More than 400 student leaders from 15 schools across Baguio and Benguet gathered for the 12th Baguio Students Day (BSD), rallying under the theme “Gear Up!”.
The annual celebration launched the #StudentsDeserveBetter, #FilipinosDeserveBetter campaign and featured a full day of training sessions on leadership, organizational management and skills training.
Workshops covered a wide range of skills crucial to student organizing, including social media management, public speaking, column writing, editorial cartooning, organizational management, video production, digital design, and paralegal training. Local experts and advocates led the sessions, equipping participants with tools to amplify youth voices and strengthen their organizations. “Baguio students are gearing up — to take the lead and let our voices be heard. Amid undeniable learning crises and looming budget cuts in Cordillera SUCs, corruption scandals in our country continue to erupt, and we are not letting it pass,” said Dexter Bacud, one of the organizers of BSD 2025. Institutionalized under Baguio City Ordinance 43, s. 2023, BSD was lobbied by youth groups including the Cordilleran Youth Center (CYC), Kabataan Partylist, NUSP Baguio-Benguet, and CEGP Baguio-Benguet. Since its passage, it has become a platform for students to collaborate, train, and co-create solutions and policy recommendations addressing education and pressing youth concerns. “This year’s BSD is a testament to our youth’s commitment—to keep learning and equipping ourselves to become better leaders and changemakers,” added Janice Militar of the Cordilleran Youth Center. This year’s celebration was organized by CYC, CEGP-Cordillera, NUSP-Cordillera, and Kabataan Partylist-Cordillera, with the support of the Baguio City Government, the Sangguniang Kabataan Federation, and more than 30 partner youth organizations.