It’s official.

Carmela Vinzon (Independent) and Koko Quilatan (IgnITE) are the newly elected Sanggunian President and Vice President respectively, according to a Commission on Elections (COMELEC) memo on October 10, 2016.

Ferdy Acosta (IgnITE) was elected as the new School of Humanities (SOH) Representative, while Neicy Pilarca (IgnITE) was named as the School of Science and Engineering (SOSE) Representative. Christian Dy (Independent) won the position of School of Social Sciences (SOSS) Representative.

According to COMELEC, 19.81% of the total student population voted, amounting to 1,638 out of 8,270 students.

This school year’s election season is also the first election season under the newly ratified Constitution written by the Constitutional Convention in SY 2015-2016, which abolished quota for elections, and which replaced the Finance Officer and Secretary General positions with Central Assembly Committees and four School Assemblies.

Ateneo COMELEC Chief Commissioner Patrice Gabito stated that COMELEC had to take on the difficulties due to the abolition of quota into account when modifying this year’s elections according to the new Constitution.

“We wanted this elections to be really visible, na mag-participate talaga ‘yung student body (We wanted this elections to be really visible, where the student body would really participate.),” she said.

The election proper took place from October 5-7, when students voted in different voting stations located around campus.

Officer platforms

Vinzon wanted to run for President as she believed in a Sanggunian that “allows the student body to question, analyze, and act towards national issues, and issues within the context of the Atenean community.”

“There is always the question of apathy, but I strongly believe that apathy is not an issue in itself, but a symptom of the mindset of our generation, and our current student body. I believe it is due to our student population lacking in the political education and mindset, and personal confidence to engage with national issues,” she explained.

On one hand, Vinzon decided to focus on student capacity building, as she stated it was “the necessary first step to build a student-powered student government.”

“If the students are empowered to engage, then the Sanggunian flourishes as its representative. A critical student body begets a healthy Sanggunian,” she added.

Vinzon also plans to require POS 100 to be taught in freshman year, to launch campaigns centered on making political involvement more relatable to the individual context of the student and centered on education and framing the understanding of the student’s current situation.

On the other hand, Quilatan planned to create a Committee on Student Formation in charge of the holistic formative experience in the Loyola Schools.  Quilatan envisions that the student body will soon be able to “make the kind of positive impact upon the community at large”, in the students’ own individual ways.

Quilatan also wanted to establish a Committee on Fiscal Affairs that will promote financial transparency, as he added that he “strongly believes that [the student body] deserves to know where their money is going.”

Other committees and offices that Quilatan plans to establish include the Committee for Socio-Political Engagement in charge of engaging students in current social issues, and the Office of Legal Aid in charge of assisting students with disciplinary cases.

Quilatan’s platform is also centered on education, and it plans to prioritize pushing for a comprehensive curriculum review for all courses, and to review the core curriculum for the next generations of Ateneans who have undergone the K-12 curriculum.

“As a student body involved, I think that it’s important that we’re part of the actual process [of reviewing the curriculum] and this is what I really aim for at my platform, [to be] really more set on having an education that is for us, and also by us,” he said.

For his part, SOH Rep. Acosta believes in the capacity of the Sanggunian to do more, which he thought of when he was writing his platform, which  focused on engagement, establishing and fortifying relations, and improving student services.

“I think that we can use the arts and the humanities with different mediums that you have. . . visual arts, we have theater arts, and others, to make a stand,” he said.

SOSS Rep. Dy planned to pursue 3 thrusts during his term: lipunan, kalikasan, and laylayan (society, the environment, and the marginalized). He wants to focus on the rights of students, and will gauge change by seeing if SOSS started discourse, get changes in the Magna Carta, and was able to plan for the future.

Moreover, Pilarca ran for the position of SOSE Representative as a means to pay it forward. She wants to empower young scientists by pushing for national engagement, pushing for students to stay in their career path, and helping the university in terms of research.

New Constitution

Ateneo COMELEC Chief Commissioner Patrice Gabito said COMELEC focused on making this elections “vibrant”, due to the abolition of quota.

“‘I should still vote, even though walang quota. Parang nawala kasi yung pressure (I should still vote, even though there isn’t a quota. It feels like there isn’t any pressure),” said Gabito.

COMELEC also worked on the electoral code to include sectoral representation, as soon as the Student Judicial Court approved the provisions.

Gabito also expected the students to take the initiative in creating the next Sanggunian and called them to exercise their right to vote.

“What I expect from them is to know this Constitution, to follow this Constitution, and at the same time, participate in the execution of such Constitution that they voted for,” she said.

Dy remarked that how the elections ran did not rely on the new Constitution, but on COMELEC itself.

“I think the Constitution does not change elections, I think the Constitution only changes whether we fill positions or not. So we’re gonna fill more positions, but regarding how the elections are conducted and how people are participating in the elections, it depends on COMELEC,” he stated.

Sentiments

Quilatan viewed the turnout as good given the school’s decreased population due to the smaller freshman population this year. He is also willing to “spearhead initiatives that will really foster an even more successful elections next year.”

On the other hand, Acosta expressed disappointment over the voter turnout, but sees it as a challenge for the school representatives, along with the newly elected Sanggunian, to earn the student body’s trust.

“I believe that the low voter turnout shows that the majority still doesn’t believe in the Sanggunian…the road ahead is tough, but I am hopeful,” he remarked.