THE ELECTED leaders of 2010 will determine which course the country will take in the next six years.

Therefore, the electorate must be critical and more involved in choosing its leaders.

This was what the Sanggunian, the Council of Organizations of the Ateneo, and the Ateneo Resident Students Association aimed to address thus resulting in the organization of the Ateneo Task Force (ATF) 2010.

As much as the ATF 2010 wished for the active involvement of the Ateneans in the whole electoral process, they also pushed for awareness as they view it as the fuel behind the needed participation.

“We saw the need to sustain the awareness within Ateneo. It would be difficult [to get Ateneans involved] if the event is just there,” said ATF 2010 Head Kenneth Isaiah Abante in a mix of English and Filipino.

Politicizing the community

ATF 2010 was divided into three phases which had to be completed within a year. These phases included voter’s registration, voter’s education, and voter’s involvement.

For the voter’s registration phase, ATF launched My Big Vote, a project that included the deployment of unregistered Ateneans to various Commission on Elections (Comelec) offices.

ATF 2010 also assisted Comelec, the Ayala Young Leaders Alliance, and the National Youth Commission in launching a voter’s education event in Ateneo which included the discussion of the Precinct Count Optical Scan machines, how to properly fill out ballots, among others.

During its third phase, Project Head Reg Guevara emphasized the need to politicize the community.

She said that through their major projects, students can be politically involved even if they do not have time to do volunteer work with the group.

These major projects were Gabay Halalan headed by the Simbahang Lingkod ng Bayan, voter’s education in marginalized communities with the help of the Office for Student’s Concern and Involvement, poll-watching with the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV), and partisan and non-partisan work.

ATF 2010 also gathered support for the project with the help of performing arts organizations such as Entablado and Tanghalang Ateneo.

Social networking sites such as Facebook were utilized as well to advertise their projects.

May 10 experience

Five areas – Marikina, Miriam College, North Susana, White Plains and Cubao – were assigned to Ateneo for volunteer deployment.

Ateneo student volunteers encountered a lot of incidents; some of which, they weren’t ready for at all.With a relatively high voter turn-out, long lines proved to be the primary concern of all the voting venues.

Reports from volunteers also said that a lot of people fainted due to the heat and the volume of voters in the area. Medics and drinking water weren’t available at the voting venues, giving the volunteers no choice but to seek help from the Gabay Halalan support system.

ATF 2010 voter’s education head, Anton Lorenzo Avanceña encountered such problems and instead of following the guidelines, he did what seemed will help people more.

“The guideline for PPCRV volunteers is to…don’t talk as much. Basta ‘pag tinanong ka lang, saka ka sasagot (If you’re asked, that’s only the time when you should answer)…but I told the other volunteers [that] Comelec…needed as much help as they could, [so] disregard the guidelines. Help as much as people as you can even in the littlest ways,” he said.

Eye-opener

“I see it as an eye-opener for Ateneans, that this is…reality. Every time I talk with my father about the election, he tells me that [the 2010 election] was way better than the previous ones. The problems today are shallow compared to the past elections,” said Guevara in a mix of English and Filipino.

Guevara also said that the Philippines has a long way to go in achieving the goal of having clean and honest elections, but she added that automation is a step forward.

Sanggu Secretary-General Maan Delos Santos agreed. “From what I’ve been hearing, watching, and reading, I am happy with the relatively peaceful procedure, and the [seemingly] accurate results,” she said.

ATF work not over

Carolyn Suzanne Barba, an ATF volunteer, said that she had an eventful summer due to volunteer work. “It has taught me many things including the importance of responsible voting and social involvement,” she said.

Barba added that the project was not a waste since they were able to inspire people to be involved in matters concerning the country.

“If I’m not mistaken, the Ateneo Task Force 2010 is one of the most active projects in the country. In fact, their efforts were featured in the Philippine Daily Inquirer, [ABS-CBN’s] TV Patrol, and Al Jazeera, a news network in the Middle East,” she added.

Even if the election period is over, ATF is will continue to fulfill its obligations as the student community involvement conductor. As of press time, the ATF statistics committee is holding talks with the Ateneo Statistics Circle to give out exit polls and surveys.

ATF also aims to renew the commitment of the current student volunteers as a way of instilling a sense of continuity in the project.