What will Gen Z need to succeed during this Sunday’s protests?

Every week, PhilSTAR L!fe explores issues and topics from the perspectives of different age groups, encouraging healthy but meaningful conversations on why they matter. This is Generations by our Gen Z columnist Angel Martinez.

At long last, Gen Z is spearheading the revolution. We’re taking our pitchforks alongside our phones, and the whole world can’t help but watch.

First to strike in recent memory was Indonesia, after unjustified privileges for members of parliament, among other unreasonable government policies. Nepal followed suit, in response to their officials’ ostentatious lifestyles and widespread social media shutdowns. Years prior, this same demographic stormed the Sri Lankan presidential palace during an economic crisis, and forced Bangladesh’s authoritarian ruler to flee.

Now, all eyes are on the Philippines to replicate the success of our neighbors. Marches in both Luneta and the EDSA People Power Monument are scheduled for this Sunday, Sept. 21, in a symbolic fight to upend systemic corruption. Thankfully, the kids are alright – and our elders think so, too. 

“Over the past few weeks, Gen Z has already helped achieve something previous generations have not, in a short period of time. You can already see a lot of changes within the institutions we find corrupt. All of that occurred without having to resort to violent means. I would like to acknowledge that as a small win, a good start,” Dr. Anne Candelaria, associate professor at Ateneo de Manila University’s political science department, shares with PhilSTAR L!fe.

To our credit, we’ve helped inspire a change of leadership in the House and Senate, as well as the creation of an independent commission to probe the misuse of public funds. Let’s not forget the relentless yet reasonable shaming of these officials’ and contractors’ “nepo babies”—all of which happened through social media alone, proof that it’s a platform that can’t be discredited.

Digital activism often gets a bad rep. How can liking and sharing posts be commensurate with storming the streets, when barriers to entry and level of engagement stay low? But Dr. Ronald Holmes, professor at De La Salle University’s political science department and president of Pulse Asia Research, begs to differ. “I don’t see [digital activism] as something that deters anyone. If anything, this might even stimulate much more participation in the protests that are about to happen,” he tells L!fe. 

A diverse pool of voices and perspectives coming together through new channels is a “sufficient push for members of the youth to get involved and [...] will serve as one of those political actions that graduate into protests.”

After all, technology is one thing we have in common with the revolutions that came before us. In 1986, EDSA I made full use of radio as a means to communicate with one another and coordinate efforts on the ground. Meanwhile, EDSA II happened just as text brigades broke through to the mainstream. “It really is about whatever tool is available to a certain generation, and how it is maximized to enact reforms and make people feel like they’re part of a collective,” Candelaria says.

Rather than scrutinize the medium and methods, Gen Z must look inward and assess what these marches mean to them at all. “There has to be something strategic given to the young. It has to be made clear that yes, the people are willing to go out and rise, regardless of the weather, but if we do so, what’s the end game?” Holmes suggests. We must be willing to ask ourselves: Do we see this as an avenue for change, or maybe a pledge of allegiance to our people? What demands do we want to make, and how will we work towards them after the crowds disperse?

These questions will carry us in a time when our attention and anger can so easily be captured by something else. In the latest episode of Generations, the podcast, multimedia journalist Atom Araullo says that this is precisely why it’s important to get organized. “That’s why there are actual people’s organizations, whose job is not just to rouse up anger anytime there’s a new corruption issue or controversy, but to sustain it.” 

(Watch Generations Episode 5 with Atom Araullo below.)

Candelaria also wants to stress that our efforts should stay focused and coordinated. While social media has been credited for bringing communities together, it has also kept them insulated in impenetrable bubbles. In-fighting within liberal and militant circles—asserting that there is a single ‘right way’ or ‘perfect’ central figure of the movement—only strengthens our supposed common enemy. 

“A fundamental idea that we need to instill [among the youth] is that there are so many ways to engage ourselves with issues. Going to rallies, cancelling people on social media, these are ways to change the institution from the outside,” she says. “But there are also people changing the government’s way of working from the inside by engaging in policy work, in correct and ethical behavior and practices.” One doesn’t score more brownie points than the other; both are crucial exercises in fighting for our democracy across all fronts.

Those without the resources to participate directly in the protests can still do their part. In the inaugural issue of WR Numero’s Filipino Perspectives Digest, youth participants pointed out apprehensions in engaging with political organizations, citing reasons such as “being too shy to approach” and the “difficulty of balancing these with their existing responsibilities.” We have to remember that personal bandwidth and access to networks differ across regions and social classes.

“Talk to your parents, influence your friends. Join efforts being organized by schools in their respective areas. I will also, once again, not exclude being active and vocal on social media. You have to be conscious that you can contribute to this snowballing effort to ensure good governance, because unless we act, our future is not certain,” Holmes advises.

Amid all of this, we are also tasked with keeping our idealism alive. This trait, long associated with the youth, has kept them afloat as they toppled down rotten administrations. But we’re tired, I see that. I feel it too. We are plagued by a polycrisis that were not in the job description when we entered the real world. Sometimes, it’s easier to clam up and center our immediate circle of control.

But other generations and countries have shown us what’s possible. Even our fervor online gives us a taste of what could happen in real life. Imagining a world where we, too, can win is exactly how we manifest it into existence.