Some 5 decades ago, I attended a similar gathering like this where a man of great stature talked to us about some vague notion of the youth’s participation in nation building. The cobwebs around my memory now seem impenetrable but from that hazy distant past, one clear recollection remained as familiar to me now as then - his voice and that distinctive accent that marked the man as bred far above and beyond my stature.

I started following that man in what could be described as hero worship. In many encounters with him since that first one, I began to understand the message he imparted to me, a member of the youth, as if he were talking to me personally. In fact I think he did.

Raul Manglapus, that man, convinced me that nation building is highly dependent on me too as part of the youth sector. We are the prevailing resource, which can either build or ruin the whole nation.

Today is my turn. I am addressing you with some tinge of desperation and perhaps a humble appeal for you to forgive my generation – your elders.
We have failed you.

After several decades, our society has deteriorated. You can see around you evidence of decay – corruption in all levels of governance, impunity, stark poverty and widespread malaise. This was not the future we envisioned then. But with some glimmer of hope, I trust on the resilience of youth and find comfort in the words of Pearl S. Buck, a Nobel Laureate in literature – I quote: “THE YOUNG DO NOT KNOW ENOUGH TO BE PRUDENT, AND THEREFORE THEY ATTEMPT THE IMPOSSIBLE, AND ACHIEVE IT, GENERATION AFTER GENERATION.”

Whether you like it or not, you, the youth will now assume and share the responsibilities for yourselves and for your fellow citizens.

We have had experiments in youth leadership relative to governance and nation building. Indeed, the government created the Sangguniang Kabataan or SK in order for the youth to be exposed to the arcane methods of running the government. However the system itself is rotten and the idealism of youth is thus perverted. You cannot throw the innocents into this den of wolves and expect them to survive let alone flourish. There is now the prevalent notion to eradicate this warren of iniquity.

In these disasters we learn critical lessons and experiment with structures and institutions guided by the vision that you, the youth of this generation, will carry on the delicate task of nation-building. Today we mark this event.
We present to you an opportunity and means by which you can participate, learn and invent ways that will sharpen skills at governance based on certain ideological and ethical standards – the YOUTH WING OF THE CENTRIST DEMOCRATIC PARTY.

This is your training ground for creating a totally different kind of political reality – one different from what it is today: backsliders, people with no vision, with questionable morals but constantly elected into office. Thus the truism “…we get the kind of government that we deserve."

According to ManilaTimes.net, from 134^th last year, Philippines ranked 129^th this year out of 183 most corrupt countries surveyed in the 2011 Corruption Perception Index (CPI) released by Transparency International (TI).
This is unacceptable.

We need to alter the conditions in our society and its socio-cultural-political life. Thus, the Centrist Democrat Party, of which we hope you be part of, have adopted guiding principles and embarked on these specifics:

1)  We must strive to create a truly functioning Democracy and the Rule of law; 2)  We must help to build up strong and sustainable political parties; 3)  We must endeavor to establish a thriving Social Market Economy; and 4)  We must work for the adoption and practice the principle of subsidiarity in all structures of governance.

These tenets are no less than universal and when implanted well, society flourished over time. They succeeded in other countries, particularly those in Europe. We desire no less for our country.

I shall end my discourse now and shift the momentum to a political conversation with you at this juncture. A critical question that needs an answer:

What next?

Let me help you see your way through – for the simple reason that our answers must be congruent to our vision.

THE CENTRISTAGENDA What is the Centrist or CDM/CDP Agenda? We are to eventually capture political power or at least be a substantial part of the power equation.

We need to assume positions of power and influence, legitimately to bring about change in this country in line with the precepts of the centrist democrats. Movements, civil society, NGOs at best exert moral influence, but have little impact in the crafting of laws and directing policies for good governance.

In several steps that reinforce each other, these are: 1^ststep.You are to understand, learn and internalize the centrist ideology, philosophy and methods of governance. This is the hardest part really, as this involves, unlearning, learning and personal commitment. Not much action here. This is the reason why we invest time, energy and money by conducting further enhancement by getting you to read, internalize, clash and shape the debate and national conversation. 2^nd –You have to organize yourselves into a transparent and formidable political force; one needs numbers – you have to expand – precisely along the known political district where your future political battles will be staged.  Know the lay of the land – to paraphrase the great Chinese strategist, Sun Tsu – win the battle even before the first skirmish begins. 3rd –You negotiate, from a position of strength; you coalesce, without surrendering your identity to ride on the force  and vigour of your political partners, making yourself even stronger  while you compete for power. You must learn how to win…political defeat is a lousy option!

4^th –When in Power, then you begin to seriously translate into realities the tenets of the centrist democrats.

Political dialogues such as this, leadership training and all future enhancements are all directed towards forging a moral political leadership against the anvil of centrist values, tempered by the fire of passion and love for our countrymen.

Do you remember the movie 300?
The 300 Spartans at the Battle of Thermopylae. Picture yourself as one of the Greeks – or compare yourself to King Leonidas, who with his force of 300 stopped the multitudes of Persians lead by Xerxes I – preventing in time the conquest of Greece.

Take your imagination nearer to a similar campaign, this time to the recent past – at the turn of the last century – 1899.

The Battle of Tirad Pass where the boy General Gregorio del Pilar with 60 of his men prevented 500 Americans from the 33^rd Infantry Regiment of Major Peyton March from capturing the head of the then Philippine Government – General Emilio Aguinaldo.

There were many lessons gleaned from these famous “last stands” - deeds of courage and bravery against overwhelming odds; acts of heroism, self-sacrifice and patriotism.
Ah, but my favorite is a saga of two thousand years ago where a man of humble origins selected a few people and started a worldwide upheaval whose reverberation is felt even today. As a human, Jesus may have been a poor judge of character. Among the 13 he chose, one betrayed him, another one denied him several times, a third did not believe he came back from the dead and the lone woman was known to be a harlot.

Here was this man who started with a handful but because of the strength of their conviction, the justness of their cause and the ability of the peers to disseminate the message they swept the world with an exciting idea beyond their era— remember too that among our Muslim brothers and Sisters Jesus was one of their own.

Ladies and Gentlemen, this gathering today is meant to help you search and define for yourselves your “Thermopylae”, your “Tirad Pass” and how each can be a disciple of an ideology that is meant to eventually benefit the Pilipino.

You are a select assemblage of resolute individuals committed to a type of change, rooted on a philosophy of governance based on the respect for human dignity. You are the disciples not of any prophet but of this compelling dogma.

You are to be a team of politically astute young professionals, shakers, movers and achievers who will have to alter the very fabric of our society for the good of the Pilipino.

Ladies and Gentlemen, this gathering today is meant to help you search and define for yourselves your “Thermopylae”, your “Tirad Pass” and how each can be a disciple of an ideology that is meant to eventually benefit the Pilipino.

We are not creating a priesthood here – one akin to the Celtic Druids - who in the ancient times usurped the privilege to translate the divine.

You are a select assemblage of resolute individuals committed to a type of change, rooted on a philosophy of governance based on the respect for human dignity. You are the disciples not of any prophet but of this compelling dogma.

Whether you acknowledge it or not, you are a fragment of an elite educated membership, distinguished from the hordes by a mixture of talents bestowed upon a few and denied the many.

You are to be a team of politically astute young professionals, shakers, movers and achievers who will have to alter the very fabric of our society for the good of the Pilipino. You must learn together and eventually decide that political technocracy can be woven into your daily lives.

Our generation may have failed you. But in the ashes of our failures rise the phoenix- possible ingredients for success. In the four decades in political technocracy we made colossal errors but we tried to correct them. You can learn from them.

You too will someday pass on this advocacy over to your own successor generation- quite a legitimate farewell agenda- a nice touch to life well-lived.

You are good if you can uplift the Filipino from their current condition. But you are greater, if you bring them to a condition beyond where they need not be uplifted.

That one, ladies and gentlemen, is a role you must carve for yourself.