During his first stint in Congress, he made his mark by championing the cause of the Filipino youth and spearheading the passage of the Philippine Youth Commission Act. The law empowers Filipinos at an early age to take an active role in the civic and political life of the nation.
The historic act reflects a fundamental part of Bongbong’s vision and understanding of Philippine society. In his view, the Philippines is a predominantly young country — young in population, young in outlook, and with its eyes turned towards the future rather than the past. This young population gives the nation a large human resource base which, harnessed and educated properly, can propel Philippine society into the heights of modernization and development.
This population phenomenon – called “the demographic dividend” by David Bloom of Harvard University – has accounted for the economic miracle in Taiwan, Korea, and Hong Kong in the ‘80s, and now in China and India. The same, in Bongbong’s view, will drive the Philippines to full modernization and development.
He is also remembered as the largest contributor to the cause of cooperatives development. He devoted almost all his Countryside Development Fund (CDF) to organizing cooperatives of teachers and farmers in his home province.
