Team Pinas is encouraging young Filipinos to move beyond simply consuming political information and become active participants in discussions on disinformation, national issues and government accountability.
The group brought its GenZennial Tour: We Decide the Future to Far Eastern University (FEU) on August 25, where hundreds of students were encouraged to become “truth tellers, bridge-builders, and change makers.”
“We’re not interested in an audience that just listens. We want truth tellers who question what they see online, bridge-builders who can hold a room across political lines, and change makers who turn frustration into action,” said Team Pinas Co-Convenor and University of Makati Vice President for Academic Affairs Dr. Ederson Tapia.
The FEU leg centered on two discussions: the spread of disinformation surrounding the West Philippine Sea and accountability in the Senate and impeachment process.
De La Salle University professor Sherwin Ona and OCTA Research Founder and President Ranjit Rye returned to the tour for a discussion on how TikTok has become a platform for disinformation about the West Philippine Sea.
They were joined by OCTA Research Director Guido David, who discussed the spread and detection of manipulated content, and FEU microbiology student Ronald Teng, Environment Sectoral Head of the Student Environmental Initiative.
Mr. Rye said young Filipinos have an important role in determining which information gains traction online.
“The West Philippine Sea isn’t just a foreign policy issue debated in Malacañang or in international tribunals. It’s being fought over on TikTok, one video at a time, and young Filipinos are the ones deciding what gets believed and what gets shared,” he said.
He added that young people need to be equipped to identify manipulated content because their participation is part of the information environment surrounding the issue.
The tour also placed a student representative directly in a discussion on political accountability.
Momentum Research Founder and Chief Executive Officer and Bantay Senado spokesperson Cleve Arguelles led the session on “Bantay Senado and Impeachment Trial,” with political scientist and media commentator Richard Heydarian and FEU political science student, FEU College Y Club President and student legislator Ma. Anthea Navarro.
Mr. Arguelles said following Senate proceedings and asking questions are forms of civic participation.
“An impeachment trial isn’t just political theater in the Senate. It’s a live test of whether our institutions actually hold power accountable,” he said.
“Watching closely and asking hard questions is itself a form of civic participation,” he added.
The organizers also involved students through a P-pop-style light-stick voting activity, making the discussions participatory rather than solely lecture-based.
The FEU stop follows earlier legs of the nationwide tour in Dumaguete and Siquijor.
Team Pinas, a network anchored by leaders from OCTA Research, Momentum Research and the Philippine Society for Public Administration, aims through the tour to build local chapters of civically engaged GenZennials across the country.
By putting students alongside researchers, political analysts and youth advocates, the FEU leg emphasized the organizers’ view that young Filipinos should have a direct role in conversations that shape how information is understood and how institutions are held accountable. — Kaizzer Angela Marie V. Manuba