
better decisions.
3.) Ms. Natalie Christine “Ching” B. Jorge
Chief of Party
Youth Leadership for Democracy (YOUTHLED)
Ms. Jorge introduced YOUTHLED, a program focusing on youth leadership,
youth coalitions, and civic education. With 11 regional hubs nationwide,
YOUTHLED conducts various activities for the youth and their engagement
including voter registration and education campaigns. It has also built coalitions
for youth engagement, such as Kabilang Ka sa 2022 Coalition (You Matter In
2022), with 850 youth organizations of late.
Since the pandemic, the Internet has become the main platform for social and
political engagement. YOUTHLED believes young people have a greater
propensity to initiate change and join social movements as a means of belonging
and take risks compared to older generations. They also have wide social
networks that can be mobilized to generate or execute new ideas.
However, not all youth are accorded with support structures to share their voice
responsibly. Thus, YOUTHLED is working to provide capacity building platforms
for the youth towards more effective engagement in democratic affairs.
Similar to parts of the FPPC’s College Experience Survey and the Youth Edition
of the Ateneo Policy Center’s Pinoy Voters Vibe, the YOUTHLED nationwide
survey, conducted in partnership with the Social Weather Stations (SWS) and
with 4900 participants representing all social classes, provides a deeper dive on
the youth’s use of and attitudes towards social media as a means for democratic
participation. Survey participants were presented with 16 different individual and
collective political actions, and were asked whether they have done, have not
done or might do in the future the said actions.

According to the survey:

60% have liked or shared political/social posts in social media
54% sought out news about political issues
49% have discussed politics and societal issues with another person
online or by person
33% followed a politician, political commentator, and/or political accounts
27% have posted their comments
Opportunities presented by online engagement allow for creative and innovative
contributions (e.g., short videos, short videos); from the youth to express their
views and opinions. However, support and guidance are needed for discernment
and civic-minded participation.
As for offline engagements, student organizations remain the main entry point
for youth civic and political participation, at 45 percent of the youth surveyed.
Ms. Jorge referenced Mr. Justin Muyot on the importance of young people
forming their own opinions: YOUTHLED’s strategy for youth engagement is
anchored on evidence that the youth are most likely to participate when
presented with particular issue-based advocacies that affect them the most
such as poverty (58%), violence against women and children (54%), lack of
quality education (54%), climate change (51%), and response to COVID crisis
(49%), rather than general modes of participation such as joining political
groups. These can be cross-referenced across different geographic and
demographic profiles.

The survey also examined the degree of the youth’s agreement with and
knowledge of their civil rights and responsibilities.
Majority of the youth agreed to statements concerning their rights and
responsibilities as citizens. On the other hand, it provides guidance on areas to
focus on in terms of governance and accountability; especially with
communicating and engaging with government leaders.

These insights will form part of YOUTHLED’s civic education modules. The
modules will start as early as Senior High School, where students will be eligible
for voting in May 2022.
YOUTHLED also wants to ensure that voters’ education must not only be
implemented before the election but carried out as part of the curriculum. This is
something they are working on with civil society organizations, and the
Department of Education.

The survey also tackled who influences the youth voting decisions. The results
highlight that the youth’s voter preferences are most likely influenced by family,
at 54 percent. Political experts are a far second, at 29 percent; followed by
the president (24%) traditional media (19%), community leaders (19%), and
peers (18%).
Majority of the youth also look to their families for stance on political issues (at
59%) and for guidance on their support to government policies (at 57%). The
figures above can serve as a guide for implementers of civic education initiatives
to look at designing their efforts not only for individuals but also families as a
political unit. Family- or community-based voter education efforts can also
provide opportunities for the youth to have a voice and become political
influencers in their family and community.
The youth get their information about electoral candidates mostly from television
news coverage, at 45 percent. Word of mouth follows closely, at 44 percent.
Social media ranks as the third go-to platform for information on who to vote.
Participants were also asked about the frequency of which they verify the news
they get on traditional and social media. The numbers are alarming given how
rampant disinformation is—only 22% and 27% of them always verify; 51% and
44% sometimes or never verify. YOUTHLED is currently taking steps such as
capacity building to instill the habit of verification among the youth.
Lastly, Ms. Jorge presented what a week in the life of a Filipino youth looks like,
especially under the pandemic. Mostly at home, the youth are most likely
engaged in household chores, browsing social media (aligned with the findings
of the CES on social media usage), or talking to family. This again provides
guidance on the possible entry points for youth engagement.
Ms Jorge summarized her presentation with the following a few takeaways:
Young Filipinos are more inclined toward individual civic political actions
online and on issue-based collective action.
Youth engagement is more personalized and is reflective of one’s personal
interest and self-expression; there is less interest in politics and more on
social issues and social change.
Youth and student organizations are still the top group that young
people participate in, which makes them a promising main entry point
for engagement.
The youth turn to their families for political and civic decisions. This
dynamic can be maximized as having the potential to empower the youth
and make them political influencers in their families and communities.
The upcoming 2022 elections provides an opportunity to activate, organize,
educate and encourage participation through dialogues, debates, and other
civic education initiatives, in which YOUTHLED takes an active role.
E. Open Forum

1.) All the panelists spoke about how fake news is rampant in the
Philippines. How can educators and schools be avenues to combat mis-
and disinformation?
Ms. Jorge: Academic institutions are the first line of defense in fighting
fake news. Teachers have a big role to play in guiding students in analyzing
and creating a habit of verifying news and information they see online
before sharing.
YOUTHLED has videos and modules that teachers can use to impart practical
actions on how to differentiate facts from disinformation. Ms Jorge committed to
share these resources to teachers and other forum participants.
Mr. Alvaran: From the perspective of students, one thing they have learned from
being immersed online is to fact check even in academic matters. He believes
that he and fellow members of student organizations is to also fact-check posts
before sharing via their organizations’ social media pages.
Going beyond this, and especially with the 2022 Elections underway, the youth
should also engage in actual, personal discussions with their friends and right at
their homes, keeping in mind to emphasize facts and to be also strategic in
present facts—particularly, ensure facts are shared simply and comprehensibly
to avoid confusion and aversion (i.e., the feeling that they are being attacked
when shared with facts).
Dr. Deinla: It is important for fellow educators to remind students about fake
news and the risks it pose to civic spaces and democracy in general. Schools
should be the first in line in terms of combatting disinformation. This requires
that educators equip themselves with the tools and attributes (e.g. discernment)
to lead students to critically think about facts they are consuming.

She appreciates efforts by FEU and the Ateneo for the conscious effort of their
respective leaderships to address how fake news can undermine democracy.
Institutional support is very important; collaborations such as PVV, and coalition
building among academic institutions will even further facilitate what needs
doing to combat disinformation.
As a rejoinder, Ms. Alqueser emphasized the need for training and discussions
for educators in grade school and high school—especially considering how
disinformation featured in modules for blended learning.
2.) How will we modify our voter education modules for the out-of-school
youth—some of whom may have little access to voter education initiatives by
academic institutions or student organizations?
Mr. Alvaran: One thing the Tamang Boto team has factored in when designing
Tamang Boto was the medium to which their messages will be shared, especially
as the pandemic forced the schools and students to conduct academic and
extra-curricular activities online. The challenge is, indeed, on how the reach
of their voter education and engagement efforts can expand even outside of
the university.
One thing the team encourage their webinar participants is to do is to engage
outside of these webinars by having casual conversations with friends and
family or sharing on social media videos and other materials that demonstrate
how fact-checking works.
In its future phases, TAMang Boto is considering the inclusion of out-of-school
youth (OSY), as well as fellow FEU students who have not yet enrolled due to
challenges owing to the pandemic.
Ms. Jorge: In terms of accessibility of voter education efforts, majority of
Filipinos unfortunately still don’t have opportunities to attain voter education,
more especially online initiatives.
The challenge is how to reach out to grassroots communities who have little or
no access to Internet. YOUTHLED is trying to close this gap by their work with
bigger institutions, such as the Department of Education, to develop modules for
OSYs enrolled in its Alternative Learning System.
YOUTHLED’s network of community partners, NGOs, and small civil society
groups also help in spreading messages around voters’ education and civic
participation not only among the youth, but also, to Filipinos with little or no
access to forums and materials on disinformation.
3.) (On the weaving of revisionist narratives into educational resources):
Unfortunately, Araling Panlipunan (Social Studies) teachers are (intentionally
or unwittingly) feeding fake information to students. What suggestions can
you offer on how to deal with teachers who are practicing revisionist culture?
Dr. Deinla: Evidence points to the existence of revisionist narratives in
educational materials. This reality is basically the reason why the leadership of
the Department of Education should get onboard in countering fake news.
Educational materials should be screened and checked for inconsistencies with
historical facts.
DepEd should also acknowledge the scale of this concern, as demonstrated by
the fact that some teachers themselves have been engaged in spreading
historical distortion.
Given these challenges, the youth should step up by, among others, exercising
critical thinking; do not be afraid to engage with teachers and question the
source and veracity of their information, as much as teachers require them to
cite their sources. It’s high time for students to be more assertive in this
environment of fake news. They are after all, on equal footing in terms of the
right to access credible information and make an informed opinion out of it.

Alquesser mentioned FEU Public Policy Center’s initiative to counter revisionism

in the pedagogy of history using the framework of historical reasoning.
Dr. Maris Diokno, professor emeritus of the University of the Philippines and
Board Member of the FEU Public Policy Center, briefly shared the two initiatives:
(1) the analysis of methods and practices of teaching Araling Panlipunan (Social
Studies) in Grades 5 and 6 and (2) a review of seven (7) Social Science
textbooks including the one being distributed to public schools by DepEd, the
results of which will be released by yearend.
Currently, FPPC is conducting trainings for young teachers on historical
significance in preparation for their professional licensure examinations, and the
magnitude of the problem on historical revisionism surfaced. And this problem is
not borne out of malicious intent on the part of the teachers, but rather of the
systemic problems in teacher education that need fixing, especially in the way
AP/Social Studies is being taught. The ball is hence not on the teachers but on
the Commission on Higher Education and the colleges and universities offering
Education courses.
One area that the teacher education curriculum is lacking is on critical thinking
which translates both in the way History is being taught and to the students’
view that Social Studies is merely about memorization, at the expense of
appreciating it as a narrative to appreciate the need for participation in
democratic and civic exercise.

While commending voter education initiatives aimed at the Filipino youth, Dr

Diokno said the studies and sample modules her team is preparing under FPPC
will complement such efforts as they are anchored towards Araling Panlipunan
teachers—they are after all, the ones who are shaping the minds current and
future first-time voters.

4.) How do we best explain the difference between facts and opinions?
Dr. Deinla: Facts are units of information that answer the question of what, when,
where, who, and how; and have no other interpretation than itself—one’s date of
birth, for example. Opinions are an interpretation of, or a perspective on a fact or
a facet of reality—e.g., that people in democratic societies still fare better than
those under authoritarian regimes.
While it is not bad to have an opinion, it should be backed by facts and
presented without any intent to distort or manipulate facts.
F. Closing Remarks by Ms. Julia Abad
Executive Director, FEU Policy Center
Ms. Abad closed the forum by underscoring the main vision for the UVote Forum
—that is, to complement widespread voter education efforts among youth
groups, advocates, and fellow academic institutions by providing them with
information and insights on the characteristics and inclinations of young people
especially towards elections and democracy, and, as a result, help in the
enhancement of their ongoing voters’ education efforts.
She bestowed gratitude to the presenters and panelists from the academe and
the youth sector for the inspired discussion. The facts and insights they shared
proved that contrary to the perceived apathy of the youth, they are quite active
and predisposed to advocating for and seeking change.
The challenge in the coming days lies in creating an enabling environment for
the youth to better discern the different sources of information presented to
them, especially those that will inform decisions that can make or break
democratic institutions; and to be inspired to enhance their critical thinking skills
and commit to deliberative action.
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