Senator Sonny Angara is pushing for a review of the various programs for the country’s youth to see if these have been effective and to determine the next steps needed to further empower this sector of society.

As the chairman of the Committee on Youth, Angara filed Senate Resolution No. 320 to evaluate the efficacy of all existing government programs for the country’s youth “so that we’ll have an idea which one’s are working and relevant and which are not.”

The hearing of the Committee on Youth, which is chaired by Angara, is scheduled on Tuesday morning, Feb 18.

“We want an inventory and evaluation of the laws and programs for the youth because we have to know whether these are still worth continuing. There may be some laws that are no longer relevant and may have to be amended or even repealed already,” Angara said.

“On the other hand, I’m certain many of these laws are working well and we could provide them with more support either by providing additional funding or strengthening them through legislation,” added Angara, who is also chairman of the Committee on Finance.

The Senator, who is among the younger members of Congress, emphasized the importance of “investing in our youth” because the number of Filipinos aged 15 to 30 is projected to reach 30 million this year, based on data from the Philippine Statistics Authority.

This is one-third of the total population of the Philippines and as such, Angara said the country’s direction will heavily rely on the capacity and potential of our youth.

Republic Act 8044 or the Youth in Nation-Building Act, which created the National Youth Commission, defines youth as persons aged 15 to 30 years old.

Even the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) highlights the need to focus on youth participation, empowerment and/or well-being.

In line with the United Nation’s vision of investing in the youth in order to harness productive potential, the Philippines has enacted several laws aimed at empowering the Filipino youth.

These include R.A. 10931 or the Free College Law, R.A. 10647 or the Ladderized Education Act, R.A. 10687 or the UniFAST Act, and R.A. 10665 or the Open High School System Act.

There are also existing government programs aimed at improving the standing of the Filipino youth, especially those who are employed or are seeking meaningful employment.

Among these are the Government Internship Program, the JobStart Philippines Program, the Special Program for Employment of Students, Labor Education for Graduating Students, and the Youth Entrepreneurship and Financial Literacy Program.

“With several government programs for the youth already in place, it is only fitting that the next step would be to evaluate its existence in order to determine its impact among its beneficiaries and how it can be more beneficial to more Filipino youth,” Angara said in his resolution.

“We’ll find out if these are aligned with the SDGs. The youth are now more aware and involved in the efforts to improve the lives of the people and the health of the planet. They are the critical-thinkers, change-makers, innovators, communicators and future leaders of our country and as such the government should help ensure that they reach their full potential,” Angara said.