Boto Mo, iPatrol Mo: Shaking the apathy off the youth

MANILA, Philippines - Politics is a “boring” topic, if you ask the youth. Young Filipinos generally aren?t interested in politics. Sure, there are a number of young people, particularly students, who are politically conscious, but they are just a minority. The young would be the last to talk about which presidential aspirant has the best platform, or what issues these candidates should prioritize if they get elected. They would rather go to ?gimmicks?, log on to Facebook or Multiply and upload photos of their latest escapades, or tweet their opinion about the latest Pinoy Big Brother eviction night. This apathetic stance of a big chunk of the nation’s young population is a big problem.

 However, Boto Mo, iPatrol Mo: Ako ang Simula (BMPM) is slowly helping change that. Drawing on the power of media, the ABS-CBN campaign is helping the youth realize that apathy is not an option. For months now, the campaign has been opening people’s minds on what’s at stake for them this elections.

 It started with the drive to encourage citizens, especially students, to register to vote for the polls. In the previous years, that crucial first step in the electoral process wasn’t played up by media (unless it was the last day of registration), but BMPM helped changed that. People were constantly reminded of the registration, and those who did share their experiences to the rest of the world helped point out good and bad practices of Commission on Elections offices throughout the country. Because of this, the Comelec has repeatedly credited the BMPM campaign for helping encourage millions of eligible citizens — particularly the youth — to register, with the number of new voters applying for registration skyrocketing within weeks of the campaign’s launch.

 The BMPM campaign isn’t just limited to encouraging people to register and to vote. It has also been among the first to bring together politicians aspiring for the highest office in the land to discuss their plans in leading the nation forward. The first presidential forums for this election season, held months before the actual elections, brought together the leading contenders for the presidency, letting the public see for themselves what these aspirants are actually made of.

 It has also brought political awareness closer to the youth. Monthly BMPM events have been held in major schools and universities across the nation. In these events, held every month, students and the public are encouraged to sign up as Boto Patrollers to help monitor events leading to election day, and on election day itself. BMPM also helped brought to the fore for its young audience important issues: the recent Ampatuan, Maguindanao massacre, the commemoration of the anniversary of the declaration of Martial Law, and the death of former President Corazon Aquino.

 The BMPM campaign is slowly bearing fruit. A huge chunk of its more than 50,000 Boto Patrollers are the youth. With their eyes opened to the importance of their demographic’s vote, they are now also encouraging other people to participate in the upcoming elections, from the campaign period to election day up to the proclamation of the winners.

 This has raised the level of opinion among the members of this 18 to 30 age group. The BMPM campaign has seen a surge of opinions from the youth. These come pouring in daily, through SMS messages, voicemail, email, and through social networking sites like Facebook, Multiply, and Twitter. These everyday communication platforms have become important tools to help this nation’s tech-savvy youth communicate their thoughts and ideas to the world. Just look at the BMPM Multiply site ( http://botomoipatrolmo.multiply.com/ ), and you’ll see how the youth have been sounding off their opinions, concerns, and ideas via videos, comments, and photos.

 I can attest to this change. In the past, it would be rare for us to hear students chatting about politics; but now, in school cafeterias,  tambayans , and even ?gimmicks?, I overhear groups of young people discussing the merits of one presidential aspirant’s platform over another. Months ago, status messages in Twitter were mostly on show biz and pop culture; but recently, politics and elections are as popular “trending topics” as Twilight and Pinoy Big Brother.

 Hopefully, in the months to come, the change being pushed by Boto Mo, Ipatrol Mo can spread to more people, so that the apathy that have permeated the minds of this nation’s youth for so long can be shaken off, and eventually, we can hope for a brighter future for our country.

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