Category: Business Mirror

Philippine Seven Corp., the operator of 7-Eleven convenience stores in the country, said its operations have been affected by monsoon rains in the past two weeks as sales fell by as much as 20 percent.

Lawrence de Leon, the company’s head of finance and investor relations, said the company’s sales were still higher until July, when it celebrated its annual 7-11 day.

‘However, our sales is very sensitive to bad weather conditions. The past two weeks was really rainy. So, you can see same-store sales drop as much as 20 percent (due to bad weather),’ de Leon said during the PSE STAR investor day.

‘But the good thing is you can see our stores clustering quite evenly. So, if there’s school suspension or if there’s a work suspension, you can see some recovery in residential clusters Since it’s kind of diversified when it comes to location, but still that’s not enough for growth to become positive.’

The company’s operations were also affected by the Middle East crisis, but de Leon said it was able to anticipate supply chain disruption.

‘That’s why we did forward buying exercises. More than P1 billion. That’s three months worth of supply, so that we can protect against any disruption in suppliers’ fulfillment.’

That exercise created a strain in its free cash flow, which fell to negative territory in the first half. ‘But we think that this is temporary,’ he said.

De Leon said the company is still implanting its plan of expanding its footprint in the Visayas and Mindanao.

‘And this is just not about the store itself, so you need to have the supply lines to support expansion. Currently, we now have 28 distribution centers, not only in Luzon, but also in the Visayas.’

The company, he said, has been in the Visayas in 2012, and has slowly expanded its footprint further south of the country. It has also made considerable investments in its logistics capability.

De Leon said most of the company’s shareholders believe in the potential of the local stores compared to those in emerging markets.

‘Like in Thailand, for example. Imagine the GDP [gross domestic product] per capita of Thailand compared to the Philippines, so it’s about two and a half times. But when it comes to storefront, it’s more than four times compared to us. So, they can really see the potential over the long term from Philippines 7-Eleven.’

He said the company’s investors are looking at its capacity to open stores over the next 10 years.

‘They are not looking at a 5-year horizon; they are looking at a 10-year horizon.’

I AM following with great interest the desires of young people to get top jobs. Millennials and even Gen Zers are asking how and how fast can I get to the top.

I have discussed with many colleagues around the world who made it to the top their learning curves from low positions to the top. Of course, I have my own experience along that avenue.

Today, I would like to share the Dos and Don’ts that were raised by my discussion-partners with you, to help you on the way to the top job:

Act smarter, faster and broader

You have to stand out as someone who has potential. Simply put: think more, look at things from a broader perspective, share more ideas, and find smarter, faster, and more efficient ways of doing things.

Find the right supervisor

If your manager is weak, you will never advance in your career. B-class people never promote A-class people. And it is difficult to get noticed by the higher levels of management while going around your own boss.

If you want to become a CEO, behave as if you are one

Once you have already been identified as what we might call a ‘high-potential employee’, someone on the list of people being considered for future leadership, you should start behaving like a potential CEO and have the courage to distinguish yourself from your peers. But please, do so without arrogance, or acting like a know-it-all. The rule is: Don’t make yourself the best employee.

Say goodbye to your office friends

When the application period for the CEO is underway, it naturally attracts envious and jealous people. Be more introverted and draw energy from within yourself with focus on thinking, observing and reflectingure loneliness

Distance from former colleagues is part of the process. You have to be able to handle that. ‘It gets lonely at the top’ – this statement is often dismissed as a cliché. However, it describes a structural reality that has nothing to do with isolation or being disliked, but rather with a lack of equality. Every decision creates interest.

Decide faster and braver than your colleagues

The higher you climb, the more uncertainty, consequences, and time pressure surround decision making. The focus then shifts from identifying the best option to choosing between imperfect ones.

Go out and let the world inspire you

Most truly, new ideas don’t originate within the organization. They arise at the interfaces between industries, technologies, cultures, and markets. Anyone who doesn’t know the world outside won’t be an innovative manager.

Seize this opportunity

In every career, there are perhaps a dozen, probably fewer, opportunities where you can not only distinguish yourself but also position yourself with the right people: the board of directors, the supervisory board, headhunters. And at that moment, you have to say the right thing and strike a chord with the other person. Sometimes it’s a matter of milliseconds. That’s when your path is decided: do you continue climbing or are you eliminated from the race? It’s impossible to plan.

Take care of yourself

You don’t have to be pale, sick or overworked to demonstrate your full commitment. On the contrary, exhaustion makes you more defensive, risk-averse, and less clear in your communication. One misses the opportunity to qualify for the race for higher positions.

Don’t even try to deceive

Supervisory boards are becoming more cautious in their personnel decisions because mistakes are punished more severely these days. Some people I initially liked in the interviews have turned out to be autistic dictators. And anyone who talks too enthusiastically about their current job for half an hour, leaves only one conclusion: they are just there to test their own market value.

Be humble

It sounds banal, but I have experienced it all before. Even in the top league, you can’t afford to be late for an interview. One candidate recently declined a phone appointment, saying she was in the middle of a busy day. Of course, she is not considered anymore.

Be emphatic and not bold

The job of a CEO is to be emphatic towards their own organization. In other words: he/she must be able to sense what he/she is capable of, and what not. This intuition must be demonstrated even as a candidate.

Get help

Something no one tells you beforehand. A CEO can never openly discuss doubts, weaknesses, or mistakes in this role. An independent sparring partner is needed.

Some of you may miss advice how to deal with politics, with politicians, influential business dynasties, etc. Well, those decisions can only be made after the top position has been achieved.

On April 8, 2026, Iran and the United States signed a two-week ceasefire that required Tehran to guarantee safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz. The ink was barely dry before Iran began charging for that passage anyway, one US dollar per barrel, payable in bitcoin within seconds of assessment. The toll violated the ceasefire’s own terms, and Trump denounced it within a day.

The dispute resurfaced in a June 17 truce, its toll language vague enough that Iran read it as preserving the right to charge fees later. Trump pre-empted that reading, declaring there would be ‘NO TOLLS in the Hormuz Strait for 60 days during the Cease Fire Period, and there will be NO TOLLS after the 60 day period has expired, unless they are imposed by and for the United States of America.’ Iran struck a ship in the strait within the week, and by early July the two sides were exchanging fire again.

The precedent for the Hormuz closure worth remembering is the Suez. When President Gamal Nasser nationalized the canal in 1956, and Egypt closed it again in 1967, the shipping industry did not wait for Cairo to sort out its politics. It built bigger ships. The supertanker, designed to round the Cape of Good Hope rather than pay Egypt’s toll, became the industry standard within a decade. Suez reopened in 1975, but it never fully recovered its former leverage, because the world had spent nine years building an alternative to needing it.

Iran is watching that history repeat on a Gulf-wide scale. Saudi Arabia’s East-West pipeline, the Petroline, moves crude 745 miles to the Red Sea port of Yanbu at up to 7 million barrels a day with Riyadh weighing an expansion of 1 million to 2 million barrels a day more. The UAE’s Habshan-Fujairah pipeline bypassing the Strait itself is being fast-tracked to double its capacity to 3.6 million barrels a day by mid-2027, an acceleration ordered personally by Abu Dhabi’s crown prince.

Iraq is running two projects that converge on the same patch of desert. The Kirkuk-Baniyas line, a 500-mile route to Syria’s Mediterranean coast being revived by a Chevron-led consortium, was built in 1952 around the K-3 pumping/hub station in Haditha, shut during the Iran-Iraq war, and killed off by the 2003 invasion. The new Basra-Haditha pipeline runs to that same K-3 junction. It stretches 685 kilometers, cost US$4.6 billion to build, and carries a capacity of 2.25 million barrels a day, financed through an oil-for-infrastructure deal with China.

Both Iraqi lines fall inside seven Gulf pipeline schemes Goldman Sachs counted, estimated to carry 14 million barrels a day by 2028, against a pre-war Hormuz total of non-Iranian oil of roughly 18 to 18.5 million barrels a day. In chess, the pipeline build up would be a move that creates a situation called ‘check.’

However, none of this makes Hormuz irrelevant. Rystad Energy has called the buildout a hedge rather than a replacement. Fujairah’s port took Iranian drone fire even as Abu Dhabi announced its expansion, and a pipeline terminus is no harder to find than a tanker in open water. But that misses what Iran actually lost.

A chokepoint’s value lies in the credibility of the threat to close it, and in the absence of alternatives. Iran spent the first in a ceasefire-era toll grab Washington overruled within a day. It is watching the second condition evaporate at roughly two and a half years a project, across three Gulf states at once.

The Philippines has no strait to weaponize and no pipeline to build, but it carries a smaller version of Iraq’s exposure. The country sources roughly 98 percent of its crude from the Middle East, and every disruption in the Gulf moves directly into diesel prices and the inflation basket the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has spent two years trying to tame. Manila did not create this dependency.

It has, however, done remarkably little to mitigate against it. LNG terminal capacity has stalled for years on permitting delays and grid bottlenecks. Total dependence on imported fuel is the argument for building the best infrastructure on the planet, not an excuse for thin infrastructure.

Riyadh, Abu Dhabi, and Baghdad looked at their exposure and started pouring concrete. Manila has mostly waited for the next BSP meeting.

Chokepoints do not forgive procrastination. They only wait to see who blinks first, and this year, everyone with the capital to do something about it blinked at once, everyone except the country that still imports nearly all its fuel and calls the resulting inflation an external shock.

E-mail me at mangun@gmail.com. Follow me on Twitter @mangunonmarkets. PSE stock-market information and technical analysis provided by AAA Southeast Equities Inc.

Philippine fuel imports from Malaysia surged in early 2026 as Manila tapped Kuala Lumpur for emergency supplies during the Middle East oil crisis, driving bilateral trade between the two nations up 9.5 percent year-on-year to US$4.21 billion from January to May.

Foreign Minister YB Dato’ Seri Utama Haji Mohamad Bin Haji Hasan reported the increase during the 9th Philippines-Malaysia Joint Commission Meeting (JCM) in Manila on August 18, noting that the growth keeps both countries on track toward their US$10 billion trade target.

Co-chaired by Hasan and Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Ma. Theresa P. Lazaro, the JCM reaffirmed the partnership’s momentum after a 13-year hiatus prior to 2024, with both sides highlighting energy cooperation, digital economy, and defense ties.

Trade data show Malaysia remains a key supplier of refined fuels, electronics, and palm oil.

Philippine imports of refined petroleum products from Malaysia totaled about US$703 million from January to August 2026, including an additional US$80 million linked to crisis-driven purchases between March and June.

In April alone, emergency procurement boosted diesel imports by roughly 329,000 barrels, valued at US$116.8 million-about US$35 million above normal levels.

Hasan welcomed the ‘positive momentum’ in economic ties, citing opportunities in digital connectivity and artificial intelligence.

Lazaro echoed the sentiment, stressing ASEAN’s role in strengthening intra-regional trade and resilience.

Beyond trade, the ministers reviewed cooperation in agriculture, food security, labor migration, and defense.

They marked the 10th anniversary of the Trilateral Cooperative Arrangement with Indonesia and reaffirmed Malaysia’s role as third-party facilitator in the Mindanao peace process, ahead of the Bangsamoro elections.

Both sides also exchanged views on regional flashpoints, including Myanmar, the Cambodia-Thailand border, Middle East developments, and South China Sea tensions, underscoring shared commitments to food and energy security.

Hasan closed by pledging Malaysia’s support for the Philippines’ ASEAN Chairship in 2026 and announced that Malaysia will host the 10th JCM in 2027.

THE distribution of the National Tax Allotment (NTA) to local governments (LGU) should be more equitable, Sen. Panfilo M. Lacson said, adding that giving smaller localities greater resources will help spur development.

Lacson, who chairs the Senate Committee on Ways and Means, said that under the current NTA formula, smaller towns and provinces receive only a fraction of the allocations received by their bigger and wealthier counterparts.

‘The bigger and wealthier cities receive huge allocations. For example, Davao City and Quezon City get a big NTA allocation – as much as P10 billion. But the shares of very small cities are so small they can hardly feel its impact,’ he said, partly in Filipino, in a radio interview.

‘The problem is the inequitable distribution of LGUs’ share in our national revenues. We must find ways to make it more equitable,’ he added.

The NTA, formerly the Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA), refers to the 40-percent share of national tax collections automatically given to LGUs.

For provinces, cities, and municipalities, each LGU’s share within its category is determined based on population (50 percent), land area (25 percent), and equal sharing (25 percent). For barangays, 60 percent is distributed based on population and 40 percent through equal sharing, subject to the minimum allocation for qualified barangays.

Lacson said one possibility is to distribute ‘excess’ collections to the smaller LGUs.

‘We can distribute it to the smaller LGUs so they have better chances of developing,’ he said.

‘Our administration and policy makers must look at this more closely. Without equitability, the poor suffer more while the rich get richer…That is the disconnect that we must revisit,’ he added.

A TOTAL of 113 swimmers from eight of the 11 countries in Southeast Asia are seeing action in the 4th Southeast Asian Open Water Championships presented by the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) that kicks off Friday at the Boracay Newcoast in Malay.

Beyond the sporting competition, the event is expected to showcase Boracay to visiting athletes, officials and spectators, reinforcing the role of international sporting events in promoting tourism and generating economic activity for host communities.

‘Indonesia had its Bali, Thailand had its Pattaya, and now the Philippines has Boracay to be proud of, so we can anticipate even more swimmers and tourists to watch the open water swimming meet,’ said Philippine Aquatics Inc. secretary general Eric Buhain.

Buhain-a former congressman-sportsman and swimming champion-cited the strong backing of the National Sports Tourism Inter-Agency Committee headed by PSC chairman Patrick Gregorio for its involvement in the project.

‘The event is another prime example where government, private stakeholders and National Sports Associations can pool their resources and efforts together in successfully staging an international sporting event,’ Gregorio stressed.

‘This sporting event not only advances the growth of open water swimming in Southeast Asia, but also shines a spotlight on Boracay island as a true gem of the region, while reflecting the warmth and hospitality of the Filipino people,’ PAI president Michael Vargas said.

PAI executive director Anthony Reyes said teams from Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Vietnam and host Philippines will compete in the championships sanctioned by the Southeast Asian Swimming Federation.

It’s the country’s inaugural hosting of the open water swimming showcase overlooking the beautiful 150-hectare tourism estate being developed by real estate giant Megaworld.

Buhain also recognized the full support of the Municipality of Malay under Mayor Frolibar Bautista and Aklan under Governor Jose Miraflores.

TEAM North skirted the so-called homecourt advantage to seize a commanding 7 1/2-4 1/2 lead over Team South in the Four-ball format at the start of the International Container Terminal Services Inc. North vs South Elite Junior Philippine Golf Tour (JPGT) Championship at the Pueblo de Oro Golf and Country Club here Tuesday.

The defending champions imposed their will early by taking control of seven of the 12 best-ball matches contested in three age groups to nearly match their 8-4 opening output they fashioned in ruling the inaugural showdown at The Country Club last year.

Zach Guico and Kingston Ching set the tone for the Northerners’ early charge, going 3-up after just seven holes against South’s Ethan Lago and Lucas Revilleza in the boys’ 7-10 division.

They never looked back for a convincing 5and4 victory that Zoji Edoc and Kenzo Tan complimented against Stephen Clementer and Darren Ong, 3and2, in another boys’ 7-10 duel.

Edoc highlighted their victory with a hole-in-one on the 80-yard No. 13 using a 54-degree club and a Taylormade TP5 ball.

Chan Ahn and Vito Sarines made it three straight for North with an equally emphatic performance in the boys’ 11-14 class where they defeated Ken Guillermo and Mio Woo, 6and4.

South stemmed the tide when Ralph Batican and Jared Saban fashioned a 4and2 victory over Javie Bautista and Jacob Casuga in the other boys’ 11-14 match, but the Northerners responded by taking three of the next four matches, sweeping the boys’ 15-18 encounters. They were also poised to dominate girls’ 7-10 duels as conditions grew hotter but Athena Serapio and Jehanne Mendoza blew a 3-up lead, enabling Blake Aguilar and Soleil Molde to force an all-square match, the only face-off that ended in standoff in the day.

Shin Suzuki and Santi Asuncion blasted Alexis Nailga and Clement Ordeneza, 4and2, while Jakob Taruc and Nathan Belandres ripped Sebastian Sajuela and Roman Tiongko, 5and4, in the boys’ premier side.

Jaicee Cervantes and Andrea Dee provided the other win in girls’ youngest division, a 5and4 rout of Vanya Go and Akeisha Yocte.

South answered in the girls’ 11-14 matches as Rafella Batican and Brittany Tamayo dominated Cailey Gonzales and Georgina Handog, 4and3, and Marqaela Dy and Zuri Bagaloyos drubbed Mavis Espedido and Quincy Pilac, 3and2, and picked up another win in one of the girls’ 15-18 encounters-a 2and1 triumph by Tashi Balangauan and Precious Zaragosa over Lisa Sarines and Rafa Anciano.

North closed the day with a 4and2 victory by Mona Sarines and Kendra Garingalao over Apple Gotiong and Lois Lane Go in the other girls’ premier-division faceoff to preserve its three-point cushion.

‘The game today was really unexpected’ Team North captain Joey Anciano said. ‘When we saw South’s lineup, they went all-out, so I wasn’t expecting anything. I just told the kids to play, trust their teammates, and they did.’

THE Manila Electric Company (Meralco) on Tuesday reported that it has restored electricity service to nearly all customers that were affected by service interruptions brought heavy rains and flooding in its franchise area.

‘Our crews and field personnel are working overtime to address concerns and safely restore power in areas affected by the Habagat. Rest assured that we will not stop until service is restored to the last affected customer,’ Meralco Vice President and Head of Corporate Communications Joe R. Zaldarriaga said.

As of 9:00 a.m. on August 18, customers affected by power outages are down to the last 2,000 from the 10,000 reported the day before, which were mostly affected by flooding. Majority of the remaining affected customers are in the provinces of Cavite and Quezon.

Meralco is still closely monitoring the weather conditions following the state weather bureau’s pronouncements that rains are expected to persist throughout the week.

Meanwhile, Meralco-through One Meralco Foundation (OMF)-also mobilized employee-volunteers for relief efforts to help communities severely affected by the Habagat. The Foundation has so far provided assistance to over 1,400 families in the provinces of Bulacan and Cavite.

Meanwhile, the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) has placed Visayas on red alert from 3:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Tuesday.

The red alert status is issued when power supply is insufficient to meet consumer demand and the transmission grid’s regulating requirement.

From 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. and from 9:00 p.m. to 10 p.m., the Visayas power grid is on yellow alert. the NGCP said the grid’s operating margin is insufficient to meet the transmission grid’s contingency requirement.

Available capacity stood at 2,410 megawatts (MW) while peak demand reached 2,502MW.

There are eight power plants are on forced outage this month, one plant since July, three plants since June, seven plants since May, one plant since March, three plants since 2025, two plants since 2024, two plants since 2023, and one plant since 2021, while 13 plants are running on derated capacities, for a total of 836.9MW unavailable to the grid.

Taxes, including penalties, that are erroneously or illegally received can be refunded by the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR). These include (a) national internal revenue taxes erroneously or illegally assessed or collected, (b) penalties collected without authority, (c) amounts which have been excessively or in any manner wrongfully collected without authority, and (d) sums alleged to have been excessively or in any manner wrongfully collected.

Recovery is allowed only if the taxes and penalties are erroneously or illegally collected by the tax authority. An ‘erroneous or illegal tax’ is defined as one levied without statutory authority, or upon property not subject to taxation or by some officer having no authority to levy the tax, or one which, in some other similar respect, is illegal (GR 188497, April 25, 2012). For a claim for refund to prosper, there must be wrongful payment of an amount that is not due (GR 187485, February 12, 2013).

The tax court had the occasion to expound on this further in a recent case (CTA Case No. 11028, June 23, 2026). The case involves an application for refund of excise taxes paid on tobacco products. The Court of Tax Appeals (CTA) dismissed the claim, holding that the excise taxes were not erroneously or illegally paid and collected. So, the taxes cannot be refunded by the BIR.

In the case, the products of the taxpayer were damaged by a typhoon after the taxes had been paid and affixed on the excisable articles. The damage rendered the goods unfit for sale or consumption. So, the taxpayer sought to recover the taxes paid on the products. The taxpayer’s claim for refund is premised on the argument that excise taxes are imposed on goods that are to be sold, consumed or disposed of domestically. Following this, the taxpayer believes that the local sale component for the imposition of excise tax was not satisfied when the products can no longer be delivered and sold after they had been destroyed by the typhoon.

The CTA disagreed and ruled that sale is not a pre-condition in the imposition of excise tax. The tax court explained that excise taxes are due and paid before the removal of the goods from the place of production. The excise taxes are payable, even though the articles are removed merely for storage in some other place. In other words, excise taxes are not imposed on the basis of sale, and they are due to be paid even if the products are not actually sold or consumed.

The law also provides that, upon payment of the taxes, the ownership of the products is transferred in favor of the taxpayer. Any damage to or loss of the goods after release or removal from the place of production is the responsibility of the local manufacturer. The taxpayer shoulders and accounts for the loss.

Besides, the BIR can also refund only the value of internal revenue stamps when they are returned in good condition, or redeem or change unused stamps that have been rendered unfit for use.

Here, not only did the taxpayer use and affix the internal revenue stamps. More importantly, the taxpayer had rightfully paid the said taxes. Otherwise, it could not have removed or released the subject articles from the place of production for subsequent sale and consumption. In short, there was no erroneous or illegal payment of tax. Therefore, no taxes can be refunded. The taxpayer bears the value of the loss on the articles damaged by the typhoon.

The author is a partner of Du-Baladad and Associates Law Offices (BDB Law) (www.bdblaw.com.ph).

The article is for general information only and is not intended, nor should be construed as a substitute for tax, legal, or financial advice on any specific matter. Applicability of this article to any actual or particular tax or legal issue should be supported, therefore, by a professional study or advice. If you have any comments or questions concerning the article, you may e-mail the author at mabel.buted@bdblaw.com.ph or call 8403-2001 local 160.

DAVAO CITY-Young lawmakers of the Bangsamoro government have pushed the Parliament’s approval of laws for the youth covering maritime travel safety, protection of the youth involved in early and forced marriages and transparency in governance.

In the fourth gathering of the Bangsamoro Youth Parliament (BYP), it pushed for six bills and three resolutions for possible endorsement to the Bangsamoro Parliament and other concerned institutions.

BYC Chairperson Nasserudin Dunding said the six approved bills covered safe maritime transport for students, transparency and access to information, economic development, pluralistic youth health advocacy, emergency health access, and Toril development and child welfare.

The three resolutions focused on protecting survivors of Child, Early, and Forced Marriage (CEFM), interventions to address the learning and literacy crisis, and strengthening youth economic empowerment and agricultural development.

The youth-crafted measures were among the outputs of the five-day parliament held July 27-31 at the KCC Convention Hall in Cotabato City, where Young Members of Parliament (YMPs) from across the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) deliberated on issues affecting young people and their communities, the BYC said.

Bangsamoro Parliament Speaker Mohammad Yacob and Deputy Speaker Baintan Ampatuan received the approved measures for possible policy consideration in the regular Bangsamoro Parliament.

‘The goal is not only to train future leaders but to ensure that the ideas and policies developed by our young parliamentarians can contribute to the region’s governance,’ Dunding said.

He said the YMPs underwent parliamentary orientations, committee workshops, mock legislative sessions, sponsorship and defense of proposed measures, and plenary deliberations before approving the final bills and resolutions.

Their gathering also marked a milestone when they elected the first women to serve as Youth Chief Minister and Youth Parliament Speaker. They were Lolwa Musa as the Youth Chief Minister and Faykha Khayriyyah Ala as presiding officer over the Fourth BYP as its speaker.

Ala said she hoped the experience would lead to stronger collaboration among young leaders across BARMM.

‘I am looking forward to seeing my fellow youth parliamentarians from different backgrounds collaborate and build networks to create programs for the betterment of the Bangsamoro-not only for individual provinces but through interconnected efforts that will benefit the entire region,’ she said.

Fayeza Muizz Paniorotan, one of this year’s Best Proponent awardees, said the youth parliament gave young people a platform to raise issues affecting their communities and turn them into concrete policy proposals. ‘The youth are often underrepresented, but we are capable, aware of what is happening in our communities, and ready to offer real solutions.’

BYP Floor Leader Mustashar Astarani of Tawi-Tawi said the parliament reminded delegates of the responsibility that comes with representing their communities. ‘As someone given the opportunity to serve and represent the youth, it is our responsibility to amplify the voices of the communities we represent.’