REFLECTION PAPER

“Mamatay akong hindi masisilayan ang maningning na bukang liwayway. Kayong

makakikita, batiin niyo ito at huwag kalimutan ang nalugmok sa dilim ng gabi” ~Elias / Jose
Rizal Noli me tangere, 1887

This is one memorable quotation that our first speaker Mr. Mark Ramirez said this when
we attended a webinar entitled “ Voters’ Awareness and Youth Community Engagement'' which
was hosted by CvSU Imus. He talks about the government, it’s branches, composition and
qualifications of government officials. I was able to understand our government better and as a
first time voter this coming May 2022 election I am glad to attend this webinar because I can
apply what I learned here in choosing the right candidate.

I know that there are three (3) branches of the government, they are the legislative,
executive, and judicial. On this webinar I have learned more information about these branches.
Each branch has their respective power and responsibility. They are independent of each other
and the power of one branch is not in conflict with those of the other branches. With this type of
system there is always check and balance and this prevents small groups of people or
individuals from seizing and monopolizing power. The executive executes the law, the
legislative makes the laws and the judiciary interprets and applies the law. The executive is
composed of the President and the Vice President. The President is the Chief Executive and he
has the power to appoint his cabinet officials. The legislative consist of the Senate and the
House of Representatives. There are 24 senators and 307 congressmen(80% are district reps
and 20% are partylist reps). Lastly, we have the judiciary which consists of 1 chief justice and 14
associate justices.

One part of his talk is about the qualifications of officials in the National Government . I
believe that since the President is the highest office in our government, education should be
included as one of the qualifications and this should also be applied to all government elected
posts.They are managers of our nation that is why they should be equipped with appropriate
skills and learning so that they can decide on the best interest of our nation. Aside from
education, elected officials should not have any links to records or information that are criminal
in nature and should be clean from all drugs and illegal substances.

He also talked about suffrage and I am excited because it will be my first time voting this
May 2022. I am now part of creating the history of choosing who will be our next leaders. I now
know that all Filipinos have the right to vote unless otherwise he/she is disqualified by law
according to article 5 section 1 and 2 of the 1987 Constitution. The beauty of this law is that
everyone is equal. Rich, poor, literate, illiterate, people with disabilities and people abroad have
the right to exercise suffrage.
 Lastly, I learned that there are important dates to remember during the election season.
It is a very long season that starts on the first day of the filing of the COC’s on October 1, then
followed by the campaign period. For National positions, the campaign period is between
February 8, 2022 up to May 7, 2022 and for local positions, it is from March 25, 2022 up to May
7, 2022. Those aspiring candidates who are dreaming to get the 18, 167 elective position
should not break any election laws otherwise they will be disqualified.

It is very important that we know this because we are part of this event. The May 2022
election is an election that is very important for our generation. As of October 2021 we have 63,
678, 476 registered voters who will cast their votes on May 9, 2022.

The second guest speaker is Mr. Christian Yuson from the City of Imus Youth Affairs
Office. He discussed the projects and programs they do in Imus City such as Imus Youth
Leadership Development Program, Tara G Sa Sogie!: Sogie Rights Awareness, Film
Making Workshop, MLBB Rising Star Tournament and more. He also discussed the
organizations that residents of imus can join such as JCI-IMUS -Wagayway, Eskwela
Kooperatiba Champions, PYAP -Imus and more. These programs can help the residents of
Imus, especially the youths to develop their teamwork and leadership skills.

I don’t go out much since it is a pandemic but it is really good to know that the local
government is still putting so much effort to continue developing the youth in spite of the current
situation. Each municipality and city should have programs like this. This is good because it
can improve the skills and talents of our youth. It can also help them become busy and stay
away from drugs and bad vices.

As a whole, I learned a lot with this webinar and I am looking forward to more seminars
like this in the future.