Philippine party-list group Kabataan (Youth) made history this year by capturing a seat in the Philippines House of Representatives, making Raymund V. Palatino, the first elected youth representative in Congress.

As he convened the Kabataan party-list national convention today (Nov 17) in Mandaluyong City, Palatino said that they now aim to win the maximum three seats as they prepare to rejoin the 2010 elections.

Palatino is not daydreaming. Winning three seats may not be a long shot because it appears Kabataan is prepared to win, be it demographically, politically or organizationally.

Election demographics for 2010 titlt heavily in favor of youth and youthful candidates. A huge portion of new, first-time voters belong to the youth sector. Those who voted in the last elections in 2007 also appear to remain within the under-35 age group, still solidly within the youth sector. They are potential voters for reform and change.

A mainstay of the movement to oust President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, Kabataan is poised to earn plenty of anti-Arroyo protest votes. Forming the backbone and core of Kabataan are the country’s biggest and oldest youth organizations which have a proven track record of activism and organizing students and youth in the communities. They reject the politics of cynicism and apathy. Instead, Kabataan and its partner-organizations look back to the historic roles played by young Filipinos in revolution and nation-building and look forward as well to breaking new ground as they take their advocacies a step further in the parliamentary arena.

Whether Kabataan is prepared to win is no longer a question. All the country’s regions are represented in its national convention which started today. The violent suppression and legal persecution against Kabataan and other activist party-list groups especially in 2006 obviously failed to cut them down in size. In fact, Kabataan appears to have grown in size in terms of membership and how it is spread across the country.

Kabataan is also busily involving itself in bilateral relations and multilateral coalitions, befriending both traditional and progressive legislators and elected public officials. It is a member of the Makabayang Koalisyon ng Mamamayan (Makabayan, Patriotic Coalition of the People) which is now in talks with big, national parties. The goal is to help propel platform-based, principled debate among candidates and parties as the Philippines embarks on a search for a new set of leaders.

Kabataan is confident that it will attract votes and pollwatchers, allies and other new friends. Why? Theirs is a clear message for change. Their program of action captures the dynamism and readiness of Filipino youth to serve the country: To empower young Filipinos to actively participate in nation-building, good governance, and social change; uphold the youth’s fundamental rights in schools, offices and communities; assert the right to decent living, equal opportunities and humane living conditions; assert national independence and teach patriotism, among others.

Stumbling blocks remain. One good thing going for Kabataan is that they already know them: The potential and probability that the Arroyo administration would again engage in electoral fraud, the expected chaos in the first nationwide automated elections which might automate various forms of fraud as well, and the use of violence and redbaiting during the campaign.

Guided by lessons from engaging in elections since 2004, Kabataan is poised to leap over these hurdles because it may be party of the youth, it is not the party of the naive.