Davao City, Philippines.
Vice Presidential candidate Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte's reply to Mr. Walden Bello's comment on mandatory youth military service.
"If only Walden Bello wasn’t so quick to jump the gun, he would know that my vision was not only to push for mandatory military service for the youth.
And an 18-year-old is definitely not a child.
Only the likes of Mr. Bello would think of mandatory military service for its citizens as arming them and telling them to kill — instead of looking at it as something that inspires patriotism in the youth.
If only he wasn’t so quick to react, he would have realized that I also emphasized the need for the youth to be prepared for disasters and become proactive community partners in rescue operations and in aiding victims of calamities.
The youth, I also said, should also play active roles in advancing their own welfare — particularly in the aspect of health, education, gender equality, and reproductive issues. I wanted them to be able to stand on their own, help themselves, help the communities, and help the nation.
If only Mr. Bello did not stop at what he has been so stuck in over the past many years — dictatorship in the Philippines, something that we know is a lie in the present time — he would have a better understanding of what I truly stand for.
The obsession over dictatorship in this country is as ancient as the belief that the youth have no actual important role in building a nation that is progressive and peaceful.
I truly hope that our youth do not grow up to be a Walden Bello — an ungrateful citizen who sleeps peacefully at the comfort of their homes, unable to say a prayer or a silent ‘thank you’ to the men and women who became martyrs while countering violent extremism, insurgency, and terrorism."
Sara Z. Duterte
January 19, 2022
source: Philippine News Agency
Photo: PNA
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