FOLLOWING THE dissolution of Partido IsaBuhay IsaGawa – Agila (IBIG-Agila), a new political formation constituted by many of its former members is set to participate in the Sanggunian general elections next year.
The Movement for Ignatian Initiative and Transformative Empowerment (Ignite), a new but unaccredited political party, will be ready with candidates for the polls, according to its interim Vice President for Strategy AJ Elicaño. Elicaño, currently a junior School of Humanities (SOH) Central Board (CB) representative, was a former member of IBIG-Agila.
Meanwhile, Sanggunian Vice President and former IBIG-Agila Chairperson Gio Alejo is currently organizing the League of Atenean Youth for Liberal Advocacy (Loyola). He said, however, that the new party will not be officially formed in time for the general elections.
Ignite’s interim officers are Elicaño, School of Social Sciences (SOSS) Chair Ana Raymundo as party president, SOH Junior Executive Officer Jiggy Villamin as VP for Internals, SOSS Sophomore CB Representative Dan Remo as VP for Finance, Nick Lucero as VP for Knowledge Management, Lexy Senson as VP for Logistics and Project Management, Mabee Clemente as VP for Secretariat, and Monica Esquivel as VP for Branding.
Ignite’s philosophy
The GUIDON obtained a summary of the new party’s philosophy, which stated that access, empowerment and transformation are central to the operations of the party.
“[The party emphasizes] the principle of challenge-by-choice, and [asserts] that individual initiative is the beginning, means, and ultimate goal of social change,” it read.
Elicaño added that they believe in the power of the grassroots and the primacy of student empowerment.
“We basically believe that change doesn’t just come from people making decisions and passing them down… It could come from people on the ground, people who know what they want and what they stand for,” he said.
Remo added that this philosophy advocates the decentralization of power, which they hope would make the decision-making processes in the party more inclusive.
He further explained that what Ignite pushes for are concrete actions from its members who have stands on particular issues.
In an excerpt from Ignite’s constitution sent to The GUIDON, it is said that “[the] party affirms community-building and endeavors geared towards this as valid avenues towards empowering the student body.”
IBIG-Agila grievances
While one of the reasons for IBIG-Agila’s disbandment was the alleged irrelevance of the party’s ideological positions to the current needs of the student body, there were other explanations for the split.
“Structurally, IBIG-Agila had its inefficiencies… that’s where the first conflict arose. As it progressed, there was a conflict [on] what the direction of the party should be. There was a general consensus: the system was no longer working,” Remo said.
For Remo, who spoke as a former regular, non-Executive Board member of IBIG-Agila, there was a feeling that he wasn’t taken care of when he was still with the party. He added that there must be something more to a party than just working in preparation for the Sanggunian Elections.
“It’s more than Sanggu. It’s a philosophy of leadership, of how you want to create change in the student body,” he said of what partisan affiliation should entail.
IBIG-Agila redux?
One of the advocacies that Ignite pushes for is the decentralization of power in the political party, which Ignite members think is missing in the other fledgling party, Loyola.
“We don’t want to continue a policy where it’s just—at least in my end—the same business as usual,” Remo said.
When asked whether he considered joining Loyola, Villamin said he would have. “But if I’d be working under the same structure of what was IBIG-Agila before, then I wouldn’t,” he added.
Remo agreed, saying, “It’s that kind of culture, where things as simple as not including the new members in an email [are] something indicative of a much wider problem.”
Remo was referring to an email containing Loyola’s new Constitution, sent by Gio Alejo to former members of IBIG-Agila who might be interested to join the party. He said that the fact that the new Constitution was crafted without input from other members poses problems.
“Professional disagreement”
Despite the conflict between the two camps of former IBIG-Agila members, Ignite members affirm what Ana Raymundo said in a previous GUIDON interview. Raymundo had said that they were “still friends” with each other and were not taking things personally.
“When you look at the way Sanggu functions, it’s a democratic institution. There’s supposed to be some level of professional disagreement,” Remo said. “It’s that kind of respect that’s great about this institution, because you can agree to disagree and go out and have coffee after.”
“I really don’t think it’s an issue of people,” Elicaño added. “I respect Gio and Ian. [They] are part of the reason why I’m in Sanggu and part of the reason why I stayed in Sanggu.”
More parties, more opinions
Christian Union for Socialist and Democratic Advancement (Crusada) Secretary-General Bian Villanueva considers IBIG-Agila’s disbandment a non-event because he believes the party “did not exist,” as it had no program of politics, no clear vision and no push for social change.
He hopes that the new political parties emerging out of IBIG-Agila’s disbandment would have a clearer vision of its service for the Ateneo.
Remo said that the creation of new parties is good for the Loyola Schools’ political scene, as having more viewpoints and conflicting opinions create a medium for discourse and student engagement.
