A lawmaker for two days

Photo from Philippine Model Congress

For two days, I acted as a lawmaker.

I applied to the 2nd Philippine Model Congress (PMC) on a whim. While browsing the Internet, I saw a call for applications to the model congress. I thought it would be a great opportunity to be in the shoes of the country’s legislators, so I sent my application a week before the deadline.

Fortunately, I was accepted as one of the delegates from a pool of over 1,400 applicants from across the Philippines. Considered as the country’s premiere legislative simulation program, the congress was held last July 27 and 28 at the Philippine Senate Building.

My stint as a representative of the District of Laguna gave me an opportunity to experience the life of a legislator even just for two days. The entire process the delegates underwent in the congress, which concluded with the passing of bills, made me realize that being a legislator is a no joke.

Legislators should have at least knowledge in relevant fields such as law, public administration, and economics. They should also have utmost perseverance since the process of drafting and passing of bills is a tedious task. But, I realized that the most pivotal factor is a strong sense of civic responsibility to improve lives by protecting the rights of the people.

A legislative simulation
The model congress was "a simulation of the affairs of the legislative branch of government." Like a real Congress, I experienced the process of creating laws of the land.

However, I was not able to write and submit a bill to the executive committee due to academic works. Given more time of preparation, I would have proposed a bill focusing on education, public health, or green environment. My fervent hope now is to draft a bill in advance, if ever I will apply to the 3rd PMC next year.

The delegates were grouped into five committees. Each committee was composed of more or less 100 high school and college students and young professionals. I was part of Committee 2.

In our committee, nine bills were discussed including Student Rights Bill, Urbanization Bill, Revised Party List System Bill, Livability Bill, and People’s Hour Act, among others. The delegates themselves drafted all these bills prior to the event.

The committee session began with the committee chair convening the session. Then, principal sponsors presented their bills to the committee members. A caucus was called for them to gather support for their bills. Voting proceeded to determine the bills to be debated in our committee.

Afterwards, principal sponsors of the voted bills discussed their bills in details. During this time, committee members asked questions about the sections of the bill. After the bills were amended, each bill was put into a vote to determine the bills to be passed to plenary. Committee 2 passed three bills.

Bills that passed the plenary session will be presented to the actual Philippine Senate and House of Representatives. This is a great opportunity for us – the youth – to be heard by the country’s leaders like Sen. Bam Aquino and Sen. Loren Legarda who have expressed their support to bills that passed the model congress.

Keeping my idealism burning
“Keep your idealism burning through the years.” – Sen. Bam Aquino

The two-day congress also saw speakers from both the public and private sectors who shared their different views on leadership and public service.

The conference’s speakers included Sen. Bam Aquino, Sen. Sonny Angara, National Youth Commission Chair Leon Flores III, Kabataan Partylist Rep. Terry Ridon, and business tycoon Washington Sycip. All of them inspired us to be part of the country’s development process.

Sen. Aquino reminded us to keep our idealism burning through the years. Trying to set an example, he said that as a toddler in 1980s he participated in rallies against the dictatorship. He added that he loves to talk to Filipino youth because he believes they are idealistic.

“It is never too early to start and fight the good fight. We’re never too young to take the challenge and say, I’m ready to join the development process,” he added.

During his speech, I realized that my idealism is my starting contribution to society. It is my weapon to take risks, to improve lives eventually, and to be ready to take any challenge.

But this idealism should not remain within me. The congress has taught me to start using this idealism in my communities where changing people’s lives begin. As I become more mature, hopefully, this idealism would ignite a light that could change my community, even in the simplest ways possible.

Wrapping up
My foremost goal in sending my application to PMC was to enlighten myself about the things I could do for my community. During the congress, I realized that my idealism should guide me to start a good fight for my community and, eventually, for our country.

My stint as a lawmaker for two days was one of the highlights of my life. It was an honor to participate in PMC which aimed to increase youth’s awareness on national issues. I also had the opportunity to meet idealistic people who had unique views on the country’s development process.

The congress also gave me a glimpse of what our country’s legislators do in the Congress. I realized that their task of creating laws demands knowledge in relevant fields, determination, hard work, rhetorical skill, and, most importantly, a strong sense of civic responsibility. The insights I got from PMC about the legislative process and public service would surely help me in my future endeavors.

Moreover, in this year’s PMC, 500 youth from 80 provinces across the country gathered to signify that the young generation could also offer a wealth of insights about the issues that are important to the country.

The varied bills discussed in the committee and plenary sessions showed that Filipino youth are still concerned and optimistic with the country’s future. The delegates debated upon on different bills, but the ultimate goal was to improve lives by protecting the rights of the people – even just in a model congress.

Hence, the most important lesson I realized is that the Filipino youth has the power to make a better political landscape in the county.

Indeed, PMC has molded a community of young people committed to nation-building. As Sen. Aquino reminded the delegates, “One is never too young to contribute to society.”