MANILA, Philippines - Last July 27 and 28, over 500 youth leaders from 69 out of 81 provinces joined the Philippine Model Congress (PMC), a student-run conference at the Philippine Senate.
The delegates proposed and debated their own original and innovative pieces of legislation. Inspired by youth conferences hosted by the United States Congress and United Nations, PMC aims to give Filipino youth the opportunity to bring their ideas to Congress and to inspire the youth to enter public service.
For two days, the youth simulated congressional debates representing their home provinces and discussed their proposals with senators and congressmen invited to the
event. With the conference over, the youth’s bills have been compiled into a booklet to be given to all 289 congressman and 24 senators.
Delegates spent the last month drafting their bills. After being passed at both the committee and plenary level, the Congress passed bills that would create a performance evaluation mechanism for Local Government Units, create a commission for the protection of heritage sites, and expand the Anti-Violence to Women and Children Act to include even men. The Model Congress also passed their own version of the Students’ Rights and Welfare Bill.
The conference’s guest speakers included Senators Bam Aquino and Sonny Angara, National Youth Commission Chairman Leon Flores, Kabataan Partylist Rep. Terry Ridon, and business icon Washington Sycip. They shared their experiences as youth leaders and discussed their pro-youth advocacies. Delegates proposed their ideas to the legislators, who agreed to file or support the proposals in the real congress.
Delegates were selected from a competitive pool of 1400 applicants that included student council presidents, founders of non-profit organizations and community leaders
from around the country. Many spent weeks fundraising from their schools and local government officials for the trip to Manila to take part in this special event.
PMC has been endorsed by the Philippine Senate, Department of Education, Commission on Higher Education, National Youth Commission and Sangguniang Kabataan National
Executive Board.
For more information, visit www.philippinemodelcongress.org.