Many students indifferent toward politics, mock survey shows

BAGUIO CITY, Philippines–The exposure of students to the Internet and their perceptions about careers and an unstable job market may shape how those among them of eligible age would vote in the May 2010 elections.

But Filipinos between 15 and 24 years old, on the other hand, remain indifferent to the state of affairs in the country.

These findings were based on a mock poll that was incorporated into a survey taken in December on the political and economic views of Filipino teenagers and young adults.

The results of the First Quarter Pinoy Youth Barometer Project of the Asian Institute of Management Policy Center were presented at Saint Louis University here on Saturday by project member Ma. Beatrice Ann Tanjangco.

Another survey of the Youth Barometer Project this month will continue to collect the “sentiments and attitudes of the Filipino youth toward migration, employment, education and government performance.”

Tanjangco said the AIM Policy Center surveyed 13 major campuses–sampling 200 university students and 100 high school students from each of these public and private schools–in September and December last year.

The mock poll showed improved numbers for aspiring senators like Risa Hontiveros, Juan Edgardo Angara, Ramon Magsaysay Jr. and Richard Gordon, who were not among the top ranking candidates in the Social Weather Stations (SWS) January survey.

They displaced early favorites like Grace Poe, Nancy Binay, JV Ejercito and Cynthia Villar.

But the survey showed that many of the students do not plan to stay in the country to see if the officials they voted for would fulfill their promises, which may explain the youth sector’s continued apolitical stance.

The study said four in every 10 students (40.36 percent) from the entire sample indicated they wanted to migrate to the United States, Canada or Australia. Many of them, it said, were encouraged by relatives to seek their fortunes outside the Philippines.

David Yap II, AIM senior economist, said this was a disappointing finding because the youth vote is powerful enough to reform the political landscape.

“[The country continues to vote for] politicians who make promises but who do not keep those promises because voters do not hold them accountable. And how do you (the youth) make them accountable? By not voting for them over and over again,” he said.

The study said 68.74 percent of the college sample and 68.72 percent of the high school sample “chose their degrees based on the employment opportunities in the Philippines.”

It should 81.07 percent of college students and 72.93 percent of high school students are certain they can land jobs in six months. Less than half of the college and high school samples indicated they expected to be employed abroad within the same period. With a report from EV Espiritu, Inquirer Northern Luzon