Philippine politics has always been a hot topic for discussion and debate. Revolutions, impeachment cases, and even the recent success of President Rodrigo Duterte’s unconventional political campaign are just some of the many indicators of the political scene’s volatility. Politicians and political groups are always at each other’s throats and it would be unfortunate for anyone to be caught in the crossfire of such heated discussions and arguments.

In contrast, while the Ateneo’s student government system echoes some of the practices and standards of the national government, it does not share the same level of activity. Over the last few years, the Sanggunian has encountered several problems that have affected a lot of its systems and functions and the Ateneo’s two major political parties, the Ignatian Initiative for Transformative Empowerment (IgnITE) and the Christian Union for Socialist and Democratic Advancement (CRUSADA) have been hard at work in trying to resolve this dilemma.

Just recently, the political scene of the campus changed significantly, with the success of the revision of the school constitution through the Constitutional Convention (ConCon). Several other groups and organizations have also taken this opportunity to change, including IgnITE, which announced in their relaunch last June that they will be rebranding and reforming the political party.

Inception

The IgnITE movement was founded in 2011, when the founders felt that the ideal paradigm of leadership was not present at the time. “A lot of us basically felt like our reps, and even our constituents, were [making decisions that were] over their heads. People weren’t being consulted, they weren’t being empowered… people were just being used as workhorses,” says current IgnITE moderator and founder AJ Elicaño.

IgnITE initially identified as libertarian, with a strong focus on grassroots leadership and the empowerment of individuals. The political coalition became formally accredited and recognized as a political party in 2014 and with this came a slew of new privileges and responsibilities, among which is the capability to represent the student body both inside and outside of the Sanggunian.

However, despite having several initiatives such as the Kariton Klasrum Katipunan—a joint project with Efren Peñaflorida’s Dynamic Teen Company which seeks to provide basic education for out-of-school youth— and sociopolitical talks, among others, IgnITE has struggled to find the balance between maintaining their relevance inside and outside of the Sanggunian. Elicaño affirms this, saying that “[with] every student political organization, you have to strike the balance between what you do in Sanggu and what you do outside of it, and…a lot of what we found difficult has been the fact that we do end up with a lot of members in Sanggu.”

This inevitably led to a dilemma with regards to the prioritization of work and responsibilities, especially with a large portion of the party dedicated to Sanggunian-related affairs.

Identity and adjustment are other issues that IgnITE has also been grappling with for the last few years, especially since “IgnITE was founded [in] a completely different context…five or six years ago. [Now,] Sanggu is different, structure and culture-wise, [and] the party system has also changed,” according to IgnITE President Ele Gealogo.

Moving forward

For the most part, the changes announced during the relaunch are direct responses to these major issues. Gealogo explains that “the [ConCon] and the passing of the Sanggunian 2016 [constitution] made it all the more appropriate to rethink because the very institution we were dominantly holding changed as well. It was time to reflect…[on] how we move forward and plan [IgnITE’s] rebirth into a new era of campus politics.”

The biggest change in this regard is the shift to liberal democracy, which is a broad and common political ideology found in various countries around the world, such as France, Canada, and the United States. While liberal democracy is not entirely grounded in the ideals of liberalism, the core of the ideology still rests upon the protection of the rights, liberties, and freedom of individuals. Elicaño echoes this sentiment, emphasizing liberal democracy’s “recognition for individual identity, [and the] belief in [policies] and systems…that allow for freedom of movement, the ability to self-actualize, [and] for people to have the space they need to make the changes and contributions to the world that they are best able to.”

Elicaño also mentions that the shift in the Sanggunian structure is largely conducive to IgnITE’s views and ideals. According to him, “the [course reps,] the people who are closer to the grassroots, have now, in a way, been more empowered and given more responsibility at the same time.” The change in ideology allows IgnITE to retain most of its core values while allowing for more space to think, adjust, and be more involved outside of the Sanggunian.

In this regard, IgnITE has publicized its new platform and announced several projects that revolve around this new orientation. For one, the party has chosen to focus more on education, mental health, and human rights, above others. The Kariton Klasrum program will continue, along with other initiatives such as a Martial Law Education program, “[improvements] on [IgnITE’s] political formation for its members, [and an] increase in engagements with groups inside and outside Ateneo,” as outlined by Gealogo.

With these, it can be said that the new IgnITE is a step up from its previous iteration, if not only for the fact that it has expanded and grown significantly since its inception. There are clear attempts at addressing the issues that have long been affecting the movement.

Bigger picture

Being a political party, a large brunt of IgnITE’s reforms have direct implications on the Sanggunian itself. In conjunction with the changes brought about by the ConCon, these could potentially affect not only the way the Sanggunian is handled, but could also help resolve some of the issues that have prevented the student government from running on full power.

In relation to this, one major issue that has crippled the Sanggunian over the last few years is its perceived identity crisis, a displacement of role and responsibility. Political Science lecturer and CRUSADA founder Miguel Rivera pinpoints the strengthening of COA under previous Sanggunian administrations as the cause of this. He says that “when COA became stronger and more students relied on their own organizations in order to immerse themselves in student life and to have advocacies…, the Sanggunian as an institution sort of collapsed.” Furthermore, he noted that the Sanggunian and both political parties fell short in convincing the student body that the student government was important and served a unique purpose.

This resulted in students using organizations as the main platform for supporting certain causes, and while there is nothing innately wrong about this, it did create division with regards to some issues. As the official student government, the Sanggunian has the right to speak for the entire student community when making a stand, but its weakened state and the student body’s division resulted in some complications, which peaked during the recent string of failures of election.

“The problem lies in students not seeing politics and governance as a way to push for their advocacies. This mindset has hurt all parties involved: Crusada, IgnITE, [and] Sanggu especially, and it’s shown the last few years,” Gealogo confirms.

Fortunately, the capacity to resolve most, if not all of these issues also rests upon the political parties themselves, which can be seen from IgnITE’s reforms.

There are several studies already in place that outline the positive effects of student activism and political parties in the college setting. A 2010 study conducted by Marisela Rosas, PhD brings up an important point: “Collegiate involvements…connect students with each other and provide students with a sense of empowerment that they can influence and change society.” Rivera also stresses that “the impetus is on the two political parties to make politics important to students, and the first way by which they can do that is to put forward strong policies from their ideological viewpoints that are relevant to the issues that the students face.”

To this end, it can be said that IgnITE is on the right path. The changes reflect the party’s attempt to solidify and concretize their ideological alignment and platform, and be more active and inclusive in tackling larger social issues. As Gealogo emphasizes, the new IgnITE “[aims] to immerse, inspire and ignite people’s passions and direct them so that they can turn it into concrete action that can induce positive social change.” Should these efforts prove to be successful, it could potentially counteract the displacement of the Sanggunian, make students realize the value of campus politics, and allow both groups to be more engaged and involved in social and political matters.

Politicization

Moving forward, there is definitely still plenty of work to be done for IgnITE, CRUSADA, and other relevant groups. Rivera firmly believes that more political discourse and clashes between the two groups are necessary, not only to temper and refine their ideological views, but also to give the student body a clear choice with regards to which movement to support.

At the end of the day, any system of government should not be taken for granted. If the country’s past administrations are any indication, both weak advocacies and skepticism alike are detrimental to society. As a microcosm of the nation, the same truths hold true for the Sanggunian, the political parties, and the student body as well. Hopefully, IgnITE’s reforms provide the spark needed to fully push the Ateneo into fostering proper and effective politicization in the years to come.

Editor’s Note: This article was written before Ateneo CRUSADA joined the Union of Students for the Advancement of Democracy Ateneo, and was subsequently renamed USAD Ateneo de Manila.