“Idle loiterers” maybe a politically correct term, but let’s be bluntly colloquial and recognize them as “tambays.”

Commonly seen as a group of young individuals hanging out together, laughing at issues of little concern, tambays are staple sights in front of sari-sari stores, coffee shops and malls.

The word tambay is even a generic one describing how time is spent on unimportant things. Ask any student, “What did you do in the mall today?” and his common response would be, “Wala, tumambay.” Contrary to popular belief, tambay also refers to people of advanced age. In fact, you see a lot of senior tambays in golf courses.

Tambay is not a bad thing. The word is linked to our culture, a reflection of our society as a relatively poor country compared to First World countries. It is a sign that a vast majority of Filipinos have spent a considerable amount of time doing nothing. They glorify these moments of uneventfulness, thereby making them eventful, and putting color to an otherwise bland gathering. When you ask about what happened in a fun reunion among old friends of good stature, they may also answer “Wala, tumambay.”

The ongoing crackdown on tambays may change how we perceive the word. The President made strong statements the youth must not loiter the streets, mentioning the principle of parens patriae to justify the government’s acts of taking minors into custody for their own protection. Thousands of young individuals have been rounded up and arrested pursuant to this anti-tambay drive for alleged violations of city ordinances, majority were released later on.

As expected, media and the political opposition made a great fuss out of this. Although this exercise can be criticized as baseless and harsh, its true intentions cannot be doubted to be noble.

The President was concerned on the glorification of nothingness, and how it may lead one to commit common crimes, jeopardizing one’s future. Nonetheless, kicking them out of the streets is one thing. Keeping them off the streets is another.

“The Youth is the Hope of Today” is the slogan of the Bill Drafting Contest currently being conducted by the House of Representatives which runs until October 2018. The contest is an educational activity intended for the youth, particularly college students, to introduce them to policymaking and bill drafting in the Philippines.

Last Wednesday (June 27) until yesterday (June 28) we held a two-day seminar at the Batasan Complex as a prerequisite of this contest. Over 80 delegates from 27 schools attended the lectures conducted by House Secretariat Officials. The topics were about the legislative process, policy formulation, policy research and technical bill drafting. In the spirit of inclusivity, a Facebook livestream of the event was set up to cater to participants outside Metro Manila who were unable to attend.

House secretary general Atty. Cesar Strait Pareja opened the event and talked to the participants. He notably said, “The youth is the hope of today. You are a generation that does not wait for the future in order to build meaningful change here and now.”

The participants, both present and online, actively engaged in discussions and workshops with the lecturers to get the basic points about the art of legislation. Upon their completion, the participants will submit their own draft bills. The top five teams will then battle it out as they present their proposed bills to the House of Representatives this October.

This is the second year for us to do this contest. Last year, the winners came all the way from University of San Carlos in Cebu for their work on a bill to preserve our whale sharks.

We look forward to reading (and scrutinizing) the bills of our participants this year!

Relatedly, the lower chamber approved on second reading House Bill No. 7749 that sets August 12 of every year as National Youth Day. The bill, authored by Rep. Sarah Jane Elago of Kabataan Party-list, cited the duty of the State not only to inculcate patriotism and nationalism among the country’s youth, but also to encourage them to public and civic affairs. Further, said August 12 coincides with the “International Youth Day.”

To ensure the meaningful observance of National Youth Day, HB 7749 mandates the National Youth Commission, in coordination with the Department of Education, Commission on Higher Education and Technical Education and Skills Development Authority, to prepare and implement an annual program of activities.

In addition, all schools, including colleges and universities, are encouraged to launch activities in celebration of National Youth Day such as leadership training, youth empowerment workshops, basic mass integration and solidarity summit, among other activities.

The intention of our President is noble and the youth must be kept busy on important things. Although the measures taken may be argued to be too harsh, the presumption of regularity still stands. On our part, we must recognize the youth for their achievements and give them opportunities to shine as individuals with important roles in nation-building.