Youths told: Be more proactive
Real problems require real solutions–and we all know that not everyone will click on ‘like’ for every good idea that also manages to strike a balance among competing interests
Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III had a message to relay to the Filipino youth. He told them to use what they have learned in school to solve real problems. Or they can bring their skills to the public service arena rather than merely call out errors or wrongdoings they see or read in social media to show how “woke” they have become.
“No matter how many likes or hearts your last post received, it cannot, on its own, raise the resources needed to sustain an effective program or help poor families access the credit they need to invest in healthcare or their children’s education,” he said. “The ‘call-out’ culture should take a backseat to what is true activism — meaningful and proactive action that will improve the lives of the Filipino people.”
The finance chief spoke to some 500 students from more than 40 universities and colleges during the annual Sulong Pilipinas forum held recently at the University of Santo Tomas (UST). Organized by the government and the business community, it created a venue for the government to receive recommendations from the private sector on how the administration can better deliver its goal of a secure and comfortable life for every lawabiding Filipino.
Dominguez said the youth’s active voices in social media and their energetic participation on societal issues during gatherings like the Sulong workshop prove that they are heavily invested in pushing for genuine change.
“You, the young Filipinos, are the direct beneficiaries of the sustained growth we seek to achieve through the reforms we now undertake. The future belongs to you. You have the greatest stake in our economy’s success. It will shape your career paths and the quality of your lives. Your voices must be heard,” he said.
“A young population is one of our country’s greatest assets. We need to be ready to reap the benefits of our ‘demographic sweet spot,’ by cultivating a dynamic and well-trained workforce to enable sustained economic expansion long into the foreseeable future.”
He said “this is the reason we have devoted a significant portion of our increasing revenue flows from the improved collection performance as well as from tax reforms toward investments in our human capital.”