SC chief to youth: Exercise your right to vote
Mga ka-SIKAP, huwag kalimutang bumoto !!!
Posted April 06, 2007 12:53:00(Mla Time)Tetch Torres
MANILA, Philippines -- Chief Justice Reynato Puno is urging the youth to exercise their right to vote in the May 14 elections.
In his speech during the 92nd Commencement Exercises of the University of Manila, Puno said the youth play a very important role in shaping the country's future."With over a third of the electorate, your generation is in a position to determine the destiny of our country in the next few years, and this is not something you should take lightly,” Puno said.
"This May, we will be called upon to exercise this sacred duty, to elect those who will govern us and make our laws. In this exercise, let us not blame corrupt and incompetent officials should they win at the polls and run our country into the ground, for they are not the enemy -- apathy is our enemy. For unworthy candidates will prevail only when principled voters do not vote," he said.
“Who you put in City Hall, Congress, or the Senate will determine how much taxes you pay, where your taxes will go, and whether some of the rights you enjoy today will no longer be yours tomorrow," he added.
The chief justice noted that of the 49.2 million people of voting age in the Philippines, over 18 million, or at least 36 percent, are between the ages of 18 and 29."Let us remember that at the polls, rich or poor, strong or weak, educated or illiterate, young or old are all equals; we don't have but one vote, and it would be the height of irresponsibility in a democracy to waste your opportunity to have your voices heard, and I make this call especially to the youth who can make a decisive difference on the outcome of the coming elections," Puno said.
"Use your education to not only to improve your lives and that of your family, but to make a difference in the lives of your countrymen," he added.
MANILA, Philippines -- Chief Justice Reynato Puno is urging the youth to exercise their right to vote in the May 14 elections.
In his speech during the 92nd Commencement Exercises of the University of Manila, Puno said the youth play a very important role in shaping the country's future."With over a third of the electorate, your generation is in a position to determine the destiny of our country in the next few years, and this is not something you should take lightly,” Puno said.
"This May, we will be called upon to exercise this sacred duty, to elect those who will govern us and make our laws. In this exercise, let us not blame corrupt and incompetent officials should they win at the polls and run our country into the ground, for they are not the enemy -- apathy is our enemy. For unworthy candidates will prevail only when principled voters do not vote," he said.
“Who you put in City Hall, Congress, or the Senate will determine how much taxes you pay, where your taxes will go, and whether some of the rights you enjoy today will no longer be yours tomorrow," he added.
The chief justice noted that of the 49.2 million people of voting age in the Philippines, over 18 million, or at least 36 percent, are between the ages of 18 and 29."Let us remember that at the polls, rich or poor, strong or weak, educated or illiterate, young or old are all equals; we don't have but one vote, and it would be the height of irresponsibility in a democracy to waste your opportunity to have your voices heard, and I make this call especially to the youth who can make a decisive difference on the outcome of the coming elections," Puno said.
"Use your education to not only to improve your lives and that of your family, but to make a difference in the lives of your countrymen," he added.
posted by: aleta
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