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Aksyon Kabataan
traces its roots to the ROCO for President Youth Movement (RP Youth)
founded in November 1996 by Darwin Mariano who was at that time a junior
taking up Psychology at UP Diliman. Having studied both elementary and
high school at San Beda College, Darwin had seen in the newspapers that
Senator Raul Roco was planning to run for president. He, at one
time, had listened to the senator in school and was so impressed that he
quietly promised himself he would help the senator if and when an
opportunity came. After seeing Senator Roco's new website and e-mail
address in one newspaper, he sent the senator a message through e-mail
saying that he was willing to help organize the youth for his presidential
campaign. A few days later he received a beep from a member of the
senator's staff telling him to call Senator Roco at his office. He did and
was able to talk to the senator for the first time. The organization
started with just ten of Darwin's friends, including Senator Roco's
former legislative staff member, Julius Estoesta, Aksyon
Kabataan's former Secretary-General
Analou Madrid, former De La Salle's University Student Council Vice
President for Academics, Patrick Salamat and former Aksyon
Kabataan Director for Operations and
Special Projects, Steve Morales. The rest is history.
At present, Aksyon
Kabataan has around ten thousand
members throughout the country and has chapters in sixty colleges and
universities spanning fifty-five provinces.
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