On May 9th of 2022, the Philippines will hold a Presidential election, and many young people rally around Leni Robredo, the current vice president. Supporters are dawned in pink clothes, some with “Youth Vote for Leni” shirts. This lone female candidate is attracting some of the biggest pre-election crowds. Her greatest opposition is Ferdinand Marcos Jr., the son of former President Ferdinand Marcos Sr., a known dictator. Marcos Jr. has been convicted of tax fraud and refused to pay his family’s estate taxes.
Young people of the Philippines have grown disappointed with current President Rodrigo Duterte’s leadership. He has launched a bloody war on drugs, where men and boys have been gunned down in the streets. Furthermore, his approach to the pandemic has extreme mental tolls on children with a two-year-long shutdown of schools. The result is that many young people have come out full force to support Ms. Robredo, who has openly critiqued Mr. Duterte.
Young people have the power to determine the result of this presidential election, with at least half of the 65 million registered voters between the ages of 18 and 30. This election has been marked by an extreme level of passion from young people, as two million volunteers signed up for Ms. Robredo’s campaign, according to her spokesman Gutierrez. Her rallies continue to draw tens of thousands of people.
Robredo is a lawyer and an economist who won against Marcos in 2016 for the vice presidency. Within her campaign, she has vowed to stop the extrajudicial killings that have occurred in Duterte’s war on drugs. As a vice president, she has sent medical equipment to patients and supplies to those on the frontline. She has also helped marginalized communities and is often one of the first high-ranking officials to visit disaster sites.
“Many are heckling us, saying we don’t have a chance to win. Do you believe that?” Robredo said to her followings, which according to her campaign, exceeded 400,000 people. Her supporters cheered “no” in response.
A poll in March found that Robredo was trailing more than 30% in points to Marcos Jr. The youth vote continues to be divided. A survey shows that seven out of ten Filipinos between the ages of 18 to 24 want Marcos to be president. This is not the first time that Robredo has been in this position. In a poll for the 2016 vice presidential race, she trailed behind Marcos Jr. by six percentage points but still managed to narrowly win. Robredo has a steeper climb to victory during this presidential election. But her campaign speaks to the power young people hold within politics to determine the outcome of this election.
