“What preparations should the Ateneo community make in line of the upcoming senatorial elections?”

“The Atenean community should put more initiative towards making its members more aware and involved on the senatorial elections. Even though the school offered voting registration, not a lot of students knew about it. I personally believe that the school isn’t emphasizing the matter enough. In line with this, I think that the school, in collaboration with orgs such as The GUIDON and the Sanggunian, should create an awareness campaign on the stands of the different candidates so that the voters from the Atenean community will be able to make more informed votes.”

     Chelsea Angeles

         1 BS LM

“With knowledge comes power; and with great power, comes great responsibility. The Ateneo community should first and foremost be aware of the current issues in the country as well as the candidates stance and/or actions on said issues. You have to realise that you are helping shape history, that the future of our fellow Filipinos—that OUR future—is in your hands.

You have to discern your values, know what’s important to you, and think about what would help the nation on a grand scale. Know that this is our home, our country, our people! We have the responsibility, the power, the knowledge to fight for the future we believe in—it’s just a matter of using our votes wisely.”

            El Villaverde

3 AB PSY

“The Ateneo community should make an effort to educate themselves on the platforms and advocacies of each of the candidates. In doing this, we actuate the very purpose of the electoral system—and that is to allow the people to voice their own personal convictions through the ballot. Our senatorial candidates supposedly represent our advocacies in the political space, and so it is very critical for the voter to understand who they are putting into power.

It is also important for the community to foster a healthy environment for discourse, as this is also another way for the community to educate themselves. Active discussions broaden minds and offer takes on different perspectives that definitely aid the preparations for the upcoming senatorial elections.”

       Jiana Lee

        4 AB EU

“The most important thing for any voter to do is to educate themselves on their candidates and their platforms. Know what is important to them as a citizen, and use that when deciding who to vote for. Citizens speak out when they vote, and as students, as the future of our society, our voice should be heard.”

       Vicka Nepomuceno

            2 AB POS

“As an institution that advocates for political awareness, Ateneo de Manila must encourage their voting community to check each candidates running for position. Factors such as position, track record, and electoral reform should be taken into account when choosing the next legislators of our country. Fortunately, these informations are provided by the Ateneo School of Government in one of their projects, so better check that out. We are on another precipice of change. Let’s make it count.”

Thea Lizette Fernando

        1 AB EC

“Maybe educate ourselves talaga. Because I think if we pay attention and watch the debates and all that, we can come up with the most rational decision of who to vote for. After educating ourselves, second would be to exercise our rights to actually vote.”

    Kathryn Fajardo

                            3 BS HS

“It is a generally known fact that the Ateneo has a reputation of being silent and/or apathetic about the relevant issues that our country faces. The sign outside the Old Rizal Library [that bears words from Down From the Hill] says it best: “We find the Ateneo today irrelevant to the Philippine situation because it can do no more than service the power elite.”  The core of what drives people to make informed decisions does not lie in finishing requirements or writing papers but rather in caring for the state of the nation. Before one can prepare for an election, one must first understand and acknowledge its relevance. First, we as a community must learn the significance behind our choosing of leaders. We must understand why it is important to participate in democratic processes that were forged through centuries of revolution. Understand the core and all other preparation naturally follows.”

              Tracy Mejia

1 AB DipIR

“The Ateneo community should make an effort to gather information about the senatorial candidates. This includes their votes on national issues, the growth and development indicators of provinces or cities they hold positions in (e.g poverty index, etc) so that they’ll make more informed votes. I also think it goes without saying that everyone of voting age should register!”

   Lia Pauline Paderon

              4 BS LfSci

“With the upcoming senatorial elections, it is once again time for the citizens of this country to exercise their right to vote for the candidates they believe, have the best chance of contributing to the improvement of the country. With this in mind, I believe the Ateneo community would best continue its progressive insight on the administration and hopefully find an avenue to share its teachings on government to the rest of the country in order to have politically literate citizens.”

              Troy Devera

    4 BS PSY

“Aside from background checks, we need to keep our egos in check and recognize the way we see the country may not be fully consider the viewpoints of others. As such, we must understand which issues we hold dear and find methods to bridge our interests with that of others.”

    Jan Christian Uy

                      4 AB DipIR

“I’m a firm believer in education. I do think that the problem lies in misinformation or inaccurate and dishonest political propaganda being spread around. I believe that it is part of the university’s responsibility towards the holistic education of its students that they may integrate the facts of our current political climate where they can in our classes. Primarily, the end goal will be to educate everybody properly, and teach the most pressing political concepts in the most objective way possible. Other than that, voter’s education would also be quite nice; how to register as a voter, where to learn more about political platforms, and whatnot.”

                        Alex Enage

         2 AB PSY

“In my opinion, the faculty and students alike need to make themselves aware of the platforms of the senatorial candidates, so they’ll know what the candidates have in store for our country. Aside from the platforms, I think that they should be wary of the stands and opinions of the candidates on certain controversial issues such as the lowering of the criminal age of responsibility. Our students and faculty who are registered voters must not only have themselves in mind but also the lives of our countrymen who will all be affected by whom gets elected into the Senate. These midterm elections are an opportunity for our country to get back on track, which is why it is important that every Atenean vote goes to the right people.”

    Joaquin Divino

         2 AB PSY

“The Ateneo community should pursue to make an effort to be informed about politicians. Something to keep in mind is for all voters to not necessarily vote pro-Duterte, but ideally pro-Filipino. In line with this, even the opposition candidates equally deserve scrutiny in the assessment of their viability for the position as well as their positions in terms of policy-making on the national level. This could be achieved through any relative means such as seminars and continuous means of exposure that would educate people as to who the candidates are, and what their track records are and similarly, the details of their platform.”

Andy Cruz

3 BFA CW