La Union does not just read about the West Philippine Sea in the news. Its coastline faces it directly. Today, that proximity became the centerpiece of a provincewide civic push, as Team Pinas brings its GenZennial Tour: We Decide the Future to La Union, backed not just by a university or a youth organization, but by the full weight of its provincial government, from the Governor down to barangay SK chairpersons.
The GenZennial Tour is a pop-culture-powered, community-led roadshow built for a generation that gets its news from feeds as much as from newspapers, pairing short, punchy talks from Team Pinas Core members with interactive booths that let participants do democracy, not just hear about it: touchscreen quiz stations that test and debunk common myths, a Digital Freedom Wall where youth post real-time takes and commitments, and P-pop-styled light stick voting.
What sets the La Union leg apart is the scale of government buy-in behind it. Provincial Governor Mario Eduardo C. Ortega delivered an inspirational message, while SK Federation President Harold Dave E. Sibuma joined the fireside chats, placing the province’s elected youth leadership at the very start of the program, not as an afterthought.
“I am here today not just to represent the province of La Union, but to stand with Congressman Paolo Ortega and show you that we are with you every step of the way. Whatever you need, whatever you feel, alam niyo na nandito ang inyong gobyerno. Buo ang suporta namin sa inyong mga kabataan,” Governor Ortega said.
On the West Philippine Sea, Dr. Sherwin Ona (Associate Professor, Department of Political Science, De La Salle University, and Core Member, Team Pinas) unpacked how TikTok has become a battleground for narratives on Philippine sovereignty, joined by Provincial Youth Governor Russel John Gurtiza, giving the discussion a voice that speaks directly for the province’s organized youth sector, in a province where the issue is not abstract but offshore.
On accountability, Atty. Dino De Leon returned to lead the Bantay Senado and Impeachment Trial discussion. “We believe that there has to be free-flowing discourse, we believe in accountability, at pagdating sa pananagutan, dapat iisang bayan lang tayo. Iisa lang ang ating saligang batas. Walang Ilokano, walang Bisaya, walang pro-Marcos, pro-Duterte o Pinklawan. Lahat tayo rito ay pro-saligang batas o pro-constitution. Team Pinas tayo.”
The GenZennial Tour’s La Union stop follows earlier legs in Dumaguete, Siquijor, Manila, General Santos, Bacolod, and Laguna and is part of a nationwide push by Team Pinas, a network anchored by leaders from OCTA Research, Momentum Research, and the Philippine Society for Public Administration, to build local chapters of civically engaged GenZennials across the country.
