ateneo de manila, Elections
In Elections, Politics, Youth on November 22, 2009 at 4:07 am
by Rosselle Tugade
Note: The resolution in its full content can be accessed via Sanggu President Gio Tingson’s Facebook page.
With the release of Resolution No. 20091103, the possession of the assaulting spirit of totalitarianism upon the Ateneo Sanggunian has come into full circle.
The Sanggunian’s latest directive that calls for the resignation of unregistered officers reeks heavily of the illusory images imposed by Nazi Germany and Stalinist Russia upon its people back then: that the power of the individual to fabricate change out of a vacuum through singular acts as per established procedures is the pinnacle of political participation. This, in turn, necessitates the disavowal of a critical awareness of what genuine struggles for justice and freedom truly demands. To put it simply, it seems that the Sanggunian has severely fallen out of touch with the understanding that the deep political crises of our time requires consistent and chronic engagement outside the self-gratifying and solitary act of voting in the upcoming elections.
ateneo de manila, Elections, Politics, sanggu
In Elections, Politics on November 22, 2009 at 2:19 am
by Hansley A. Juliano
A brief review of the resolution, its totalitarian (therefore anti-democratic) nature and why it is not a just mode of action to express citizenship
The Sanggunian ng mga Mag-Aaral ng Pamantasang Ateneo de Manila has recently released Resolution No. 20091103 which purportedly calls “ALL ELECTED OFFICIALS OF THE SANGGUNIAN NG MGA MAG-AARAL TO INTROSPECT ON INSTITUTIONAL COMMITMENTS FOR THE 2010 NATIONAL ELECTIONS.” At face value it would appear as a manifesto to uphold democratic participation, but a closer look would show that it is a quite problematic, even immature, statement of the Atenean’s perception regarding political participation. We quote in length from the manifesto:
2010 elections, democracy
In Political Theory, Politics on October 17, 2009 at 2:24 pm
by Rene Raymond R. Rañeses, Jr.
Filipino voters will have to choose between the devil and the deep blue sea when they confront their ballots in the coming presidential elections on May 2010. It’s a tough choice, really. On the one hand is the maintenance of a century-old system of elite rule and domination, while on the other, the reproduction of the increasingly dominant global paradigm of transforming all aspects of political and social life into the model of the market. Both miss out the central problems of contemporary politics: the narrowing of avenues for democratic political engagement, the tendency to defuse political struggles and the insulation of political questions from public debates and deliberation. Unless these are addressed in a properly political manner, Philippine politics will see no significant changes in the next six years.
The first will simply reinforce patterns of state weakness and capture by dominant vested interests or endorse a statist discourse that nonetheless protects the transnational interests of dominant elites. The leading candidate, following results of recent opinion polls Benigno “Noy-Noy” Aquino III is avowedly a member of the country’s ruling class who is not exactly an avid supporter of progressive efforts to alter the class structure of Philippine society (i.e. comprehensive land reform). His political machinery – the Liberal Party – is as elitist and non-programmatic as other parties in the country and possesses no historical or institutional engagement with grassroots politics outside of the electoral cycle. Patronage and not ideology (despite being a problematic organizing principle for political life as well) remains its primary political strategy. And despite being called “inconsistent liberals” (and therefore perhaps, occasional socialists?) by a leading critical commentator, the party has not offered any clear strategies of developing an autonomous state apparatus that can withstand pressures from strong social forces.
