1st Phl Model Congress opens in Senate July 28

MANILA, Philippines - Leandro Legarda Leviste, son of Sen. Loren Legarda, announces the first Philippine Model Congress to be convened in the Philippine Senate tomorrow, July 28.

“The Philippine Model Congress (PMC) is the nation’s first government simulation program run by various Filipino college students to give the student population a voice on current matters through an immersion in Philippine politics,” Leandro said.

Leandro is one of the young minds behind the PMC. Other members of the Executive Board include Thomas Rosal, Lance Katigbak, Tricia Peralta and Alonzo Virata.

In conceptualizing and organizing the PMC, the Executive Board took inspiration from conferences hosted by Harvard, Yale, Princeton and other international universities. After attending various youth conferences abroad, they conceived the idea of adopting a Model Congress in the Philippines.

“Our team is glad that this landmark event by the youth earned the accreditation and sponsorship of the Department of Education (DepEd) and the Commission on Higher Education (CHED). (About) 350 high school and college students from all over the country will engage in debates, caucuses, committee meetings and plenary sessions to accurately experience the proceedings of the law-making process,” Leandro added.

 “We are hopeful that a new batch of public servants will emerge from activities such as this,” he concluded.

Leandro, in charge of the logistical and operational aspects of PMC, is an incoming sophomore at Yale University where he was president of the Freshmen Class Council and now Secretary of the Yale College Council, the first in the history of Yale for an international student.

Thomas is a sophomore and a member of the board of the College Admissions Mentors for Peers in the Philippines.

Tricia is a freshman at UP Diliman, co-founder and head of One Million Lights Philippines.

Lance is a college sophomore and publicity head of One Million Lights Philippines and the UP Debate Society.

Alonzo is SK chairman in his barangay with extensive experience in Model United Nations Conferences.