ATENEO TASK Force (ATF) 2013 aims to see least half of the 5,082 first-time Atenean voters registered in time for the national elections next year. As of the moment, there are 6,193 Ateneans who are eligible to vote.
With the tagline “Kay Sarap Maging Botante!” ATF 2013 will run for one year and will be composed of four phases: voters’ registration, voters’ education, mock elections and voters’ mobilization.
“[It] is there for students who can actually dream… for a better Philippines. At the same time, [ATF will work] with people who also think the same way,” said ATF 2013 Head Ian Agatep.
He said that the task force aims to make Ateneans feel that they are part of a larger scheme of things. “It feels good to be a voter because the things that come after are good… It’s good because they know it will benefit them,” he said in Filipino.
Prior to the 2010 national elections, a similar task force, ATF 2010, was also put in place with the same objectives.
Registration and education
To accomplish its task, ATF 2013 would present information, programs and opportunities through different projects for each phase.
“Voters’ registration primarily encourages students to register for the upcoming elections, and we aim to simplify the registration process for Ateneans,” Voters’ Registration Head Chris Cunanan said.
The phase will have two projects: Satellite Registration and Hakot Registration.
In the former, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) will be invited to visit the campus so that Quezon City (QC) residents can register.
In the latter, students living in nearby areas like Marikina and Pasig will be brought to register in their respective Comelec offices through jeepneys.
The second phase seeks to educate the voters beyond the basics. Voters’ Education Head Emman Delocado said, “We want the Ateneans and other communities… to be critical of their candidates in the elections.”
He added that through this phase, they are aiming to inform and transform. “You don’t just get informed, but you actually help other communities and your friends to be informed as well.”
The said phase will have three projects: political education, “Sabay sa Bayan,” which is the voters’ education proper, and a culminating event in the form of a political exhibit.
Topics like the value of a vote, political parties, the party-list system and campaign strategies will be discussed by nine to 12 speakers in the first project.
In Sabay sa Bayan, 12 to 15 senatorial candidates will be invited to talk about their agenda. There are also plans to hold a senatorial debate in March or early April.
Atenean volunteerism
Mock elections, which were part of the voters’ mobilization phase in 2010, have become a separate phase in ATF 2013.
Voters’ Mobilization Head Rob Copuyoc said that the fourth phase seeks to promote clean and honest elections through partisan or nonpartisan volunteer opportunities.
Such opportunities include poll watching and being part of information centers for Atenean voters and even outsiders.
Voters’ Mobilization plans to recruit at least 200 volunteers from the Ateneo community. As of press time, it has been decided that the focus will be on Quezon City Districts 1 to 3.
“[It] climaxes all of the work the different phases have built upon and wishes to create a lasting push that will carry over… during Election Day,” Copuyoc said in an email interview.
The fourth phase will begin with the “Volunteers Recruitment Campaign for Clean and Honest Elections” where Ateneans can sign up for the said initiatives.
After this, volunteers will have to attend “Kultura ng Pagtulong” where they will be briefed about their duties in the areas they signed up for.
Continuity of ATF
While ATF 2010 was under the Committee on Student Activities of the Sanggunian Central Board, one of the biggest changes for ATF 2013 can be seen in a corresponding structural change in this regard. It is now more independent of the Sanggunian.
“We were able to take it out of the jobs of the officers themselves so that it can be pushed for by students who are outside of the Sanggunian,” Agatep said.
Other than structural changes, Agatep said that ATF 2013 has better chances of continuing the effort in the future because juniors and sophomores who are part of the task force can run it.
He added that evaluation and documentation will serve as a good transition mechanism. The latter is a response to a problem encountered in ATF 2010.
“We didn’t get the actual data of who were the ones who were able to register and, at the same time, who were the ones who were able to vote,” he said. “We really hope that we’re able to get a real number as to say that we are having impact to the LS students.”
While ATF 2013 pushes for a change in the elections, Agatep said that for it to happen, engagement should be continuous and efforts should not stop after the elections, but should instead continue through the terms of the elected leaders.
