09 July 2015 - Two of the youngest Senators in the Philippines met with Filipino-American youth leaders in a roundtable discussion on social entrepreneurship and youth empowerment on July 07, in the Senate of the Philippines.

Senator Paolo Benigno “Bam” Aquino IV and Senator Juan Eduardo “Sonny” Angara engaged with the ten Filipino-American Youth Leadership Program (FYLPRO) delegates in an in-depth discussion about the Philippine legislative process and the bills they have filed.

“The legislative process of the Philippines is not much different from that of the United States. The process of filing and passing bills are pretty much the same. We have the same checks and balances in place to guard our democratic processes,” Senator Aquino said.

“We are using the Senate and the legislative process as a platform to push for advocacies. The Go Negosyo Act and the Philippine Lemon Law are two bills that I filed that have been enacted into law and I have several pending bills on Youth Entrepreneurship, Poverty Reduction through Social Entrepreneurship (PRESENT), and Fair Competition.”

Senator Aquino, a social entrepreneur and former Chairperson of the National Youth Commission, shared with the delegates his advocacies on youth empowerment and involvement, as well as his strategy on how to effectively communicate with the youth audience in the country.

“We don’t have a formula for communicating with the youth. We just ensure that we make transparency part of the culture of the office and be comfortable with being open with the things that we do,” he said.

Senator Angara, who is also active online, shared, “people want to know who you are and they are interested in the personal side of your life. I think we’ve gotten used to having more likes from posts about our family rather than the bills we’ve filed.”

The delegates, who were eager to ask questions about the challenges of being a young politician, programs on technology education and literacy, mechanisms for responding to online queries, described the roundtable discussion as informative and inspiring.

Jennifer Coliflores, a lawyer working in the Public Counsel Services in Boston Massachusetts said, “many of us were moved by their stories and to see young professionals in such a highly influential office is really inspiring. We are here because we are dedicated to the Filipino-American community back in the U.S. so it’s wonderful to see two young Filipino senators who are committed to serving the Filipino community here.”

Towards the end of the discussion, some words of advice were shared to their fellow youth leaders.

Being a young politician in an old institution, Senator Aquino emphasized the importance of humility saying “be humble enough to ask for help and guidance from your elders. More often than not, they are willing to share their experiences and expertise with you.”

FYLPRO was founded in 2012 by Philippine Ambassador to the United States Jose L. Cuisia, Jr. and his wife Mrs. Ma. Victoria J. Cuisia, in cooperation with the Ayala Foundation Inc. Each year, FYLPRO gives ten high-performing next-generation Filipino-Americans the special opportunity to travel to the Philippines and dialogue with the highest officials and policymakers in the Philippines, including leaders of industry, legislators, media, artists and cultural experts, entrepreneurs (both traditional and social), as well as innovators in different fields.

The 2015 FYLPRO is made possible with the invaluable partnership of the Ayala Foundation, Inc. and the generous support of corporate sponsors Ayala Corporation, Chevron Holdings, Chevron Philippines, Chevron Malampaya, Coca-Cola Bottlers Philippines, Philamlife, PHINMA, Philippine Airlines, and SGV and Co. END