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We Brought Them to Our World
The Issue of Responsibility
In the recent past, about 15 to 25 years
ago, we brought our present 15.1 million youth to our world;
a political and social system constantly challenged by poverty,
unemployment, political and social unrest, graft and corruption.
As parents and guardians of our youth, our
greatest challenge is our responsibility to them: the responsibility
to prepare them for productive and responsible citizenship;
to provide them with homes and communities that will enable
them to build a better world for their children and us in
our old age. It is our hope that they will do better than
we ever did in meeting challenges and responsibilities.
Individually and collectively, let us reflect
on our responsibility to our youth, directly as their parents
or guardians and indirectly as their teachers, as media practitioners,
as officials of government and members of non-government organizations
responsible for the formulation of policies and the planning
and implementation of programs and projects for youth development.
As government officials or private citizens,
we are all connected as parents or guardians of our youth.
We know and we must admit that the character and situation
of our youth today: what they think and do, reflect (1) the
character of the decision we made when we had them and (2)
the way we cared for them as they grew up to be the young
achievers or young rascals they are now.
Some of us brought them to this world with
the best of intentions, prepared for the responsibilities
of marriage and parenthood; the more sexually active among
us, had them during our teenage years, out of wedlock or under
difficult or embarrassing circumstances, without meaning to
and not prepared for parental responsibilities.
Our youth today are in different life situations:
three out of 10 are poor, two in five are in school, three
in every 10 are gainfully employed, while the proportion of
idle youth, neither in school or working ranges from 16 percent
in Northern Mindanao to 29 percent in the National Capital
Region.1
We brought them to this world; it is our responsibility
to address their needs.
The Issue of Dependency and Opportunity
The researchers among us say that there are
around seven young and old dependents for every 10 working
age persons (aged 15-64). But due to the inability of government
or the private sector to create jobs for our young adults
(20-24 years old) and adolescents (15 to 19), the real dependency
ratio is 11 dependents for every six working persons.2
The large number of our youth if provided
with employment opportunities will mean more productive or
working people capable of supporting our young (aged 0-14)
and old (aged years 65 and over) dependents.
Our challenge then is to mobilize our large
youth population to help in the economic and social development
of our country; and to invest in human capital development
in the areas of education, nutrition, health, employment generation
and reproductive health. 
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