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Alan Cayetano: Oil crisis an opportunity for training future Filipino leaders
Alan Cayetano: Oil crisis an opportunity for training future Filipino leaders
At A Glance
- Senate Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano said he believes that the ongoing oil crisis is a good opportunity to train the country's future leaders.
Senate Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano said he believes that the ongoing oil crisis is a good opportunity to train the country’s future leaders.
Cayetano expressed his belief to hundreds of graduating and moving-up students with their parents during end-of-school-year rites in Taguig City last March 31, 2026.
The senator pointed out that effective leaders often draw their drive and heart for service from what they lacked or the hardships they endured.
“Sabi kasi ng iba, kapag ikaw ay leader o boss, ikaw ang parating pinagsisilbihan. ‘Pag may pagkukulang, may uutusan ka (Some people say that when you are a leader or boss, you are always the one who is served. ‘If there is a shortage, you can just order someone),” Cayetano said.
“Pero sa salitang Pilipino, maganda eh – ‘pamumuno.’ Kapag may kulang, pinupunuan. ‘Yan ang role ng isang leader (But in Filipino, it’s beautiful – ‘leadership.’ When something is lacking, it is filled. That’s the role of a leader),” he continued.
For the senator, the country’s experience—from the Covid-19 pandemic, the flood control scandal, to the current oil crisis—are avenues that could help the Filipino youth to become a generation of grounded and committed leaders.
“There are many things you will not understand right away because you are being prepared. You are being trained. Not just by your parents, not just by the teachers, [but also] by this world,” he said.
“We are all meant to be leaders, as God’s appointed stewards of His creations…When you take dominion, that's leadership. That's stewardship. ‘Yan ay pamumuno (That’s governance),” he said.
Cayetano then urged the youth to remain resilient, warning that their actions can influence others around them.
“Kung leader ka, anong ginagawa ng iba? Follow. So ‘pag nakaisip ka ng masama [tulad ng] mag-quit, mag-drop out, o mag-suicide [kasi ang] hirap ng buhay,’ please remember, you're a leader (If you are a leader, what are others doing? Follow. So ‘if you think about something bad [like] quitting, dropping out, or committing suicide [because life is] difficult,’ please remember, you're a leader),” he told the students. encouraged them.
“God loves you. So whenever you have doubt, remind yourself that you are being trained and that many love you,” the lawmaker emphasized.