The concept of a student activist has, for years, evoked the image of a group of students chanting, raising their fists in protest and marching in front of a government office together with laborers, farmers and other marginalized Filipinos. From the era of Martial Law to the late 1990s, traditional activism was the only image of activism.

In the Loyola Schools (LS) community, the echoes of this battle remain. The activist group, Ateneans for Agrarian Reform Movement (Afarm), advocates for land reform, rural development and the fight against land grabbing. Last May, they penned a manifesto that garnered 6,000 signatures from Ateneans and students from other universities.

According to Ace Dela Cruz, chairperson of Afarm, this petition, titled “Laban Lupa, Laban Buhay: A youth manifesto to stop land grabbing and save land reform in the Philippines,” will be sent to President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III through the vice president of the LS. This was done in order to show that students still support the full implementation of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program, which distributes land to farmers.

On the other hand, several organizations—namely the Ateneo Servant Leaders, Matanglawin, The Ateneo Assembly, the Council of Organizations of the Ateneo and the Movement for Ignatian Initiative for Transformative Empowerment—created a Facebook group called Usapang Ateneo as an avenue to foster political discussion and involvement in the university among the students. During the 1980s, such an action would have been almost impossible. Today, it is called “clicktivism”—activism that uses the online medium.

Clicktivism not only refers to these discussion groups, but also online information campaigns, online charities for donations and online petitions—keyword: Online. These campaigns are becoming increasingly common for a variety of causes and issues, but the trend begs the question of clicktivism’s ability to get students to act beyond the keyboard.

Tried and tested

Traditional activism in the Philippines was the voice to counter the imposition of silence in modern Philippine history. When former President Ferdinand Marcos declared Martial Law on September 23, 1972, strong disciplinary mechanisms were established in order to silence opposition. Marcos’ critics were imprisoned; the writ of habeas corpus, suspended; the press, silenced; citizens of the country, put under strict curfew. At that point, silence was not mere compliance with government policy—it was necessary to survive.

It is no surprise, then, that activism took its form in protests and, sometimes, armed conflict. Ateneans such as Edgar Jopson, went on to defy the administration. Jopson joined the revolutionary movement and headed the National Democratic Front Preparatory Commission. He was arrested and tortured but he escaped, exposing the inhumane treatment by the state.

Another Atenean activist is Emmanuel Lacaba, who is also a former editor of The GUIDON. He later fought for the Filipinization of schools in the country as a poet and writer. When Martial Law was declared, he joined the resistance movement, took up arms against the regime but was captured and killed by soldiers.

Both of these activists rallied others to their concerns, and many more devoted their lives to sending the message of the importance of freedom and individual rights. But during an era that demanded unquestioning loyalty to the regime and its laws, individual offences were met with immediate punishment and consequences in secret—they would be visited by officers and disappear in the late night.

In the successful instances of gaining ground over tyranny, activists made their presence known. They gathered in large groups to fend of the growing military power. The culmination of this form of activism was the 1986 People Power Revolution, which united thousands of Filipinos. The force of opposition was so strong that it could not be discreetly silenced, forcing Marcos to step down.

Clicking for change

With the coming of the next few decades, a shift from the traditional form of activism to online activism occurred.

When asked about the reason behind the change in medium, Kira Lok, executive vice president of Ateneans Guided and Inspired by Love for Animals (Agila)—an organization that promotes upholding animal rights in the Ateneo—points to this generation’s huge exposure to technology. She cites the ability of social media to reach the masses as a major cause of clicktivism’s popularity.

Dela Cruz agrees with this. He mentions that through online news, Ateneans can be informed on the plight of the farmers and the country’s laws on land distribution, things of which not all students would usually be aware.

However, Lok and Dela Cruz cannot deny clicktivism’s limitations in furthering their causes. According to Lok, Agila’s main project, “Adopt an Ateneo Kitten,” has, as of writing, successfully facilitated nine Ateneo kitten adoptions through online promotion. In spite of this, Lok remains unsatisfied with the system they currently have. She states that garnering attention does not always spur action. “We get a lot of likes, a lot of shares, but nothing is done. So far, we have a kitten who wants to be adopted, but everyone’s liking and sharing, [and commenting,] ‘Aw, what a cute kitten,’” she says.

Lok attributes the lack of action to the detached view that people have when they see Agila’s online material. “They’re so removed from the reality because they see it from cyberspace. So for them, it remains there.”

On the other hand, Afarm uses a mix of traditional activism injected with clicktivism to achieve their main goals. Dela Cruz states that clicktivism alone is not enough spur change. He shares that on-the-ground activism is a must, especially for promoting issues such as land reform. “You won’t really get the feel of what you’re doing if you don’t go outside,” he says.

A sea of information

With the increasing use of social media and online activism, the place of traditional activism in the modern fight for rights may be questioned.  Christian Union for Socialist and Democratic Advancement (Crusada) Premier Abbo Hernandez, though, believes that it is a misconception to think of traditional activism as irrelevant. He states that it is still being widely done by student groups like Crusada, which uses modern methods of activism, such as online discussions, as well as traditional means like physical protests.

Furthermore, he states that the two expressions of activism go hand-in-hand and complement each other. For him, abandoning traditional activism diminishes the impact of a cause’s message. He says, “The reason why we rally is because it is the clearest translation of the language of the marginalized to the intended audience. We show solidarity in speaking for those who cannot speak for themselves.”

Dela Cruz and Lok agree with this sentiment. They view online activism as a means to generate awareness and inform their target audience about the bare bones of the problem, but they feel it is not enough.

Their view of online activism is partly explained by the distance that the online medium offers. The Internet is a virtual space where anyone can create a cyber-persona under the guise of anonymity. Much of the content online is dubious, leaving many users predisposed to view online material skeptically. Infographics and banners online may be regarded by the readers with the same skepticism, particularly because they are shared on popular websites in which any individual can upload content.

Additionally, the sheer amount of information available online makes it difficult for activists to send a clear message, because their messages are a few among millions. Most student activists use social media in order to better relate with their target audience. Amid the hundreds of status updates, photos and shares daily, news about animal abuse or farmers’ rights can easily be lost in one’s Facebook news feed or simply ignored by users. Without tangible follow-up for their causes—projects and petitions, for example—the information online is easily dismissed by the masses.

Moving forward

The Atenean activist organizations have made gains over the years, by informing the community both in and out of the Ateneo that a problem exists, rallying people to the cause and expanding their support base in order to move people in power to act. Although the issues they fight for do not seem to affect everyone on the surface as much as, say, individual rights during Martial Law, they are equally relevant.

The fact that people are not aware of the problems faced by some sectors of society means that a resolution may be achieved only if people are made aware. Despite the ground covered by today’s activists, the inequality and injustice that many people face show that there is still a long way to go.

“I think we’re not going to stop,” says Dela Cruz, on the question of Afarm’s reaching its full potential in helping the farmers. In addition to forwarding their manifesto to the president of the country, Dela Cruz says that they have included campaigning for the implementation of the National Land Use Act in their advocacy.

Similarly, Lok says that Agila will not stop improving and furthering its advocacy. Looking toward the future, Lok hopes that they can start more animal welfare programs and battle maltreatment of animals in the future.

Hernandez hopes that Crusada can continue to fight for the rights of the marginalized through traditional protest while making Ateneans aware of the different ways they can help. Hernandez says Crusada still uses traditional modes of activism “para maipakita na ang laban para sa buhay ng marhinalisado ay hindi na lamang nagaganap sa lansangan, ngunit nagaganap na rin sa ating silid-aralan (In order to show that the fight for the lives for the marginalized isn’t only in the streets, but also in the classroom).”

The use of online media to forward advocacies can be described as an extension of this development. Online activism was established as a response to the changing times to better relate to the movements’ target audience: The youth. Though clicktivism is convenient and useful, student activism cannot abandon its origins of physical protest and pragmatic action.

As Dela Cruz believes: “If you want to forward this specific advocacy, you have to go outside of the Ateneo. You have to know what these experiences are, and you have to know what [the marginalized are] facing.”

Moving the movements

Written Mivan V. Ong and Van T. Siy Van

Ateneans for Agrarian Reform Movement (Afarm)

Afarm is an activist group that stands for Filipino farmers and their rights concerning ownership of their land, land reform and representation in legislation. Among other things, Afarm organizes events to spread awareness.

One of these was a forum held last May that informed students of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program Extension with Reforms (Carper) Law. Carper allowed land to be distributed to the farmers who worked on them, but its land acquisition and distribution component expired last June.

Another of Afarm’s recent projects advocated for the complete implementation of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program through one of Afarm’s biggest campaigns, a petition titled “Laban Lupa, Laban Buhay: A youth manifesto to stop land grabbing and save land reform in the Philippines,” which was forwarded to President Benigno Noynoy”Aquino III.

Gender Equality Society (GES)

GES is a feminist organization that aims to raise awareness about gender issues. They also support and promote equality for other gender identities. GES aims to show students that gender stereotypes, inequality and sexism affect everyone—not just women. More than presenting the problems faced in society, GES also discusses the issues regarding gender on the ground level: Relationships, families and sexuality. By discussing real-life scenarios, they make concepts of gender sensitivity less abstract and more relatable. In line with the idea of acceptance and discourse, they have many public accounts on social networking sites, such as Facebook and Twitter. They create and distribute infographics and articles, and have open discussions about gender issues in order to spread awareness and clear the misconceptions that people may have about gender and feminism.

Ateneans Guided and Inspired by Love for Animals (Agila)

Agila is a recently founded student organization that aims to promote animal welfare and the protection of animal rights in the Ateneo. Their framework for animal rights is grounded in the ethical and humane treatment of animals and is based on the Animal Welfare Act of 1998. This act was created in response to acts of animal cruelty, such as the neglect of animals in zoos, beating of strays, capturing wild animals for personal entertainment, and maltreatment and abandonment of animals.

As an organization, Agila is against the maltreatment of stray cats roaming the campus. One of its biggest projects is the “Adopt a Kitten Program,” which promotes the adoption of kittens through its Facebook page and on the Facebook group, Ateneo Trade. Agila is also affiliated with the Haribon Foundation, a national group that promotes the rescue of endangered animals in the Philippines.

Christian Union for Socialist and Democratic Advancement (Crusada)

Crusada is a political party that was founded in the Loyola Schools in 2010. It follows the principles of Catholic social teaching and social democracy. Since its inception, the party has taken an active role in shaping campus politics. Theyion, the party hagoing beyond involvement in political affairs; Crusada is actively fighting for the rights of the marginalized. For instance, last May, they joined the Labor Day rallies. Members of the party are consistent in using the Sanggunian as a platform to stand in solidarity with the marginalized, and to promote equality, freedom and social justice.

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