Although the country is currently facing the biggest corruption issue in its history with the multi-billion-peso flood control scam, Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan is optimistic that this would also lead to the political awakening of young Filipinos.
In the inaugural first episode of the “Kikonek: The Kiko Pangilinan Podcast” which aired on Wednesday, December 3, over the senator’s official Facebook page, Youtube, and Spotify, he acknowledged how today’s youth has started to question the rampant corruption issues in the country.
“Fast forward to today, marami sa ating mga kababayan—lalo na ang kabataan—nakikita na maraming mali sa lipunan at naghahanap ng mga sagot sa kanilang mga tanong,” he said. “Hindi madali ito, but I guess this is the beginning of the end of ignorance or lack of involvement in participation, of indifference ‘pag nag umpisa ka na magtanong.”
“At sana tuloy-tuloy sa paghahanap ng mga sagot,” he added.
The senator, who has advocated for good governance and ethical leadership since his early political years as a Quezon City councilor, understands that political awakening doesn’t happen overnight nor does it come early to most people.
“Hindi ka agad mulat. Hindi ka agad malalim ang pananaw. Hindi ka agad politically aware. Kaya ang umpisa is kapag meron ka nang mga tanong,” Pangilinan stated.
He himself hasn’t always been politically active, having only awakened to the realities of the Marcos dictatorship when former senator and democracy icon Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr. was gunned down and there were government-sanctioned attempts to cover it up.
“Teka muna, totoo ba yan?,” he recalled asking when news about his gunman and the burial procession attended by millions of Filipinos on the streets were swept under the rug.
It was this event and the succeeding ones that shaped the senator’s role in advocating for youth empowerment, often telling young Filipinos of what they can do to demand change, accountability, and transparency.
“May mga susunod (sa atin). Kailangan lang natin manatiling nagbibigay ng halimbawa para may mga susunod sa ating yapak,” he mused.
And while he recognized that there may be “fatigue” among today’s youth because of what has been happening in the hearings and investigations, Pangilinan reminded them of what’s at stake.
“We cannot give up on the future of our children and our loved ones. We have to fight,” he stressed.
“Just do your share,” the senator added. “We are just specks of dust but.. we should make a difference and if we make a difference, then we are no longer (just) specks of dust.”