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WE are the youth who have been aspiring for equality, democracy, and peace. We’ve been disappointed with the Comelec’s declaration of Cagayan de Oro, Iligan, and several municipalities in Pantao Ragat and Kauswagan in Lanao del Norte as “election watchlist area” (EWA). We believe that this declaration manifests the peak of the rotten traditional politics in Northern Mindanao, and even in other areas in the country.

We strongly condemn the traditional politics. This is a game dominated by a ruling few because of their power and money which they could use to uphold their ruling and to even further it. A dirty, violent, and cheating-driven politics. They use their guns and power to make people choose them. If not, they make use of their money to buy the hungry people’s vote. There is no such democracy in this traditional politics.

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We call on all the youth and the Filipino people to scrap this political system. We call on them to uphold the new politics – a campaign and government based, and responding on the people’s issues and demands: education for the youth, livelihood and land for our parents, health care, housing for the urban poor, and the like, which are on the brink of disaster, all because of lack of state funding. That’s state abandonment.

In this light, we urge the youth and the people to seize the upcoming elections as an avenue of positioning our demands against negligence, and of intensifying our grumbles and interests.

What are the candidates’ records and positions?

What is their standpoint and plan for the decent housing and relocation for the victims of typhoon Sendong? Until now, only 6,890 houses have been constructed of the 37,552.

What is their standpoint and plan on the aggravating demolition of houses in urban poor communities? What is their stand on the issue of demolition in the communities of Cagayan Integrated Landless Residents Association (Cilrai) in Puntod-Macabalan, Cagayan de Oro? The residents of Calangahan, Lugait? The residents of Purok Ilang-ilang, Sta. Felomena in Iligan?

What is their stand on the privatization of social services? One is the Northern Mindanao Medical Center in Cagayan de Oro which could definitely upscale its services but may not be accessible to the poor.

What is their stand on the continuing cuts on the state subsidy for state universities? This lack of budget resulted in school administrations passing on the burden of expenses to poor students like the Mindanao University of Science and Technology of Cagayan de Oro, Central Mindanao University of Bukidnon, and MSU-IIT of Iligan.

Our participation in the election process should be a significant factor to consider in pushing for these demands. In the face of the domination of traditional politics, can we trust that they will solve these problems after the election?

Who among the groups of Rufus Rodriguez, Oscar Moreno, and of Dongkoy Emano in Cagayan de Oro, and Belmonte and Regencia in Iligan, and of many more parties in the region, who have the best and worst records of facing these issues? Who among them have had a clear and pro-people stance? We should measure them through these agenda, look through their commitment of implementation after the election, and in the next election, let us take note and denounce those who failed to fulfill their vows.

We are the youth who have been aspiring for equality, democracy and peace. We will seize the 2016 elections to uphold the end of traditional politics, the nipping of the bud of the politics of change inside the courts, and will bloom officials who are genuinely nationalists and serving the interests of the people. We vow to measure up to our historical role as hope of the nation by making this democratic exercise more meaningful for the youth and people.

But more than the election, we will continue to mold the aspiration for equality, democracy and peace in the streets, in the poor communities, in the factories, in the peasant communities, with the people who are also dreaming for freedom. —Kristine Cabardo, chairperson, League of Filipino Students-NMR; Rochamae Bihag, vice president for Mindanao, College Editors Guild of the Philippines; Vennel Francis Chenfoo, coordinator, Kabataan Partylist-Northern Mindanao

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