AS THE 2022 national election nears, the Office of the Vice President for Social Development’s (OVPSD) student arm Atin ang Boto (AAB) debuts the second phase of its initiative, bearing the same name to strengthen Filipino voters’ sociopolitical awareness.

The student-run AAB initiative is set to span from January to the first week of May before the May 9 elections, according to OVPSD Social Development Programs Administrator Maria Milagros Tendero.

AAB is currently making efforts to further its initiative by publishing information on its Facebook page and holding webinars for voters. AAB Communications Committee Co-head Ashlee Baritugo added that one of AAB’s goals is to be a “one-stop directory” of election-related information for voters who do not know where to start.

Notably, the initiative’s first phase, Ateneans for Voter Registration, began in 2021 to help Filipinos with the voter registration process by hosting webinars and creating infographics online with their local networks and partners.

Plans ahead

Baritugo explained that the student initially experienced issues during its first phase because of the transition to the online setup. They also conducted an Impact Survey in 2021, which revealed that 157 out of 282 respondents found the initiative’s presence to be insufficient because it should have been more accessible to non-Ateneans.

She added that, while these challenges persist, AAB is moving towards improvements by opening AAB to non-Atenean volunteers and recalibrating its goals and objectives according to new developments. According to her, doing so helped in seeing and anticipating voters’ needs.

“I think this really helps us resolve the need to really hit people close to home [since] there are some people who are comfortable with being apolitical […], so the goal was really to get them to care about the elections and to care about their vote,” Baritugo added.

Tendero also shared that the OVPSD is planning to shift to political education among Filipinos after the May elections. Baritugo added that this includes the AAB’s plan to have a more “sector-based approach” through discussions on how specific sectors may be impacted by the outcome of the elections.

Moreover, Tendero said that activities such as various fora are being organized by the OVPSD in collaboration with student and employee groups on events related to voter education and participation to expand on their goal of strengthening voter education.

Meeting goals

In line with reaching a larger audience, Tendero shared that 10 additional local networks were formed since December 2021 in Makati City and in the provinces of Cebu, Pangasinan, Albay, Cavite, Zambales, Leyte, Zamboanga del Sur, Bataan, and Iloilo.

From the Student Arm’s inception in April 2021 until October 2021, Tendero said that it had been able to establish 16 local networks within and outside the National Capital Region (NCR). According to her, while six of the 16 local networks are located in Metro Manila, the other 10 are located in the provinces of Pampanga, Batangas, Quezon, Rizal, Camarines Sur, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, and Laguna, as well as areas in Davao City and Cagayan de Oro City.

Similarly, AAB Institutional Networks Committee Co-head Clarence Monterozo mentioned that they have primarily partnered with organizations and student councils within the Ateneo like the Sanggunian, Ateneo School of Government, Ateneo Senior High School Commission on Elections, and the Ateneo Assembly.

Aside from these, Monterozo said that AAB has partnered with the Eleksyon Koalisyon 2022, Rappler, and other Jesuit institutions such as the Ateneo de Naga University.

Monterozo mentioned that the partnership with Jesuit Institutions and organizations outside of NCR helped to expand AAB’s reach and get in touch with the LS community despite being in the online setup to collaborate on efforts within their home provinces.

Monterozo also said that the LS community can expect continued social involvement from AAB because the hope is for the student arm to go beyond elections towards other social development-related projects and initiatives. “Definitely, the real fight for a better future should never end at elections. Leaders have to be held accountable and issues need to be addressed concretely,” he added.