School-based youth groups form ‘Layas Duterte Network’ to push for impeachment
Youth-led organizations on Thursday launched a coalition aimed at “adding pressure” on lawmakers to act on impeachment complaints filed against Vice President Sara Duterte.
The youth organizations, which come from top universities in Metro Manila, have joined forces to launch the Leaders and Youth Advocates Against Sara Duterte Network (Layas Duterte Network) amid the prolonged delay in the House of Representatives’ action on the complaints.
Among the organizations that joined the network are the student councils from the University of the Philippines Diliman, Polytechnic University of the Philippines, and the University of Santo Tomas.
Progressive organizations for the youth were also part of the coalition, including Kabataan Party-list, League of Filipino Students, Anakbayan, College Editors Guild of the Philippines, National Union of Students of the Philippines, Student Christian Movement of the Philippines (SCMP), among others.
Out of the 72 signatories in the second impeachment complaint against Duterte, which was endorsed by the Makabayan bloc lawmakers, 21 are representatives of youth organizations.
The 21 youth representatives are the “core” members of the Layas Duterte Network, according to Kej Andres, chairperson of the SCMP and one of the signatories in the second complaint.
Three impeachment complaints were filed against Duterte last year, and the grounds mainly revolved around her alleged misuse of her confidential funds at the Office of the Vice President and the Department of Education.
Widen support for impeachment
The Layas Duterte Network was formed to campaign for the impeachment of Duterte, initiated by youth leaders, and to spread the message to the youth not only in Metro Manila, but also in other parts of Luzon, Visayas, and especially Mindanao, which Andres said has been the Duterte family’s bailiwick.
“We aim to widen the support among the youth to support the impeachment of Sara Duterte. We came up with the imperative to have the youth come together, especially after President Marcos’ dilly-dallying on the impeachment complaints and even discouraging the impeachment attempts,” Andres told the Inquirer in a phone interview.
He said efforts must be made in the days leading up to the start of the campaign period for national candidates on Feb. 11.
“We are hoping that the impeachment process will proceed before the campaign season starts,” Andres noted.
A youth-led protest action will be held on Jan. 27 at Liwasang Bonifacio in Manila calling for the impeachment of Duterte and another one on January 31 at the same venue, but with different sectors participating.
In addition to mass mobilizations, Andres mentioned that the network initiated a petition that solicited signatures in support of Duterte’s impeachment.
The network is considering expanding by creating local networks in schools, echoing its call for Duterte’s removal for good, he added.
“Another important thing here to note is that we are holding meetings with leaders from our chapters in several parts of the country to spread the message further,” Andres said.
