Jessica Soho to youth: Use your voice to tell the stories that matter

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Veteran journalist Jessica Soho called on young Filipinos to use their voices, digital platforms, and storytelling skills to challenge injustice and create lasting change—delivering an impassioned keynote at the 2025 Global Youth Summit held at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.

Speaking before a crowd of over 14,000, Soho drew from her four-decade career in journalism to urge youth to go beyond trends and entertainment, and instead focus their energy on issues that matter.

“Focus your cameras and your energy too on things that need to change,” she said, recalling how a viral video of students crossing the dangerous Tamugan River in Davao eventually led to the construction of a hanging bridge, after her team aired the story on Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho (KMJS).

Soho also praised the generation’s courage in challenging long-standing narratives, particularly the overuse of the word “resilience.”

“Dahil ba nakakangiti pa rin tayo sa gitna ng kalamidad ay basta na lang natin tanggapin ang kahinaan ng sistema?”

(Just because we smile through disaster, should we accept a broken system?)

She reminded participants that inequality remains stark: the richest 1% of Filipinos capture 17% of the country’s income, while the bottom 50% receive only 14%. Globally, wealth is even more concentrated, with 1.6% of the world holding nearly half of its wealth.

Soho also reflected on her own beginnings—raised in La Union by a government employee father, a market vendor paternal grandmother, and a retired public school teacher maternal grandmother. Her mother, an agriculturist, passed away due to cancer when Jessica was eight. She said these early experiences shaped her perspective and commitment to telling stories of the marginalized.

“Bata pa lang, mulat na ako sa mga realidad at buhay ng mga tindera at mga magsasaka,” she said.

(Since I was young, I’ve been exposed to the lives of vendors and farmers.)

Use 'bubog'

She then encouraged the youth to transform personal struggles into strength, citing National Artist Ricky Lee’s advice to use “bubog” (shards or wounds) as building blocks rather than burdens.

“Pagtagumpayan niyo sana sa buhay ang inyong mga bubog!”

(May you overcome the wounds you carry in life.)

As digital natives, Soho said, the youth have a unique advantage, but also a responsibility.

“Be responsible citizens and netizens. Criticize if you must—but elevate the level of discourse. No gutter language; no name-calling; no body shaming.”

The veteran journalist also warned about misinformation and deepfakes, especially those falsely using her likeness for scams.

“Konting pakiusap lang po: Huwag kayong maniwala sa deepfakes ko na naglalako ng kung anu-anong produkto.”

(Here's an appeal: Please don’t believe deepfakes of me endorsing random products.)

Despite her concerns for the future, Soho expressed faith in the younger generation’s potential.

“Nakikitaan ko ang inyong henerasyon ng pag-asa. Baka kayo ang matagal nang hinihintay na pagbabago.”

(I see hope in your generation. You might be the long-awaited change.) —KG, GMA Integrated News