It’s mid-May and Quezon City is experiencing an unlikely foretaste of the season’s tropical depression. Occasional gusts double the drizzles. The sky, the streets, and almost everything are gray — everything, except for Omi Castañar (V AB DS), who arrives in bright orange stripes.
“Matino ba hitsura ko? (Do I look fine?)” asks Omi, shaking his shoulders to loosen up for the portrait shot. Omi smiles as the photographer releases the shutter.
It was only a few months ago when Omi was elected as the new Sanggunian ng mga Mag-aaral President. It was an unexpected win, at least for Omi. “Nobody really thought that I’d win, not even me,” he says, recalling the days when the student council’s top position was still up for grabs.
But that is the past now. Today, 36 seats in the Sanggunian are occupied. And Omi is the president.
The Independent
Having decided to run independently, Omi says that compared to the political parties, he didn’t have the machineries. “I sit when there’s a caf raid of the two parties, and I tried to compare my campaigning with [theirs],” he says. “I felt a sense of loneliness when they do that. Theirs were so strong and colorful, and I was alone with the things that I’m doing.”
Ironically, some of them are his closest colleagues now. “Obviously, because I ran independent, what will turn out is that the people I’m with now didn’t vote for me; I’m not their first choice,” he says in Filipino. “[But] that stage is behind us now.”
Years back, Omi was the student government president in his grade school in Parañaque. Fast forward to his stay at the Manila Science High School, public speaking contests were his game. And having been consistently involved with the Commission on Elections (Comelec) in college, he knew well of the political dynamics that take place in the elections and the Sanggunian.
All that, however, didn’t make running for presidency a piece of cake for Omi. “There’s that fear, because I’m doing a lot of things that I pour a lot of effort and time into. There’s that uncertainty if I will win, if the investment is worth it.”
Two weeks after Valentine’s Day (when Omi’s “Can you be MINE? (I meant your vote)” campaign — handwritten on orange paper hearts — started winning more and more potential votes), the Comelec released partial and unofficial results of the elections. It was reported that Omi got 56.58% of the votes for Sanggunian President — the most votes among all of those who ran for the top four positions.
Omi expected a close fight, but the numbers proved otherwise.
Rumor has it…
How did you feel when you won?
“Honestly, hindi ako natuwa (I wasn’t elated),” says Omi. “I didn’t feel joy, [I felt] more of anxiousness, not for me, but for the Sanggunian. It didn’t reach a point when I doubted why I ran, but I really didn’t feel the joy of winning. I was nervous, but with excitement.”
Yet even before the results were proclaimed official, the rumor mills were already turning — and quite aggressively so. A prominent one concerns the secret Gadfly Society. “Even if I say that I’m not Gadfly, people won’t believe me,” says Omi.
It has even become a running joke at the Sanggunian. “Should we invite Gadfly to our meetings?” one would ask. The reply: “No need! He’s already there; he’s even chairing it.”
What Omi doesn’t deny is that the Gadfly Society definitely did something new. “In the past, nobody really talked about [anomalies in the Sanggunian]. Then all of a sudden, everyone’s critical! In that sense, they’re a good trailblazer, but what they were doing was not completely helping the situation.”
When asked about one of the Gadfly Society’s favorite targets, Omi says of the former Sanggunian president, “It’s clear to me that whatever happened with the Sanggunian last year was not Karl [Satinitigan’s] fault. It was a system that everybody participated in.”
Rumor number two: A source was quoted saying that when Omi was an assistant to the Associate Dean of Student Affairs, he was a no-show. Source says, Omi resigned before he got fired.
“I admit that it had been my weakness in the past that I joined groups that I eventually left behind,” says Omi. “I think that it’s a natural phase for everyone to look where you belong, especially in the beginning of your stay in college. It can be easily misconstrued as being irresponsible or fleeting.” Omi is quick to point out, “So you cannot generalize that with Sanggu, I’d just leave in the middle of the school year.”
Rumors to be clarified, check. “Wala nang rumors? Baka may sex scandal pa ako diyan! (Aren’t there any more rumors? I might even have a sex scandal!)”
Omi’s Sanggunian
Vice President Ma. Assunta Cuyegkeng, Ph.D. calls him the “activist president.” Though Omi says he is more than the socio-political and omni-involved person, he admits that he’s not the goody-goody type either. In fact, the DOTA-playing president has two F’s in his permanent transcript, both from Physics subjects.
“I have experienced failure academically and in other aspects as well. I don’t come from a well-to-do family; my background’s really humble,” says Omi. “I can identify with the common Atenean. [Then again] it depends on your definition of the Atenean—if it’s the Embassy, Alchemy-going kind of Atenean, then I can’t relate to them fully.”
When asked about his weaknesses as a leader, he says in Filipino, “I’m insecure. I always want to know what people think of me.” After a litany of pauses and either inaudible conjunctions or interjections, Omi adds, “I’m really insecure! I speculate whether people trust me or not, it’s what I always think of!”
But if there’s really something that is in Omi’s mind, it would be re-establishing the Sanggunian. “We’re conscious that this is our Sanggunian and [that] we should not live by the ruins of last year,” he says. “Regardless of what happened in the past, this is the role of the Sanggunian. This is what we should be doing.”
And Omi knows that it’s not going to be easy. “I hope that the students would understand that this Sanggunian will not try to do everything,” he says. “If we try to do everything this school year, we’d inevitably fail in every one of them.”
What, then, is the community to expect from Omi’s Sanggunian? “I hope that it was less of me, less of my name, and more of the Sanggunian,” says Omi. “I hope that next [school year, the Ateneo] sees it as Sanggunian, not ‘Omi’s Sanggunian,’ or ‘Omi and the three Partido Ignacio’s Sanggunian.’”
So when people look back, Omi was the president who… “I really don’t want to be remembered as…” Omi pauses. “I really don’t want to be remembered, period.”
It’s already 5:30 pm yet a busy day is still ahead for the president. He is scheduled to meet with Sanggunian officers in half an hour. The meetings are long and often, but Omi is used to it. (Perhaps, partly because he should.) After all, for Omi and the rest of the student body, the year is yet to unravel.
A brewing conflict?
The logic is obvious — candidates from the same political party will vote for each other.
Just a few months ago, for Monique Salcedo (IV AB Comm), Pepi Sison (III BS HS), and Westin Contreras (IV BS AMF), a Partido Ignacio sweep for the top four positions would have been mission accomplished.
Fortunately for them, it happened — almost. With the lone independent candidate getting voted for top position, some smelled an impending conflict of interests. Here’s what the top three has to say.
THE VP
Q: How different do you think will Omi be compared to past Sanggunian presidents?
MS: He is more motivated to create change and to make the Sanggunian more connected and in touch with the students.
Q: Having met the others from the Top 4, how will you describe the Sanggunian’s leadership this year?
MS: We’re all very different but so far it has been working because we tend to complement each other in the end. Expect a very dynamic and involved Sanggunian this year.
Q: What about Omi struck you as most distinctively Omi?
MS: He thinks with his eyes closed.
THE SEC GEN
Q: Being part of Partido Ignacio, what was your reaction upon knowing that the independent candidate won?
PS: My initial reaction — it’s time to get down to business. Once the official results were out, it was time to move on from the elections and start working with whoever won.
Q: How is Omi as a colleague?
PS: Omi is easy to be with. He knows his role as the Sanggunian president and he is equipped with the characteristics to lead the Sanggunian towards its goals for the year.
Q: What about Omi struck you as most distinctively Omi?
PS: His habit of closing his eyes when he needs to reflect.
THE FO
Q: What was your reaction upon knowing that the independent candidate won?
WC: I was surprised to see Omi win, actually. Because he ran as an independent, he had tougher odds to face. I was happy to know that the students really believed in him; the numbers were convincing enough.
Q: How will you describe the Sanggunian’s leadership this year?
WC: Sanggunian’s leadership this year will be tested, but rest assured the members are ready. We’ve been planning and getting to know each other, party affiliations aside. (…) No worries.
Q: What about Omi struck you as most distinctively Omi?
WC: From what I can think of right now, he thinks better with his eyes closed.
