Raoul Manuel

Raoul Danniel Abellar Manuel (born August 30, 1994) is a Filipino youth activist and politician serving as the representative for Kabataan partylist, of which he is the national president. He previously served as the president of the National Union of Students of the Philippines.

Early life and education
Manuel was born on August 30, 1994. The eldest of five children, he grew up in Arevalo, Iloilo City. Their mother sold beauty products while their father was an Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW). For his elementary education, he attended SPED Integrated School for Exceptional Children, graduating in 2007 as the valedictorian, then proceeded to the University of the Philippines High School in Iloilo where he also graduated as valedictorian in 2011.

Manuel studied at the University of the Philippines Visayas (UPV) and graduated in 2015 with a Bachelor of Science degree in applied mathematics with a general weighted average (GWA) of 1.099, making him the first summa cum laude in the university's history. During his time at UPV he led student protests and was also a cheerleader; during his senior year, he served as chairperson of the College of Arts and Sciences Student Council.

Afterwards, he served as national chairperson of Katipunan ng mga Sangguniang Mag-aaral sa UP (KASAMA sa UP), the alliance of student councils in the University of the Philippines (UP) system. While studying for his Master of Science degree in applied mathematics at UP Diliman, he served in academic year 2016–17 as the 34th UP Student Regent, the sole representative of the UP system's student body in the UP Board of Regents. He later served as national president of the National Union of Students of the Philippines (NUSP).

Advocacies
Raoul is an education and LGBTQ-plus advocate. He called for free education among public tertiary schools and the junking of the socialized tuition system in UP. He criticized the removal of Philippine History among senior high curriculums after housemates from Pinoy Big Brother failed to answer basic questions on Philippine history. He called for the review and overhaul of the K–12 system in the Philippines. He also criticized the state of education in the Philippines under the COVID-19 pandemic under the Duterte administration, saying that the shortcomings revealed the 'long-standing' problems of Philippine education. He became a National Convener for Rise for Education, an alliance that pushes through with nationalist, scientific, and mass-oriented Philippine education.

He has also been an advocate against mandatory implementation of Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) program in the Philippines as well as a critic of said abuses under the Armed Forces of the Philippines. During a Senate hearing on ROTC on August 22, 2019, he had a heated exchange with Senator Ronald 'Bato' dela Rosa. During the filing for the nominees for the 2022 national elections, Manuel, as the first nominee of Kabataan Partylist, said that "The youth bear a responsibility to advance the politics of change and hope." He also said that Kabataan Partylist prevailed despite moves to disqualify them from Congress and denounced groups that "pretend" to be the voice of the youth.

In March 2022, a navy officer was condemned by Raoul in social media in which the said soldier posted death threats against the youth activist. The Philippine Navy said that the officer was relieved and became a subject of 'thorough investigation'.

He opposed both registrations of SIM cards and social media accounts.

Political career
Entering congress at the age of 27, Manuel became one of the youngest members of the 19th Congress. He abstained during the election of the speakership and joined the minority bloc.

Electoral history
Manuel was Kabataan's first nominee in the 2022 Philippine House of Representatives elections. The party-list received 536,690 votes or 1.46% of the votes, entitling the party a seat in congress. Throughout the campaign, the party was faced with disqualification cases, posing a risk to its proclamation. Nonetheless, the party was proclaimed as one of the winners of the party-list elections. Manuel, as the first nominee was designated as the party's representative in congress.