Know the national anthem?

Only 37 percent of Filipino youths can sing the national anthem, and 28 percent can recite the Panatang Makabayan, a nationwide survey by the Archdiocese of Manila shows.

The Youth Study 2001 attributed this lack of sense of nationhood of the youth to their seeming lack of interest in national concerns.

"The economic realities put a wet blanket over their dreams and aspirations," noted the survey of seven- to 21-year-olds, who constitute 33 percent of the population.

Other findings: 75 percent of Filipino youths know their barangay heads and mayors and 50 percent their congressmen; and only 27 percent know who the Supreme Court chief justice is.

Forty percent described their trust in politicians as uncertain. — Sandy Araneta