THE THIRTIETH Buklod Atenista Leaders’ Summit endorsed the passage into law of a House Bill (HB) and a Senate Bill (SB) during the annual five-day congress held at Zamboanga City from May 27 to June 1.

Buklod Atenista supported HB No. 00270 or the “Moro History, Culture and Identity Studies Act.” The bill calls for the mandatory inclusion of the Lumad people’s history, culture and identity in the curricula of all school levels in the country.

They also endorsed SB No. 3300, also known as the “Crowd Sourcing Act of 2012.” The bill will allow citizens to access and comment on pending bills via the Internet.

Buklod Atenista is an alliance of the student governments of the five Ateneo universities in the Philippines: Ateneo de Manila University, Ateneo de Cagayan University, Ateneo de Davao University, Ateneo de Naga University and Ateneo de Zamboanga University.

This year, the said student governments discussed pressing national issues and lobbied for administration bills during the congress, including the Mining Act of 1995, the Freedom of Information (FOI) bill and the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Movement (BIFM).

Endorsed bills

According to Buklod Atenista Ambassador Ray Gomez, the Moro History, Culture and Identity Studies Act can help disprove the negative stereotypes of Muslims.

“Many people grow old under the wrong impression [about Muslims],” said Gomez.

“It gives more familiarity to everybody regarding the Moro history and culture,” he added, saying that the bill can also help in the attainment of peace in Mindanao.

Meanwhile, Sanggunian President Dan Remo believes that the Crowd Sourcing Act of 2012 is a good response to Aquino’s “daang matuwid” (straight path) advocacy.

According to Remo, crowd sourcing will promote transparency and encourage Filipinos’ participation in national affairs.

However, Gomez pointed out the possible problem of having “too much democracy” once the bill is enacted.

“Too much democracy in the sense that people make statements not because they are informed themselves but because of the hype [about being able to comment on pending administration bills],” he said.

Gomez added that during the summit, the Sanggunian also pointed out that not all citizens have Internet access.

“In a way, it is for marginalizing those less privileged because those people with Internet access would have more voice,” he said.

On the other hand, The Assembly Associate Vice President for Research and Advocacy Kjerrimyr Andres said that both acts will help encourage Filipinos, Ateneans in particular, to engage in national concerns.

Remo agreed. “By understanding these laws comes more interest in government and with more interest in government, [there’ll be] more focus and trust in government,” he said.

“Union of all Jesuit schools”

Aside from tackling national issues, the alliance discussed a resolution concerning the condition of the Palawan-based Loyola College of Culion (LCC), established by the Jesuits in 1936.

Buklod Atenista Ambassador Gomez said that while Buklod Atenista aims to be the “union of all Jesuit schools,” the LCC was not invited to past summits.

This is because, according to Gomez, the LCC is “technically not Atenean.”

Sanggunian President Remo said that Buklod Atenista has been receiving “scattered reports” over the past years about the issues concerning LCC, which have hindered the school’s participation in the leaders’ summit.

Remo did not further elaborate on what exactly the problems were, but said that representatives from Ateneo de Davao filed a resolution during the summit to help LCC’s situation.

“In an attempt to verify and extend our support to our sister school, we as an alliance have determined the best way is to first collect data firsthand,” he said.

The said resolution will urge the LCC to provide a resource speaker or a representative to Buklod Atenista so that the alliance may begin taking the necessary steps to include the school in the summit.

“The resolution said that the Ateneo governments should lobby first to its respective administrations,” said Gomez. “The rationale behind that is, since Culion is a Jesuit school, surely their Jesuit sponsors will help them,” he added.

Remo clarified that Buklod Atenista is currently in the process of drafting a proposal to their respective university presidents regarding LCC’s case.

Buklod Atenista’s midyear conference is set to be held in Naga City in October.