THE ATENEO Task Force (ATF) held Blueprint 2016: Strategically Planning for 2016 and Beyond as an effort to synergize organizational efforts for the upcoming 2016 national elections at the Juan C. Tan Conference Room 6 last May 9.
The event was attended by representatives from accredited organizations of the Council of Organizations of the Ateneo (COA).
According to the resolution posted by the Sanggunian on its official Facebook page on April 4, the ATF is the “Ateneo’s official student group responsible in setting the direction and centralizing all activities in the university in line with the 2016 national elections.”
Moreover, ATF is part of a bigger university mobilization for 2016 led by Vice President for Social Development Atty. Jaime Hofileña.
The university mobilization will be coordinated by various units in the Loyola Schools including the ATF, Ateneo School of Government, Office of Social Concern and Involvement and Political Science Department.
According to ATF Head Mawe Duque, ATF 2016 “aims to develop an empowered and participative youth engaged in Philippine politics for the greater goal of nation building,” and that its efforts reflect Ateneans’ “commitment to be men and women for others through nation building.”
He also said that hopes ATF’s involvement in the upcoming elections will allow them to forward the causes of Ateneo’s partner communities and stakeholders.
“Most of our efforts have ripple effects not just within the university, but outside the university,” Duque said.
Blueprint began with a series of situational talks, followed by a brainstorming session among the organizations’ representatives. The speakers were Duque, Simbahang Lingkod ng Bayan (SLB) Political Officer Rico Laviña and ATF Co-Head Lanz Espacio.
The SLB is the socio-political arm of the Philippine Jesuits.
Where are we now?
According to Duque, getting Ateneans to be politically involved will be a major challenge. “The question is how [do we] capitalize on the energy of this generation to spread awareness and education [on the elections]?” he said.
Laviña also acknowledged the problem in compelling the youth to become politically involved, citing their limited role during political events.
He explained that the role of the youth has regressed over the decades, from being proactive and at the forefront of national movements to simply becoming a source for manpower.
“It’s not so much that the youth are apathetic, rather they do not view politics as an avenue for social change,” Laviña said.
He also discussed the state of the country today as the Aquino administration comes to a close.
Laviña said that while the Philippines is experiencing the second-highest economic growth rate in Asia and is undergoing increased investments, the country’s poverty incidence has not changed significantly.
“A lot of these [growth indicators] aren’t necessarily trickling down or improving the lives of the people,” Laviña added.
He pointed out how the Aquino government has been “weak in addressing social justice issues,” and emphasized the present administration’s lack of effectiveness in implementing agrarian reform and disaster management.
Mobilization efforts
ATF is currently consolidating inputs and finalizing expectations from various organizations. It has launched its Facebook page and countdown to the 2016 elections on May 9 after Blueprint.
Duque expects ATF’s “master plan” for the school year to be released in August.
ATF 2016 will have four phases—voters’ registration, socio-civic and political engagement, election monitoring and post-elections.
The voters’ registration phase involves getting qualified Ateneans to register as voters and subsequent social media campaigns.
In this regard, the university will serve as a satellite registration center of the Commission on Elections (Comelec).
However, this option is limited to residents of Quezon City’s (QC) six districts only. For non-QC residents, ATF will provide transportation to other Comelec registration centers.
On the other hand, Duque said that the ultimate aim of the socio-civic and political engagement phase is to hold a national youth convention with other universities.
The phase also involves ATF forwarding the agenda of the youth and the Ateneo’s stakeholders to the candidates.
Moreover, ATF will forward regional concerns through the Ateneo Resident Students Association.
ATF Monitoring and Evaluation Head Marisse Galera said that Ateneo plans to further its engagement through a partnership with internet news network Rappler, with whom ATF is currently finalizing negotiations.
“We will serve as their eyes on the ground,” Galera said.
The election monitoring phase positions ATF as a citizen watchdog, wherein students will go to precincts and report suspicious activity such as vote buying.
Duque said that the post-electoral phase is still open-ended. The projects proposed by ATF include Bantay Pangako, which encourages voters to continue to be politically involved, and a culminating activity for the ATF contingency.
