CEBU CITY – Kabataan Partylist (KPL) 2nd Nominee Jose Paolo Echavez, along with KPL Cebu chapter and its supporters, concluded their campaign trail in Cebu through a Youth Covenant and Parade for Kabataan Partylist on May 9, 2025. 

“What sets us apart, not just KPL, but the entire Makabayan bloc, is that we walk the talk. We don’t just pass laws, we campaign with our constituents and lobby at both national and local levels,” said Echavez.

The Cebuano youth covenant and parade titled March 4K: Kabataan Kontra Kasamaan at Kadiliman aimed to campaign Jose Paolo Echavez who is gunning to be the first ever Kabataan congressman from Cebu.

In an interview with Bulatlat, Echavez reminds young voters that genuine youth representation matters. “When you have a representation that speaks your language, it makes a huge difference,” Echavez said. “[Representation] addresses the gap on the local level where data is still lacking and this manifested during our whole campaign trail… for example, there are communities with limited access to barangay budgets,” he added in Cebuano.

Cebu province has the most number of voters in the Philippines. In a report by Cebu Daily News on November 7, 2024, Cebu alone has a total of 3,702,363 registered voters and 9,443 clustered precincts according to the records of the Commission on Elections in Central Visayas (Comelec 7). In the same report, Lawyer Veronico Petalcorin, assistant regional election officer, also credited the outcome to their voter education and information campaign carried out in various colleges and universities across the region.

The state of education in Cebu

This rich vote record also has something to say about the education situation in the province according to Echavez. “There are more than a million youth here in Cebu province, access to education is still limited. From local colleges to state universities like Cebu Technological University (CTU), which has a student population of  20,000 in just one campus, there’s still an obvious gap,” he said.

According to Echavez, one of the biggest issues the youth faces is access to education. He said that in the province of Cebu and in Cebu City itself, there are many out-of-school youths who, after senior high school, decided not to pursue college education, choosing instead to work.

Echavez pointed out that Cebu is a hotbed of student repression. “Some universities are very repressive when it comes to organizing. For example, Today’s Carolinian was kicked out of its office. Student councils struggle with bureaucratic processes and lack of support,” he said.

Today’s Carolinian, the official student publication of the University of San Carlos, was kicked out of its campus office on January 15, 2025. The publication believed this was due to their critical reportage on tuition and other fee increase (TOFI) and administrative policies in the university.

On January 23, Makabayan lawmakers, including Kabataan Partylist, filed House Resolution No. 2193 condemning the University of San Carlos (USC) administration for displacing Today’s Carolinian from its campus office. The Makabayan bloc asserted that the removal of the publication constitutes a violation of academic freedom and political rights.

Student councils from universities across Cebu face similar struggles, such as being barred from holding programs due to restricted access to campus facilities. Progressive organizations within these universities experience a comparable fate. “ Student organizations from universities that try to establish Kabataan Partylist chapters are often harassed, called in by administrators, threatened with expulsion, told they won’t graduate if they continue,” Echavez shared.

These forms of repression happened even in the existence of the Students’ Rights and Welfare (StRAW) or City Ordinance No. 2692, which is intended to protect students from repressive school policies. Approved on June 29, 2023, the ordinance detailed the creation of the StRAW Unit under the City Social Welfare Services Office (CSWSO) of the City of Cebu to ensure the implementation of addressing student concerns, assisting with legal action against violations, and informing stakeholders of their rights and duties.

According to Echavez, the StRAW unit itself has seen little to no progress. “We write good laws, we gather relevant data, we design great programs—but if implementation fails, then what’s the point?,” Echavez said. 

When asked by Bulatlat how policies and ordinances like StRAW should be implemented, Echavez emphasized the importance of youth representation. 

“When it comes to articulating the problem of the youth, no one can do it better than them. That’s why grassroots consultation and organizing are key. It’s about ensuring that all youth, across different sectors, are heard and reached,” he said. “We can do this through scientific methods, a solid research plan, a strong consultative body, and trained individuals.”

Echavez said that the methods employed by KPL have been proven to be effective. One such example was when members from KPL–USC (University of San Carlos) worked on a position paper on students affected by the university’s “no permit, no exam” policy. This policy of the Catholic university prevented students from taking major exams if they hadn’t paid their tuition before the examination period.

The position paper was submitted to the national office of Kabataan Partylist, drafted into a bill and eventually passed into law in March 2024, the Anti No Permit, No Exam Act. “That’s a clear example of how grassroots consultations translate into national legislation. We have the structure, skills, and science to turn community concerns into impactful laws,” Echavez said.

The promise of Kabataan partylist

At the national level, KPL is pushing for key legislation focused on students’ rights, education access, and labor protections. Among its top priorities is the Student’s Rights and Welfare (StRAW) Bill, which seeks to safeguard student councils and publications, particularly their autonomy and budgets while upholding students’ rights to organize and associate. Alongside it is the Delivery of Accessible Services in Universities (DASURV) Bill, a push to institutionalize essential campus services such as housing, food, and health care as integral to the right to education.

Other priority measures include the SOGIESC Equality Bill to combat gender-based discrimination, the Magna Carta for BPO Workers to ensure sector-wide protections, a P750 wage hike to move closer to the P1,200 wage increase campaign of various labor groups; mandatory mental health services in universities; and the Anti-Political Dynasty Bill to challenge political families.

On the local level, Echavez made a promise for the Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) in Cebu. “From my personal consultations in Cebu, we’ve identified that many SK officials struggle with low or no allowances, especially when they have to attend activities far from home. They tend to spend money out of their pockets,” he said. “Cebu City has a model where SK officials receive a P2,000 monthly allowance. While it may not be enough, I propose nationalizing and improving this kind of support considering other SKs from other provinces are receiving less,” he added.

Echavez further noted that SK officials are essentially full-time public servants and that they deserve allowances beyond their basic honorarium. “Even if I’m not elected, I’ll forward this proposal to our national office for further research and drafting,” Echavez said.

Youth of Cebu speaks

Youth and student leaders affirmed their support to the Kabataan Partylist.

Judimer Zarate, KPL volunteer and student leader from a state university in Cebu, said that “KPL has always been part of the movement—formed not in air-conditioned boardrooms, but in the picket lines, campuses, and communities. They are not just for the youth and the masses, they are of the youth and the masses.”

“Of all their platforms, Agenda 9: Aksyong Pangklima strikes deep… While corporations plunder our land and poison our waters for profit, politicians look away, or worse, sign the deals themselves. Kabataan Partylist names the real enemy: the big corporations, the foreign interests, and their lapdogs in government,” Zarate said.

Student activist from Cebu Technological University, Zazel Dinopol, said that KPL’s firm position against state violence, red-tagging, and all forms of repression speaks to the kind of leaders she would vote for. “Especially now, when dissent is being criminalized and ordinary people are subjected to abuse by the administration, often through military force,” Dinopol added.

“As a lesbian, I strongly support their 10th agenda: the fight against gender-based discrimination. In a society that constantly erases, harms, and even kills queer folks, embracing our identity is not just an act of self-expression, it is a form of resistance,” said Dinopol in Cebuano.

“Considering the attacks and red tagging, we’re always at a disadvantage,” Echavez told Bulatlat. “But throughout this campaign, I’m glad to be supported by the SKs and students from various universities in Cebu,” he added. (RTS, RVO)