KABATAAN party-list group said presidentiable Senator Manuel Villar will not be spared from criticisms despite him being Koalisyon ng Mamamayang Makabayan's (Makabayan) presidential bet in the May elections.
Kabataan regional spokesperson Ronnie Clarion clarified they will remain critical of all candidates in the elections and this does not exempt Villar, even as Kabataan is an affiliate group of Makabayan.
"He will not have immunity from criticisms and this goes to the Nacionalista Party's vice-presidentiable Senator Loren Legarda and other candidates," Clarion said in a press conference at Zabadani Cafe on Ponciano St.
Kabataan member Karlos Manlupig said Makabayan's alliance with Villar is also an “understood warning.”
"He is aware that who he's in agreement with are progressives and militants who stand by the people. He should understand that although we're allied with him it also serve as a warning to him that we'll be eyeing what he'll do," Manlupig said in vernacular.
"Makabayan chose Villar as it's presidentiable only because he was the one with the agenda most similar to Makabayan's and these are to address the concerns of the urban poor, and sectors of women and youth," said Kabataan-Mindanao vice president Sheena Duazo.
Kabataan members announced they will have activities on January 28 to promote youth participation in the elections.
"The youth should be the number 1 sector at progressive thinking, especially now that we're having our elections," said Clarion, adding that the youth makes of 45 percent of the country's population.
"We challenge the youth to participate and to watch not just who they are voting for but to watch out for everybody's vote," Duazo said in the vernacular. (JCZ)