By the time Warren gets there, I'm sure he won't be alone. Thousands of young, college students like him who belong to Generation X, are joining him in his exodus out of the country in fear that doomsday is near. That is, according to them, if FPJ wins.

But FPJ will win, most people and an SWS survey predict. Are we better off migrating?

To Generation X, that is the only answer. Generation X refers to that part of the youth who belong to the middle and upper classes, the ones mostly exposed to Western culture. They are also the ones, who, according to Third World Studies research associate Joel Ariate, are most apathetic toward politics and more likely will not participate in the 2004 elections.

Ariate says, "Most of those who belong to Generation X are comfortable where they are because they have the resources. They can leave the country."

"Besides, they have proven in EDSA II that they can change the political scene without having to participate in elections. Elections no longer matter and politics is make-believe," he adds.

Perci Cenda�a, coordinator of partylist Akbayan's Open Campaigns Committee and former University of the Philippines Student Council Chairperson agrees. "Most young people view elections as a game for the elite: laro ng mga kapitalistang may kanya-kanyang manok," he says.

Akbayan notes that out of the 11 million expected first-time voters for the 2004 polls, only 4.2 million registered. COMELEC has a slightly higher figure at 4.9 million but Atty. Jodie Lorenzo of the Election and Barangay Affairs Department (EBAD) says the figure is not entirely made up of young voters although majority of them are.

These figures, Ariate says, do not even translate to votes. Which is a pity, he adds, because the youth is demographically the biggest sector of the voting population.

Participative or not, the youth alone is reason enough for presidentiables to go after them. "The spindoctors are targeting the youth. With seven million young voters, that's more than enough to win elections," Cenda�a says.

No wonder Roco is banking on his education-for-all platform. No wonder GMA showed up at Mandy Moore's MTV concert at The Fort recently, even if she was booed. No wonder Malaca�ang ceased to work for three hours to accommodate F4 star Jerry Yan.

Why should the youth care for the presidential elections?

While most people would like to believe that the president's power is not absolute (as shown in EDSA I and II), truth is, majority of the powers in government are vested on the president.

As head of state and head of government, s/he is both the symbolic leader and head of the bureaucracy. S/he appoints more than a thousand positions in the executive branch. Her/His signature is sought for passage of bills into law. S/he is responsible for the conduct of foreign relations and is the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

All these powers, not to mention the influence s/he wields, make the president the most powerful person and the presidency the most-coveted position in the land. It doesn't help that ours is a highly-centralized government, where most decisions emanate from the top. This practically gives the president wide discretionary powers which are susceptible to abuses. On top of these, whoever is in power has access to resources. Think: Erap, Marcos, and corruption.

The great power that is entrusted to the presidency should be reason enough for the youth, especially Generation X, with its numbers, to choose wisely.

Other issues such as Erap's relationship with the next president and the fate of Danding Cojuangco's coco-levy funds will be addressed by the outcome of the presidential polls.

"Whomever you're voting for will have a stake in what will happen for the next six years or, who knows, in your lifetime," Cenda�a says.

Warren himself admits there is much at stake in the 2004 elections: "my destiny and the rest of the country hinge on it."

So why flee? Vote.

Besides, Patagonia seems to be a cold place; I wouldn't want to be there. Would you?