Metro Manila, Philippines — The youth sector pushed back on Senator Robin Padilla’s branding of them as “weak” during a Senate committee hearing.
Social media posts included pictures of the lawmaker in tears and a commentary on generational struggles – in response to Padilla’s description of the youth as “iyakin” [prone to crying] and rising depression cases.
On Facebook, various pages reposted photos of the senator crying during the arrest of former President Rodrigo Duterte on a warrant issued by the International Criminal Court, while quoting Padilla’s statement in Wednesday’s hearing.
Riyan Portuguez, a licensed psychologist and psychometrician known online as “Your Millennial Psychologist,” reminded Padilla that the youth of his generation were afraid to open up about their struggles over a lack of understanding and were immediately branded as weak.
Padilla’s Response
Padilla said in a statement on Facebook that his “weak” remarks were based on data collected by his office.
“Ang nagsasabing mahina o weak ang kabataan ngayon ay ang mga datos ng suicide o pagpapatiwakal na aming pinag-aralan sa aming opisina, hindi bunga lang ng aming mungkahi o opinyon.”
[Translation: Data on suicide studied by our office shows the actual situation of youth, not just a suggestion or opinion.]
Padilla told the public to “act on the data,” and not on his statement, if they want to address the issue.
“Harapin ninyo ang nangyayari sa ating kabataan, hindi ako. Matanda na ako,” he added.
[Translation: Face what is happening to our youth, not me. I am already old.]
