[Be The Good] Let’s not rely on Leni Robredo

Résumé détaillé

When we look to one person, we miss the opportunity to cultivate a wider selection of politicians

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She has spoken. The ship has sailed. Those hoping Naga City Mayor Leni Robredo would run for a national post in 2028 got a reality check on Monday, November 9. This whole fixation on Mayor Robredo though also got me thinking of a related issue: the shallow bench for alternative candidates.

When we look to one person, we miss the opportunity to cultivate a wider selection of politicians. Perhaps this decision of Robredo’s is a chance to widen our horizons and look to new faces. More importantly, it should allow us to examine ourselves. Quoting Mahatma Gandhi, should we not become the change we want to see?

I just came from a week in Cape Town, South Africa with Rappler’s scholars to the One Young World 2026 Summit. JJ Agustin, Gybel Agregado, Kit Posadas, John Mauro Manuel, and Jasser Mohammad are examples of young people who are becoming the change they want to see. They live it every day, in their work in youth political participation, agriculture, women empowerment, and data-driven storytelling. At the summit, which gathered 2,000 young people from over 190 countries, we listened to fellow youth leaders tell stories of the hardships they overcame, the challenges they continue to face, and the hope they keep alive for their communities and countries.

One speech at the summit resonated with me – that of Anna Strolenberg, who, at 31 years old, is one of the youngest members of the European Parliament.

Anna was recognized as one of the Politicians of the Year, an award given out at every One Young World Summit.

Like most of us, she used to think politics was a dirty word, “something for men with big egos and bad suits.”

But, when she was 24 years old, she decided to become a politician, not because she thought she’d be good at political maneuverings, but simply because she was fed up with the status quo.

I know many Filipinos don’t trust politics. Most of us are cynical, or have lost hope and have…

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