Raoul Danniel Abellar Manuel (born August 30, 1994) is a Filipino
youth activist and politician serving as the
representative for
Kabataan
Kabataan, also known as the Kabataan Partylist (KPL, ) and formerly known as Ang Nagkakaisang Kabataan Para sa Sambayanan (ANAK ng BAYAN, ), is a partylist in the Philippines affiliated with the leftist political coalition Makabayan. It is curre ...
partylist, of which was its previous national president. He previously served as the president of the
National Union of Students of the Philippines
The National Union of Students of the Philippines is an alliance of student councils in the Philippines established in 1957. Advocating for democratic rights of students, it boasts about 600 member councils and is part of International Union of Stu ...
.
Early life and education

Manuel was born on August 30, 1994.
The eldest of five children to Raul Manuel and Clarizel Joy Abellar, he grew up in
Arevalo, Iloilo City
Villa de Arevalo (; ), commonly known as simply Villa or Arevalo, is a Districts of Iloilo City, district in Iloilo City, Philippines. It is the westernmost district of Iloilo City and shares its border with Oton to the west, in the province of ...
. Their mother sold beauty products while their father was an
Overseas Filipino Worker
Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW) is a term often used to refer to Filipino migrant workers, people with Filipino citizenship who reside in another country for a limited period of employment. The number of these workers was roughly 1.77 million ...
(OFW).
For his elementary education, he attended SPED Integrated School for Exceptional Children, graduating in 2007 as the
valedictorian
Valedictorian is an academic title for the class rank, highest-performing student of a graduation, graduating class of an academic institution in the United States.
The valedictorian is generally determined by an academic institution's grade poin ...
, 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
The University of the Philippines Visayas (UPV or UP Visayas) is a public university, public research university in Iloilo, Philippines. A constituent university of the University of the Philippines system, it teaches management, accountancy, ...
(UPV) and graduated in 2015 with a
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years.
The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...
degree in
applied mathematics
Applied mathematics is the application of mathematics, mathematical methods by different fields such as physics, engineering, medicine, biology, finance, business, computer science, and Industrial sector, industry. Thus, applied mathematics is a ...
with a general weighted average (GWA) of 1.099, making him the first ''
summa cum laude
Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sout ...
'' in the university's history.
During his time at UPV he led
student protest
Campus protest or student protest is a form of student activism that takes the form of protest at university campuses. Such protests encompass a wide range of activities that indicate student dissatisfaction with a given political or academi ...
s and was also a cheerleader; during his senior year, he served as chairperson of the College of Arts and Sciences
Student Council
A student council (also known as a student union, associated student body or student parliament) is an administrative organization of students in different educational institutes ranging from elementary schools to universities and research or ...
.
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
The University of the Philippines (UP; ) is a Higher education in the Philippines#State universities and colleges, state university system in the Philippines. It is the country's national university, as mandated by List of Philippine laws, Re ...
(UP)
system
A system is a group of interacting or interrelated elements that act according to a set of rules to form a unified whole. A system, surrounded and influenced by its open system (systems theory), environment, is described by its boundaries, str ...
.
While studying for his
Master of Science
A Master of Science (; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree. In contrast to the Master of Arts degree, the Master of Science degree is typically granted for studies in sciences, engineering and medici ...
degree in applied mathematics at
UP Diliman
The University of the Philippines Diliman (also called UPD; ), also referred to as UP Diliman, is a public, coeducational, research university located in Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines. It was established on February 12, 1949, as the flagsh ...
, he served in academic year 2016â17 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
The National Union of Students of the Philippines is an alliance of student councils in the Philippines established in 1957. Advocating for democratic rights of students, it boasts about 600 member councils and is part of International Union of Stu ...
(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
''Big Brother'' () is a Philippine television reality competition show broadcast by ABS-CBN, Kapamilya Channel, TV5, and GMA Network based on the Dutch reality television franchise '' Big Brother''. Originally hosted by Willie Revillame, ...
failed to answer basic questions on Philippine history. He called for the review and overhaul of the
Kâ12 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
The Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC; or ) is a group of college- and university-based officer-training programs for training commissioned officers of the United States Armed Forces.
While ROTC graduate officers serve in all branches o ...
(ROTC) program in the Philippines as well as a critic of said alleged fabricated 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
The Philippine Navy (PN) () is the naval warfare service branch of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. It has an estimated strength of 24,500 active service personnel, including the 10,300-strong Philippine Marine Corps. It operates 91 combat ...
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 2022 Philippine House of Representatives elections were the 36th lower house elections in the Philippines. The election of the House of Representatives was held on May 9, 2022.
The election is held concurrently with the 2022 presidential ...
. 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.
References
Notes
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Manuel, Raoul
1994 births
People from Iloilo
Living people
Youth activists
Party-list members of the House of Representatives of the Philippines
Makabayan politicians
University of the Philippines alumni