Mark Anthony P.

Borral Understanding the Self | GEED 10023

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1. In line with the political issues in the country, how can you contribute to the
betterment of the situation and be a good PUPian student in the country.

Being a PUPian is both a privilege and a symbol of social responsibility. It is marked

by the life values and proven academic excellence that the students uphold through their
socio-political engagement. Through their initiatives outside the classroom, they were
able to maintain their patriotism — the love for the country. Currently occurring changes
and developments in society lead to liberation among the youth that serves as a
movement to fight political anomalies. Taking part in this movement reflects the reformed
character of the youth as well as the firm principles that they possess. As a certified
PUPian, I acknowledge my role in line with this political movement.

From a political perspective, it is undeniable that in the Philippine setting, we’re in

certain distress to experience political issues. As Filipinos or at least human beings, we
are political animals dealing with this kind of environment as theoretically explained by
Aristotle. In addition, Rizal highlighted the quote that was deemed to be one of the
timeless remarks, “The youth is the hope of the nation.” It certainly unveils the major role
of our generation in the holistic betterment of our political environment.

Having had the opportunity to be recognized as an “iskolar ng bayan,” I am very much

pleased to accept my roles and responsibilities in this country. Firstly, I would actively
participate in youth political movements to be able to exercise my rights according to
the Constitution. Being rarely conceived as capable of being in political context, it is
considered to be a challenge for us university scholars to voice out our opinions and
perspective against the misuse of power and monopolization of democracy.
Moreover, I will utilize the existing technologies to convince my fellow youth
regarding the significance of our involvement. Since social media is negatively
correlated with youth more often than not, we only have the means to break this social
stigma. Hence, being an informed user of these digital tools with the intention of positive
social change. Last but definitely the most practical thing to do, I will be an advocate of
good leadership since we, the youth, will be our country’s next-generation leaders. I
always believe in Mahatma Gandhi’s prominent motivational quote which says, “Be the
change you want to see in the world.” We should start reflecting on our personal values
and have the initiative to change our negative personalities as we age.
PUP has the trademark of discipline. We are part of its continuous progress as its
resident scholars thus, it must resemble our individual characters to effectively have a
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substantial impact to the nation, the Philippines, our motherland. We are the youth and
we are nation-builders.

2. Mention at least two current trends and issues in the government. Justify
how will our lesson can contribute to solve the problems and become a
better Filipino citizen.

Youth has one of the most crucial significance in a developing society. It plays a
vital role in political involvement but at the same time, they tend to experience
disenfranchisement from political activities. As a result, they are being excluded in
formal decision-making procedures. A huge percentage of the youth have little to no
voice at all in such contexts where they experience obstacles in representing their
sector in political setting. However, it is rooted in more complex issues occurring in
our system, for example, Flawed Democracy.

Flawed Democracy, also known as Defective Democracy, are those countries

that respect fundamental civil liberties and hold free and fair elections, yet they may
still have serious flaws in their features according to European Center for Populism
Studies (ECPS). It includes a low-level political involvement and most especially, the
existing conflicts with how governance works. Unfortunately, the Philippines is ranked
as one of the flawed democracies in the world during the Duterte regime according to
Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).
We know that the former administration had blatantly done dirty politics marked by
various political mishaps that concern human rights conflict. In line with this, many
Filipinos believed that student activism is equal to being a communist which led to a
number of red-tagging cases in the country, killing youth activists who only voice out
their concern for our nation. From the discussions of political self, these initiatives are
part of active citizenship since the youth are essential part of the social development
movement. Our concern for social injustice and abuse of power has always been
neglected by the government hence, invalidating our role in making social changes.
Another political issue that concerns the youth is the so-called Historical
Denialism. It is also called Historical Negationism which aims to distort history
which in our case, benefits a certain politician or political party. It is very prevalent in
our society which bears divisiveness among the Filipino people. During the national
election last May, disinformation was tactically utilized for the political gains of a
certain candidate. We can never deny that once in our history, it happened and we
are the witness of this occurrence.

The most saddening part of this is that they targeted the most vulnerable sectors
in our country and includes a huge percentage of misinformed youth. I know that it is
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more than the issue of ‘who’ we support but a matter of ‘what’ and ‘why’ we support
one and the principles that we believe in. Relating to the discussions, particularly in
being a “Good Filipino” includes the importance of studying history in developing a
sense of nationalism and patriotism. We have a huge part in this perspective as we
have the opportunity to learn it from our schools and trusted digital resources.

Clearly, flawed democracy and historical denialism are barriers in an emerging

society such as the Philippines. However, there are certain ways to deal with this as
we know and explore Political Self. The lessons may be theoretically substantial to
learn but the ability to discern its practical intention and be able to value its real
essence is more important. Taking full accountability and responsibility as Filipino
citizens, we can surpass these challenges in our nation and eradicate the divisiveness
among us thus, becoming better Filipinos standing together and reaching a unified
goal.