“Not with a bang but a whimper”—thus ends T. S. Eliot’s famous poem, “The Hollow Men.” In a certain sense, these immortal lines have been concretized by the unexpected disbandment of IBIG-Agila over the semestral break, which had caught many Ateneans off guard. After all, it was just September this year that reports of the party’s restructuring efforts surfaced. Since the demise of the party, two camps of former IBIG-Agila stalwarts have emerged and are organizing separate political parties, with the League of Atenean Youth for Liberal Advocacy (Loyola) laying claim to the label “liberal,” and the Movement for Ignatian Initiative and Transformative Empowerment (Ignite) explaining to The GUIDON that they believe “individual initiative is the beginning, means, and ultimate goal of social change.”
A Quick History
January 2003 – Partido Agila is founded in the Cervini Cafeteria, with Osmond Ong (BS CTM ‘04) as Chairperson and Mon Cualoping (AB Comm ‘04) as Secretary-General.
June 2003 – IBIG-Agila member Steph Limuaco (AB DS ‘04) begins her term as Sanggunian president. She is the first from the party to hold the top position.
June 2005 – IBIG-Agila member Boyet Dy (AB DS ‘06) begins his term as Sanggunian president.
June 2006 – IBIG-Agila member Luis Abad (AB Eco-H ‘07) begins his term as Sanggunian president.
June 2007 – IBIG-Agila member Karl Satinitigan (BS LM ‘09) begins his term as Sanggunian president.
December 2007 – In what former Sanggunian President Gio Tingson describes as Partido Agila’s “twilight years,” the party merges with Tingson’s newly formed IsaBuhay IsaGawa party, thus forming what was recently known as IBIG-Agila.
February 2008 – Satinitigan issues a letter of apology for failing to disclose the fact that he had not enrolled as a student of the university during the second semester, and yet had continued to exercise his functions as President of the Sanggunian. Vice President Cabrei Cabrera of rival Partido Ignacio assumes the presidency, following Satinitigan’s removal from office.
June 2008 – Breaking IBIG-Agila’s streak, independent Omi Castañar (AB DS ‘09) begins his term as Sanggunian president.
June 2009 – In what is to be the party’s last hold on the presidency, IBIG-Agila member Gio Tingson (AB Philo ‘10) begins his term as Sanggunian president.
November 2011 – A series of party resignations and defections over the semestral break rings the death knell for what was arguably was the dominant political party in the Ateneo in the past decade.
