Kabataan

The origins of Kabataan can be traced back to the youth group Estrada Resign Youth Movement (ERYM), a group prominently active during the Second EDSA Revolution in 2001.[3] It then renamed itself as the Youth Movement for Justice and Meaningful Change (YMJC) during the Arroyo administration.

In May 2001, YMJC met with the leaders of Anakbayan, the League of Filipino Students, the College Editors Guild of the Philippines, the National Union of Students of the Philippines, and the Student Christian Movement of the Philippines in Sampaloc, Manila to discuss methods to advance youth interests in the country.[4] The convening groups eventually resolved to create a youth party, creating the Ang Nagkakaisang Kabataan Para sa Sambayanan (ANAK ng BAYAN, lit. 'The United Youth For the People'). On June 19, 25 representatives from involved groups and Kabataan Artista Para sa Tunay na Kalayaan (KARATULA, lit. 'Youth Artists For True Freedom') formally inaugurated ANAK ng BAYAN at the University of the Philippines Diliman. The date was chosen to coincide with the 140th birth anniversary of national hero José Rizal.[4]

The partylist had members from nine regions of the country by 2002,[5] and by 2004, decided to run for representation for the 2004 elections. The group fielded Apolinario Alvarez, Eric Jude Casilao, and Ronalyn Olea for the elections;[6] however, they failed to win a single seat due to red-tagging allegations against the group.[7]

In 2005, ANAK ng BAYAN renamed itself as the Kabataan Partylist, in order to avoid confusion with similar names such as Anakbayan and the political party Akbayan. Kabataan ran again for representation at the 2007 elections, securing 228,000 votes. However, this is below the 2% of the total partylist votes requirement for partylist representation. A 2009 Supreme Court ruling changed the partylist law,[8] thus allowing Kabataan (among other groups) to field its first representative to the Congress, Raymond Palatino.[9]

Kabataan became a convening member of the left-leaning bloc Makabayang Koalisyon ng Mamamayan (Makabayan, lit. 'Patriotic Coalition of the People') in 2009.

The group decided to run at the 2010 elections, fielding three nominees led by incumbent representative Palatino. The group successfully sued the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) for ending the voter registration prematurely for the forthcoming elections,[10] and sued a police superintendent for assaulting one of their nominee.[11] The 2010 elections resulted in a single seat for the group, with Palatino extending his term for another three years.

In the 2013 elections, Kabataan fielded three nominees led by Terry Ridon. COMELEC threatened to disqualify the group due to campaign-related violations, a move seen by the group as being orchestrated by the Aquino III administration in an attempt to "push out progressive partylists".[12] Kabataan successfully secured another seat again, with Ridon replacing Palatino as the representative of the partylist.

Sarah Elago, Kabataan representative at the Congress from 2016 to 2022.

Nominees of the Kabataan Partylist for the 2019 elections, including incumbent Sarah Elago.

At the 2016 elections, the group fielded five nominees led by Sarah Elago,[13] and won a seat. Elago thus became the youngest serving lawmaker in the country. The group managed to win a seat again at the 2019 elections, giving Elago another three years in office. Under the Duterte administration, the group, along with other members of the Makabayan bloc, received increased harassment and allegations from the administration. One particular case was an alleged kidnapping case of an activist, where Kabataan representative Elago and others were implicated on the case. The case was ultimately junked by the Department of Justice and the Supreme Court for "having no sufficient grounds".[14][15][16]

Nominees of the Kabataan Partylist for the 2022 elections: Angelica Galimba, Raoul Manuel, Jandeil Roperos.

The group was also linked by the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency (NICA) and the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) to the communist group CPP-NPA-NDFP,[17] which the group and other members of the Makabayan bloc strongly denied.[18] This particular case was explored in a 2020 Senate hearing on red-tagging.[18] President Rodrigo Duterte himself has since denied claims on red-tagging, saying that the government was only "identifying" them as "communists".[19]