The Role of Filipino Youth - A talk in SM

I would like to start off with this question: “why do we young people need to get involved?” I’ll give three basic reasons why we need to get involved. First, there is present and clear need. The nation needs us more than ever by virtue of the problems that we see plaguing our country. Second, we are in the best position to help. When I say we, I mean we, the people listening here. We are the once who are educated, who have the opportunity to listen to these kinds of things and the opportunity to learn against the millions of our peers who can’t afford to even go to school. You have the upper hand and it is our moral obligation to make good use out of it. We also have the overflowing creativity and idealism that can be channelled towards change and development. And the third reason is our very future is at stake. The very future we are hoping, we are building now maybe at stake. These three basic reasons should at least compel to do something and this then moves to our roles we young people can assume in this present time.

The first role we can conveniently take is the ideas generator. This role flows from our natural creativity and innovativeness as young people. Let us then employ this advantage of being unburdened by the past and fresh in the present for the development of our people. Let us use or art, our music, our social networks and fuse it with our creativity to spread the message of action. Second role I can deduce is being the mass catalysts for change. By the sheer size in terms of population and energy in terms of idealism, we can literality move mountains. So for us to do that, we should begin to think that we are the primary change agents and with that mind set, it is easy for the millions of youth to unite for action. So let us channel our idealism and energy into cause/civic groups, student organizations, community or church groups that exposes us to how it is to help build our nation. Lastly, we should in a way, influence our elders. Oftentimes, we overturn the rules of nature by influencing our elders, our older leaders through our good deeds and that great sense of hope so they maybe constantly reminded who they are labouring for – that is our future. So constantly communicate to your parents, share your hopes and your dreams because maybe just maybe, they could get extra energy and inspiration to work harder for our country.

This is a very beautiful prayer by Archbishop Oscar Romero of El Salvador. He was assassinated on March 24, 1980, while celebrating Mass in a small chapel in a cancer hospital where he lived. He had always been close to his people, preached a prophetic gospel, denouncing the injustice in his country and supporting the development of popular and mass organizations. He became the voice of the Salvadoran people when all other channels of expression had been crushed by the repression.

He is also the role model for the Sixes in the enneagram. I can relate so much to this prayer because it talks about a never ending mission, our labor here on earth. I wish to share it to you!


It helps, now and then, to step back and take a long view.
The kingdom is not only beyond our efforts,
it is even beyond our vision.
We accomplish in our lifetime only a tiny fraction
of the magnificent enterprise that is God's work.
Nothing we do is complete, which is a way of saying
that the kingdom always lies beyond us.
No statement says all that could be said.
No prayer fully expresses our faith.
No confession brings perfection.
No pastoral visit brings wholeness.
No program accomplishes the church's mission.
No set of goals and objectives includes everything.
It may be incomplete,
but it is a beginning, a step along the way,
an opportunity for the Lord's grace to enter and do the rest.
We may never see the end results, but that is the difference
between the master builder and the worker.
We are workers, not master builders; ministers, not messiahs.
We are prophets of a future not our own.
This is what we are about.
We plant the seeds that one day will grow.
We water seeds already planted,
knowing that they hold future promise.
We lay foundations that will need further development.
We provide yeast that produces far beyond our capabilities.
We cannot do everything, and there is a sense of liberation
in realizing that. This enables us to do something,
and to do it very well.

Amen.

Sino ang Atenista???

Was about to leave Xavier University when a grimy old man approached him. The complete stranger asked him to buy him some ice water. To his surprise, that old man was bleeding, blood flowing from his forehead and there was a noticeable burse in his face. The student caught by surprised abandoned his intention to go home and decided to help this old man. His instinct led him to go to the Rizal Hospital knowing that the service there is free since the money he had was just enough for him to travel home. From the front gate they travelled all the way to the back but only faced a locked gate. His second option was the Loyola house, residence of the Jesuits. Unfortunately, the porter told him that nobody was home. So the distressed student has lost all thinkable options but thankfully enough, in that moment the porter spoke and suggested to call the KKP Director’s office instead.

After Sir Ermin and I finished a fruitful conversation inside his office, the phone rang. I wondered who the caller was since I noticed a slight change of tone of Sir Ermin’s voice. I got patches of information from his replies and made the assumption that it is something of an emergency. Once the call was over, he shared what it was all about. I felt shivers climb up my spine.

I immediately recalled our earlier conversation. We talked about ways to creatively foster a deeper appreciation of Atenean values and behold, as we where talking about it, this student was living it out in that very moment.

He then arrived at the KKP office. Since he has no extra cash, the office provided assistance. He accompanied the old man to the Hospital. His deed did not just stop there; he went all the way to accompany the old man back to his home in Carmen. This is magis.

Atenean heroes are true and living. The amazing story of this student highlighted the truth that a Good Samaritan still does exist. I hope his story serves as an inspiration for all of us ateneans. May his story emphasize that our identity as ateneans is not so much defined by our status, the way we speak, academic loyalty, or even wearing all ateneo shirts and accessories but it is defined by our DEEDS coming from a true concern for others especially the poor.

A message to Freshmen FFP leaders

I got an accidental chance to share a very brief testimonial to a large group of freshmen students for ACLD. When I saw them, I got reminded of my own freshmen year – a year of emotional ironies; from excitement to anxieties, passivity and seriousness. But in that gathering, there is one thing that holds them together. That somehow, they demonstrated a sense of leadership in their class which led them to take the position of FFP team leader.

Reviewing the road I took, I can really now say that this first opportunity to lead has tremendous value. You see, I never had that opportunity to “shepherd” eager classmates in my first year. I could recall our team leader always checking our attendance and requirements, plotting the dates of our group prayer and sharing, and delegating tasks for the numerous projects of FFP. These are the very basic of leadership and this can all well be nurtured in your given position.

In our sharing, I think it is an understatement to say that we have overemphasized the process of self-mastery. We are trained to marry the process and it is an absolute necessity in leadership. So I begin by encouraging all freshmen to explore their surroundings, get to know new people aside from your high school friends or block mates (ACLD network is one good venue), and get to engage with different opportunities offered by the school and your community (FFP immersion, outreach, NSTP). These are great venues to discover the miracle of you. I say this with the assumption that you posses a degree of confidence and people skill that made you a “leader” in the first place.

I also suggest that you keenly observe your surroundings and start spotting areas where you feel you can do something about and if you want to involve in a student organization, I believe there are already existing organizations that are geared towards amending these areas for improvements. In this process, you can link your personal interests and the area of change you want to work for in your college years.

That is my advice. I believe college can be lived to the fullest if you take an extra mile to consciously know yourself and with that knowledge and appreciation that goes with it, translate it to concrete acts of service for others. Aside from this basic notion, a deeper reason exists that I found very important once you start your leadership journey in Xavier. It is knowing that we are all educated or pulled out from society in a sense so we can learn and every time we return to society (the real world outside the walls of XU) it is a moral duty for us to translate that education into works of justice – making a difference in the lives of others. Four years in Xavier is too short for a freshman with a flaming heart to lead and serve. Start now.

Doable Heroism

(late post) This day, we speak about the idea of heroism and the traits that goes along with it. This word bears tremendous value for me since it is one of the pillars of Ignatian Leadership as described by Chris Lowney in his book “Heroic Leadership”. In his words, he spoke of heroism as “energizing yourself and others with heroic ambitions and a passion for excellence.” Having this in mind, I would like to have this opportunity to share my own appropriation of heroism as a student in Xavier University.

When I hear the word heroism, the instant idea that comes into mind is “sacrifice”. I believe that mere mortals become heroes because some point in their lives, they made great sacrifices for the common good. In a blink, names such as Rizal, Bonifacio, and Ninoy surfaces when I think about heroes and any man can rationalize that they became heroes because they gave their lives for a cause greater than their selves. Now, I came to understand that the magnanimity of heroism does not necessarily come from acts of giving one’s life (literally dying) but it speaks of all forms of actions contemplated for the greater good and animated beyond the bounds of comfort and safety. Speaking in the context of being a student, I think that a call to be heroic can be very well exercised in our learning, in our relationships and in our great journey of self discovery.

Heroism and Self Awareness

I am a loyalist, a 6 in the Enneagram. My type’s need is to have a sense of security from the perilous world. This is the reason why when I find an organization or a cause that I can trust and believe in, I stick with it undyingly and even reach to a point of blind obedience. In my reflection, I saw that I was trying to fulfil a heroic deed when I consciously and intently try to loose away from that sense of security and direct guidance from a group that has become synonymous with my identity. I know that I am breaking away from neither the cause nor the relationships but I am breaking away from that sense of security, familiarity, and comfortableness that would have solidified my compulsions more if I would not confront it. I intently moved into an uncharted territory plagued by uncertainty and instability – the very thing that we sixes fear. In a personal level, that is a simple attempt to be heroic which is facing my underlying fear and breaking my own security for a greater good. That greater good is redemption which hopes to capacitate me to be freer.

Heroism and relationships

I never had a girlfriend before so I speak in the context of NGFSB paradigm which pretty much gravitates around the idea of non-romantic relationships and the “kuya pa help” relationships. I believe working in the context is all about offering your help for others in the form of tutoring, help in their projects, help them in a certain degree facilitate their own struggles and countless others. I speak as if I am public property but in a sense it is close to that. With my relative freedom, I can offer myself readily to others. I believe my challenge is to always be ready to give and to give more and this is simple heroism.

Heroism and Learning

One subject I can instantly recall is a minor subject. TAX 1 is a dreaded subject for me because I simply find it hard to comprehend it. It takes ample amount of brain energy to remember all the necessary elements needed to identify certain taxable categories. Now I believe this is where heroism can be exercised. It is exercised when I achieve to completely eradicate that minor-major mentality which is common among us. I should treat all subjects in equal weight and this should be reflected in the amount of time allotted for its study and mastery. By going against that psychological inertia, I can begin to build a momentum that hopefully will lead me to get better grades – a personal heroic deed of challenging deeply seated mentalities.

So again, I hope that I somehow simplified the magnanimity of heroism into doable acts that can very well exercise in a personal sphere. But in the end, the highest call of heroism is really giving ourselves, sacrificing and sharing our selves to something greater than our own – an in our Catholic context, for the God and his people (The Kingdom of God).

Thank You Tita Cory

This morning as I was watching the live telecast of the funeral of President Corazon, I already prepared a reflection for this occasion, but after seeing the people and tears and hearing the messages, the eulogies of the closest people to President Cory, I realized that my written article never came close to fathom the great and gracious heart this woman had. Listening to Fr. Arevalo in his voice clearly drawing back tears while he recounts and fond memories with Pres. Cory, also listening to Cris crying over the loss of her very loving mother, or listening to Mel, Pres. Cory’s security detail share the generosity and the humility this woman possessed, always giving importance even to the lowly of people, with the hinidi kita malilimutan song, I can’t help it but be moved into tears. I think most of us here, those who watched, those who felt the grief, shed tears of sorrow because we felt that feeling loss and that senses of absolute separation form a loved one- having in mind that we can never have another one like her. As if our own mothers or our own grandmothers has gone ahead. And i think that is one effect Cory has in all of us, that image of a mother, a mother to our nation. Painful as it is, but true, it is only during her death, her very recent death that I began to intentionally retrace my past lessons in Philippine history, reconnect that past to what is now and try to see the life of this gracious women in yellow through the eyes of a generation who never knew what it is like to regain freedom. And as part of this generation, the death of President Cory made me see not just what we have lost but what we have also gained. And this is Hope. This hope manifested by 3 realities of the President, even in her time of death is her legacy for me.

First, the adoration brought about by multitudes of people, rich and poor, powerful and powerless, came together in her wake and the outpouring of pasasalamat and love made me see that indeed it is possible to have a modern Filipino president that is loved, that is respected, that is honoured, that can inspire, that can move people contrary to what we have been accustomed to in our recent memory. She understood clearly that the highest pinnacle of democracy is the peaceful transition of power which she readily surrendered to her elected successor. She was allergic to power and remained a symbol of humility and a strong radiant moral force of democracy till the end of her days. It had been done before that we can have this kind of president and it can happen in the future. And we thank President Cory for making us believe that it is possible.

Second, The strong and unwavering faith defined her character and her leadership throughout her life. This is one great legacy she will leave to the Filipino people. She made it true that having the most powerful position does not mean that you have compromise your personal faith and values for the sake of expediency. From what I have seen in her last SONA in youtube, and to countless articles in the internet, she admitted that she made mistakes, but those where honest mistakes and she readily told the people about it. She was afraid to lie because of her faith, she was did not to surrender during the coup attempts because she knows that her commitment to God is to preserve democracy for the Filipino people. She stood as a great God fearing leader and because of her, we can believe again that a true measure of heroic leadership is the depth of faith one has for God manifested by her deeds.

Third, People Power, this extraordinary manifestation of democracy is the gift of the Filipino to the world and this was made possible by the leadership of President Cory. This event culminated a long boiling dissent against a dictatorship that has suppressed freedom for so many years but this culmination did not explode into an arms struggle, instead this culmination turned out to be a miracle, the first of its kind, that radical change is possible without blood and bullets. This made me reconnect to my present state. In my volunteer work in KKP, I have realized that I enjoy the freedom to critically think, the freedom to organize, the freedom to protest because of the courage and the sacrifice of this past generation. I believe more that idea of social change without violent struggle because it worked before and this was made true to countless other people power revolts around the world inspired by our very own. Now, our generation are the inheritors of that legacy of people power. Let us live the spirit of it by reclaiming our nation’s destiny once more in this upcoming elections and maybe through this, we can carry on the legacy of people to the next generation. And we thank President Cory for embracing a call she knew she never wanted but accepted it fully because of her love for freedom and the Filipino people.
Let her legacy remain in our hearts, that burning idea of integrity, faith, and sacrifice and may it bear good fruits for the future generations. Mabuhay ka Tita Cory!

and all will just fall into its proper place

Exiting the Church, my mind my set for a delicious baby back ribs dinner at Bigby’s. Out of nowhere, my mother told me that they have to get something from the house. Moments later, I noticed something peculiar about my mother. She keeps on texting (which is not so usual since she rarely brings out her phone in the streets). Then my brother seems in a bit of a hurry. All of these things I dismiss as nothing more than part of the birthday rush. Arriving at home, I noticed a bit of a mess in our kitchen. My father then led me to the corridor leading to our living room after I freshened up. In that moment, there is already that growing feeling of “they are up to something”. In an instant, as I turned in sight of the living room, a jolt came rushing at the top of my spine. This is an elaborate conspiracy! Employing my parents and my relatives! There they are, my closest friends sitting in my living room! And turning at my right, I saw the dining table adorned with scrumptious looking food. And the crowning piece of lechon at the center. Within a few seconds, I tried to gather my senses, came to them one by one and awkwardly shook their hands. I felt stupid doing that but that was the only thing I can think of doing in that very unexpected situation! I began to walk back and forth trying to grasp this brewing conspiracy and the sense of excitement grew with it. People began to come to the house. And finally around 7pm, I was told to hide somewhere, a sort of “re-surprise” procedure since I came in too early as I was told. I hid in the CR for quite awhile. I was then asked to close my eyes, my heart started to beat faster and when I was asked to open it with a resounding yell . . . To my complete and utter surprise, to the most unexpected and surprising air – Fr. Jett with Ma’am Lily stood inside my house! And that historic night began.

Surprises are really hard to orchestrate, you have to think of so many scenarios, you have to gain the allegiance of so many conspirators, and you have to keep them from sending any signal that might spill the beans. So many things to consider, so many risks to manage and these things is what I am so deeply grateful about - the great effort (inviting people, coordinating people, convincing the university president to come) that these people employed just to make this peculiar day special. This effort by the people who headed it and supported it, one common denominator fuelled this effort, I believe and this is LOVE. Throughout the night, this idea oscillated around my head. I kept on asking my myself “What did I ever do to you to deserve such effort, attention, and love”. Sounds corny and overrated but It really bothered me. The whole event made me rethink, revaluate and reflect on myself, on others, on how I deal with people, how I “value” people and especially on the idea of grace. This entire chunks of questions surfaced and It took me quite I while to put all of these things together. The 3 things that I can extract from this day is gratitude, friendship and a renewed sense of hope.

For ALL the PEOPLE and the things that have shaped me, in bitterness or in sweetness I thank Thee for it. These 20 years of life is a priceless gift and I can’t expound more that deep sense of gratitude in my heart. I think it is best to pose a question for this. “If God is SO generous to me, why can’t I be generous to Him?” This event made me trace the threads of my life once more and view its elaborate interconnections and fusions from the top – seeing an unfinished, a forming tapestry.

I am the aggregate, the collection of all the people I’ve connected for the past 20 years. I am who I am today because of these people – friends and family that have revealed to me that unyielding love that makes my life worth living.

Lastly, it is a renewed sense of hope – an invigorated sense of mission in life. This celebration also acts as a confirmation of where God is leading me. The outpouring of love and community affirmed the direction I am taking, the people I am with, the values I strive to live by, the dreams I try to achieve, and the voices I try to hear. And it seems like everything is prepared for and is being unfolded every single day. And I guess this is what ma’am Lily said about the magical mysteries of life. Things just come in, and you don’t need to make clear sense of it, you just accept it as it is – a grace, an unmerited favour from above that leads you to a destiny you never imagined before – and all will just fall into its proper place.

THANK ALLLLL THE PEOPLE WHO GRACED THE EVENT! ALLLLL OF YOU! THANK YOU!!!! AMDG

Feeling Lost, Gone and Aimless?

It was like a blessing from online when this person asked me some advice in how to re-direct his life. I gave him some generic advice and he added to me that it would be better if I blog about it because he has been following my past blogs. This gave me a jolt of energy; someone has actually been following my posts and has got some insights from it. Now flowing from this, I would like to share a few thoughts about life directions. I believe this topic is quite important for us college students because we are now approaching the door steps of the real world. And in my personal story, I also have a little trouble about life directions in terms of “specific” life careers but for the sake of focus, I will touch on “direction” with in college life.

It is quite typical for all of us college students to reach a certain plateau or hiatus in our drive. This is very normal. That feeling of boringness, the feeling of lingering meaninglessness of the things we routinely do, that feeling of detachment, that feeling of “a head floating”; that zombie like-state that you just wish the day or the entire school year will instantly come to an end. Again, this is very normal. The cases that we should try to be cautious about and aware off is the coping mechanisms we do that might lead us to a nose dive such as habit of ditching classes, habitual drinking, drugs, and so forth. And when we reach a certain saturation point, it is very difficult to climb out from the pit. In all of these realities, there is only one truth I can think of: The greatest human being who can save us in this pit of hell is no other than our very selves. You have to make it a point to brush off the dust in our shoulders and declare to the whole world that I am back in the game! I am not a loser! And by God’s grace, I can give justice to my own creation by being the best of who I am! Enough with the excuses, enough with the habits, enough with the slack, it is time to liberate my true self from the clutches of sloth and greed. Summoning your personal energies to declare these words and by the fullness of your faith then you can slowly accumulate and regain power. Then this is where the momentum starts, it is where the energy starts to build up and by your own resounding personal declaration, you have unlocked the full power of your possibilities and slowly defeating the enemy within.

The key element of sustaining this momentum is having a support group (good friends) or a mentor who you trust and look up to. Find one and I believe there are plenty in this world ( i recommend Jesuit priests and brothers). Share your thoughts to that person, your struggles and ambitions; he/she can aid you in processing these experiences and making sense of them in the context of your own life. Their energies and “positivism” is contagious! 2nd is the practice I keep on repeating in all my posts, the consciousness examen. This is the bedrock of my life. Always allocate time to review the day, the response and feelings you had. By doing so, you have a constant self-evaluation tool that will check if you really lived up to your declaration and are you really winning the war against your “old self” in a daily basis? By having this constantly, it will not be difficult to chart progress. Third is Know what you want and what is important to you– the hardest part. This is the basis of your decisions in college so early on we should try to invest time in knowing what we want and what we need. And i guess God provides that answer in our daily experiences of consolations and desolations. Through the examination of consciousness, we can pin point exactly the moments of joy and sadness, excitement and boringness, intense interest and complete indifference not just of a single day but of a single year or even a span of years if we keep on listening. Linking it all together produces the tapestry of God’s will in your life. Again and again, listen to your heart for that is where God is. And all things will just fall into place.

In the end, these are just anecdotes from my own experience. Again, I am not speaking as an expert. The fundamental truth to this besides the one I stated at the start is that God has a unique plan for each and everyone us – vocation. That can be found in the intersection of your deepest desires and the world’s greatest needs. And this saying I truly believe, without this, what I have written is meaningless. How do we know our desires? By turning away from self-destructive habits, declaring war against our old self, build support circles and constantly examen ourselves in prayer (where desires, values comes out).

AMDG

from VIRUS to SELF-ESTEEM

I am not writing this as a psychology expert, I am writing this as a college student who, for almost 20 years, has been appropriating my own understanding of this very crucial subject of our growing generation – self esteem. Once you look it up in the web, instantly it shows to you that self esteem deals about your worth, your value, and your happiness as a human being. Now, this subject has become a primal concern to all of us young people who are discovering his or her place in the greater scheme of things. This has become the growing subject we college student should try to reflect upon and act upon BUT really this concern has not been given so much attention in our conversations and discussions and this my friends is the pervasive case of LOW self-esteem. This has inflicted so many souls, paralyzing them from the inside out and this is that faceless ill invading our young generation. In my own story, there are so many times, so many instances that this concern has surfaced. Faced with doubts, frustrations, anxieties and hopelessness, I have grappled with it for quite some time and after all of those struggles, I have realized that there is a singular most important ingredient that tames this monster. It is a hardened process of self-awareness that can only be achieved when one gains the ability to listen to oneself. And in my understanding, that is why countless of our brothers and sisters are suffering from this ill because our ability to listen has been eroding slowly. Our ability to connect our past to our present is deteriorating, our ability to transcend is being clouded by so many forms of ideologies competing for our loyalty. Our technology has given its toll. We silence our internal rumble with earphones; we substitute presence with being online; we consider text messaging as the foundation of relationships. So it is not surprising that we are suffering a loss sense of worth and value because we as a generation has pegged our worth on externalities – our grades, our clothes, our technologies, our money.

So here lies the challenge. Let us reconnect with our hearts and ourselves intimately by allowing time for us to tune in to the movements of our hearts. Nurture that habit of examining ourselves in a daily basis, writing it down in our journals and offering it all to God – nurture your faith. Also, it is a good idea to share your feelings with very close friends because this gives us a sense of community that does not only enjoy over movies, beer and malling, but with raw expression of the human soul. By doing so, a sense of love develops, a sense of appreciation develops and that case of self-esteem fades into noting.

Things We can Do these historical TEN DAYS.

Now, the jubilation has faded and the reality has revealed itself. Some may agree, some may don’t but for me, ten days of disconnection from school’s routine gives us a sense of random and spontaneous space and time to do it. We can think of so many things to do aside from homework (if miraculously your teacher gave you one because s/he knew that classes will be suspended beforehand.) and at a certain point, we may get lost. This is my effort to at least give some few tips about making this opportunity of momentary pause to its fullest.

1. This is the perfect time for you to register to Vote! XU is the only school in the city suspended, so maybe you don’t have much competition in COMELEC.
2. Have a new haircut. I know I do.
3. Go home and Visit your high school friends. It is good to reconnect with the old and sturdy roots.
4. If you have clear books or note books, you can start labelling them. At least this helps you keep your files organized.
5. Play a sport, this can keep us fit and healthy – a great counter to the temptation of becoming a couch potato in these 10 days.
6. Read a book/study – this only works with most people, not all. I’ll be reading Alinsky’s Rules for Radicals.
7. DOTA! CALL OF DUTY 4! I’m just learning DOTA, Call of Duty – memorized the game!
8. DVD Marathon – it is good to revisit old habits during the summer days,
9. Evaluate Your Priorities and Yourself. This is the best time to evaluate your habits and perceptive regarding school and other essential life factors because you are given the rare chance to be detached and de-burdened. Make good use of it.
10. For the student organizers, it is a good time to re-evaluate the direction of your

organization and set proper adjustments.

But as we dive into the randomness of this 10 days, let us always put into mind the primary reason why we have this in the first place - because of the virus. So exert an extra-effort about our health and if you feel the symptoms, immediately contact the proper authorities.

Behind the A(H1N1) News Break!

3:09pm, I finished posting my latest blog about the confirmed case of A(H1N1) in XUHS in SacDev office. An hour later, I noticed a student came inside the office to ask for a classroom reservation permit for a certain day. After some corrections with my post and not minding their transaction, I overheard a program officer saying that it might be useless to reserve this day because the “School” might be closed for ten days. Upon hearing this, it made my hair stand and made me stand as well. That feeling of stunned excitement consumed me because it seems impossible to suspend classes in the middle otf exams and GA’s and ten days of no classes is not a joke – not an absolute source of celebration. Aside from this, in an instant, it made me think that the virus is already inside the campus, lurking and invading. Having that oozing thirst for more information, I asked the program officer to clarify the mumble and got a very clear answer. “The school administration has decided to suspend classes starting tomorrow. It will resume on July 27 because of a confirmed case in XU College. Let us just wait for the memo to be released this 5pm.” Then it dawned to me that aside from the great feeling of academic liberation, I felt the burden of the student orgs who has tirelessly planned for events within that span of time that needs to be postponed. With the go signal of the program officer, I typed a facebook shout out and elicited several responses within seconds and went from council to council preaching the good/bad news and the preparations it entails (like no one can enter XU so do not leave any materials). To no surprise, the news was welcomed with jubilation. I even got a free mask in the ACES office and wore it the whole evening as a statement to the student body not to take this lightly. It was still around 4:15 when the CONUS, UNITASS Presidents and I started to spread the news – pretty much ahead of the official paper release. I could even see the eyes and murmurs of student upon seeing me with the mask. I didn’t hesitate to inform them that the virus is here. The amazing thing about this event aside from the virus is how quick information can spread. How XU culture is highly respective to "no class" information and how a distinct XU social dynamics facilitate the information’s circulation. You can see a wildfire burning in the Stc Lobby. Again, be safe and be healthy. Use your TEN days of a relatively liberated academic life wisely.

A(H1N1) in XUHS. Be Vigilant

It is confirmed, there is a case of A(H1N1) in Xavier University High School prompting the school administration to suspend classes for ten days. There are still no detailed accounts on the immediate contacts of the victim but we are all called in the entire Xavier University Community to be highly cautious of our sanitation and health. The news that we’ve been hearing from the capital and from other islands has finally hit town. As I could recount this morning, the headlines declared that the epidemic is now unstoppable. It has become global and the battle fronts have shifted from the laboratories to Barangay households to individuals and this demands personal action. Even though the virus is not deadly (3 cases of death in the Philippines so far), we still need to be highly vigilant by doing our share in preventing its further multiplication. Here are things we can to guard ourselves and guard the community against this unseen enemy.

1. In case you sneeze, Don’t cover it with your hands. Use the joint of your arms. At least in this manner, the germs are confined in that area only. It can’t be transmitted around through the things you touch.

2. Always apply alcohol/sanitizers and wash your hands properly in a regular basis. (especially before you eat and after you sneeze)

3. Take in multivitamins, vegetables, and fruits.

4. In the most extreme cases, wear a mask. Medically, it is not a deadly virus but the psychological price of having one gives the burden of this disease. Student organization especially the College of Nursing Student Council and the School Clinic have already rolled out information sheets (even at the Start of the class).

Now, we have to take the information seriously. So be safe and be healthy always.

A post to help you manage your time

Prelims are around the corner and you might not even know it, it is already midterms! This high alert scenario induced me to write this simple advice about one skill we all need in college – Time Management. I know a few notions and techniques about the art and science of it which I hope to share with you!

In almost four years of being in college, I have come to realize that the bedrock skill in any time management effort is Prioritizing. All else springs from this. You should prioritize. The accessory knowledge of this is understanding 2 very essential things: what is important and what is urgent. Important things are those that deal with values, missions, vision, relationships, principles (e.g. education, family, and friends). Urgent are things that require immediate attention or action (e.g. answering phones, replying to messages, harvesting your farm in farmsville). Here is the challenge. Work on Important things AND not urgent things because it is here where you can easily manage your engagements. This is where planning, prevention and relationship building happens. Imagine when you both work on important and urgent things, this is where crisis occurs like cramming for a project (both important and urgent). When you are working on urgent but not important things, this is where relationship breaks and values deteriorate.

Stemming from the Important and not urgent quadrant are the three basic steps in managing your time. First is having a term calendar (a handy planner) where you plot important dates such as deadlines of projects, exams, debuts, etc. Second, breakdown your term calendar into weekly plans, medium sized tasks with deadlines. These acts as the building blocks you’re building day by day to accomplish the seemingly gigantic cathedral of a major homework (for example in a term paper project, allocate the days where you need to finish the certain parts of the whole term paper). Ideally, you can review this every Saturday to check if the tasks are still on track. Third is to develop a daily to-do-list. This is essential and I am personally a religious follower of this practice. From the medium sized tasks you plotted for the week, develop a detailed set of doable daily tasks. In this process you get to fully monitor your progress and bit by bit accomplish the important big things.

Now, there are a couple of things you need to put into mind in a daily basis that complements your to-do-list. These are. . . Learn to say No/Delegate; this is an art of human relation, set deadlines; helps you have a time frame, jot down notes; don’t depend on memory too much, it is advisable to have a separate notebook for this, take advantage of natural cycles; know your high energy points and low energy points in a day and accomplish difficult tasks in your high energy point, Reward yourself; always have a break to enjoy yourself. These are the things I put into mind to have a sense of control of time but at the end, time management is really a misnomer, it is actually life management in its essence. So try to review your habits and routines. Identify time wasters (too much facebook, surfing), procrastinating moments and unhealthy habits that steal your time. It is not too late to change them for you to become more effective and efficient. Remember, the very reason why we manage our time is because it can never be regained - so use it wisely.

Make or Break Generation

It does not take a genius to know that we are being bombarded daily by a multitude of pressures that strain us. I just came from a talk given to the SK chairpersons of the City about stress in the context of youth and I find it appropriate to share it with you in the most digestible manner. I started with the idea that our brain capacity and size are the same now than 50 years ago. But in this present time, our brains, our reality operates in a global environment where in there is exponential technological advancement and tremendous changes in lifestyle. The best example is the seemingly short popular life span of cell phone models, the 140 letters that “tweets” our existence, the instant coffee and food, the social sites and video blogs. Everything is fast and instant compared to the snail mail and ritualistic practices of before. Most are user generated and highly accessible. Now, we are managing too many information streams at the same time. What does that mean? Our generation can either break down ( e.g. stretched too thin, pressured to much that the human value of face-to face communication will degenerate) or can be more empowered because of these changes. I think the key to this is knowing the complex entities that apply pressure in our daily life and transforming it into productive means. It is knowing and transforming. Instantly I can identify the main pressure entities that may have existed a century ago but its intensity and impact is greater due to technology now. These are economic; the pressure to be ahead, peers; the pressure to fit in, family; the pressure to follow, studies; the pressure to succeed. All of these things bombard us every single minute of our lives but I don’t see it as any enemy to wage war with. It is reality that needs to be understood, embraced and managed. Now, let us look back in ourselves and see if we have become robotic slaves by these pressures and changes or have we gain that higher consciousness to be above and control these things and transform them into good fruits. This is OUR generation.

Go Go Facebook Power!

I’ve observed that every time I press internet explorer or Mozilla, the address my instinct dictates to my hand is http://www.facebook.com/. It is more than fitting to say that the relatively old concept of social network has evolved into a new integrated era virtue of the facebook phenomena. Gone was the age of Friendster in the Philippines, now facebook has come to town. A sleeker classy look with a multitude of applications, this social website has truly transformed how I see the internet. Imagine, in just one platform millions of people can poke and request stuff with each other and this is very powerful. The instant possible friend search and the status bar combine the power of twitter and evaporated the need to search and search old friends who might be in the same network. For example, I got connected to my nursery friends who are mostly in the US now. More than this, facebook has become a portal of revolutions and ideas. Just look at the causes and the fan pages, ideas and the public mood is being incubated. This socio-political dimension of facebook is another source of appeal. The instant communication of ideas, opinions and updates has generally transformed how I manage streams of relevant information about people and nations. I can share great news clippings in my status bar, I can share videos and personally paste them in my intended target via “tagging”, and I can request my friends to answer some questions such as one I posted a month ago about their average internet use time which generated more than 50 responses in a matter of minutes. In this simple instant way, I hope to continue and push a conversation on certain issues and concerns online making it a potent tool to sharpen awareness and critical thinking 24-7. I even heard some professors are holding facebook classes. What a feat!? So far from just as a simple social website, this has become a new form of internet within an internet, a world within a world and with this new frontier, I should bear in mind the responsibilities it carries with it.

Neda Agha Soltan Iranian girl shot dead on Tehran street

I am looking more closely at the election fall out in Iran not because it is politically interesting but because of what I’ve seen in YouTube of the last moments of Neda. For the information of those who don’t know, this video captures the last moment of a 26 year old Iranian woman who shot in the chest during a street fight and it has already reach global prominence . The crappy cell phone video captured her last moments before a stream of blood oozed out from her nose and mouth. Enough with the brutal image, the core of this event is it gave a face, a real human face to a complex political crisis far away from home. Even though I can say that fundamentally Iran and the Philippines are world apart in terms of culture and worldviews, but seeing the video of a horrific and tragic death of an innocent woman, that cultural hard line vanished and a common humanity surfaced. By just seeing the video, any person of reason can see that there are “fundamentally unjust” actions that are being perpetrated in Iran. And through the power of the global network, that abstract idea of “fundamentally unjust” actions is given clarity, intimacy, and a singular human story that makes it so raw and real. Another aspect of it is the tender age of Neda. She rose to prominence after her death because she clearly symbolizes the new generation that is asserting their say in the destiny of their nation but was cut short by violence.

So let this struggle abroad also translate into something in our context here. The National Election is fast approaching and it is that time where we can peacefully assert our say in the destiny of our nation without the bullet and the gun.

Justice for NEDA and may her soul rest in peace!

Happy 59th Charter Day Cagayan de Oro City!

This day, our humble city celebrates its 59th year as a Chartered City. In this light, I will share a bit about this place I call home – Cagayan de Oro City. For the record, I am somehow blessed at the same time cursed to live near the very heart of the city (Divisoria). I have lived in the Neri ancestral house since I was born and this gave me a unique view of the city in its finest and darkest moments. But in all of the sights and sounds and the soar and noise of my city, I can share 3 good things about my city!

This is city has a great balanced mix of urban and rural living. Cagayan de Oro boasts as one of the fastest growing cities in the country. The province it is in, Misamis Oriental also possesses a running economic dynamo – growing more than the national GNP in 2008. With this economic statistics comes rapid urban development centered in the city proper. I am now seeing hotels and commercial buildings sprouting around which is redefining the city skyline, particular in the Limketkai area where it is now becoming the high-end commercial hot bed of the city. Aside from the standing malls of blue and white, the city is also covered with lush green trees, hills, and mountain ranges which surround it. I can attest with our family’s farm just south of Camamanan. It offers the freshness of the mountain interior yet the city can be seen from afar. Even in the feeling in the air, I can still sense an intimate baryohanon spirit especially in the Divisoira park where young and old alike sit on the benches and talk about anything under the sun.

One of the things I noticed about CdeO is the small streets that we have. I guess this was born out from the Kalesa days. I believe that these small streets and small blocks attributed to an intimate sense of community among the people living in Publacion. This fact maybe one good reason why Kagayanons are said to be “friendly” people. We grew up literally close to each other.

Lastly, the river is one iconic symbol of my city. The river that comes from creeks, streams, small water ways up the mountains collide and collate into one growing flowing body of water. This I believe gave the city its life. (I can’t imagine CdeO not having the river. It could be a very dead place.) Just like the river, the city is a unique combination of north and south, east and west, rural and urban meeting in one point, withstanding the test of time and formed a community where I now call my home.

With this simple sharing, let us do our part in making Cagayan de Oro a shining city at the mouth of a might river ready to step forward and move towards its future.

Social Online Strategy Game

For the strategy minded enthusiasts around, there is a new social network strategy that is hitting the net. The concept is pretty much similar with “Mafia Wars” in facebook but in a grander, global scale. It combines the social networking concept with real time strategy where you start of as a simple citizen and work your way up the social ladder. You get to choose your virtual online country and start of as a simple resident. From a worker you could become business tycoons, war generals, politicians, media moguls and many more. Just have the right connections, focused dedication and long term thinking, you can climb your way to the top. This interesting website can really bolster your long term thinking skills and strategy skills. For the record, I find their political module really interesting. If you reach a certain level of “experience” which is quantified through points, you can join or create a political party and run for office. Once you are in office, you can propose vital legislation that affect the entire population of a virtual Philippines. The down side is it really requires time for one to progress, but I see this a great way to feel what real time progress is all about so our complacent instant gaming compulsion will be neutralized.

For those who are interested in such a game, register now for free. For a clearer picture about this, I quoted wikipedia’s own description of this cool social and strategy online game. eRepublik is a massively multiple player online, social networking and strategy web browser game developed by eRepublik Labs which launched on October 21, 2008 and is accessible via the Internet for free. The game is set in a mirror world (called the New World) where players, referred to as citizens, join in local and national politics, set economic policy, start businesses and wage wars with other countries.[1] It was developed by Alexis Bonte and George Lemnaru. There are currently 23 members of staff for the website besides the founders.

http://www.erepublik.com/

Ka Rene's message

During the night of our enneagram workshop on Independence Day, the senior KKP volunteers and I had the privilege to visit the wake of agrarian reform activist “Ka Rene” in the Immaculate Concepcion Chapel of Xavier University. Over a span of an hour, I listened to a series of speeches given by several people close to him. There was also a video tribute for him chronicling the highlights of his march and victory for the 144 hectares Sumilao lands. Aside from the feeling of dread and loss over this heroic man, the one thing I wish to share is the simplicity of leadership embodied in his story. He proves to me that great leadership is something polished not just from books, lectures, seminars, workshops, project management and the like. It is safe to assume that this man never attended an enneagram workshop, never got to know his number and appropriate it to himself, never got to know what examination of consciousness is, never got to know what the “theories of development” is. What he had is a vision, born out from his lifetime experience of tilling the land which he marched for more than a thousand kilometers just to own. And from this, it changed everything in his life. This is I believe, how leadership is formed. It is born out of vision from experience – skills and following will just naturally follow. His story validated my personal belief that leadership is trully a way of life. It is not just something for the educated and the people in position; it is a gift and a call for all.

Even though i never got to know him personally, the life he lived is enough for me to know who he trully is. His body may be gone, but as what the Sumilao farmers always cry, the spirit of the struggle for genuine land reform which he embodied will live on! Mabuhay ka “Ka Rene”!

Paghuna-huna bahin sa "Community Organizing"

The new frontier for me to discover is community organizing and will have more of this when we change politics movement. The most interesting part of this job for me is the challenge of convincing ordinary people to come together to work out a common vision. Organizing communities brings out a different sort of power. It is a power that is real and grounded, a power that insists that ordinary people can take charge of the direction of their reality. As what I heard before, ordinary people can create extra-ordinary things. Just give them the correct tools and the right reason to believe.

Rest in Peace Ka Rene

I saw this man on that momentous day when the victorious farmers marched towards their reclaimed land. He scooped down a handful of earth and raised it up chanting the seemingly timeless cry of the Sumilao farmers.

Profile of Renato “Ka Rene” Penas

We will always remember the Walk for Sumilao Land, Walk for Justice
Campaign where 55 farmers from Barangay San Vicente, Sumilao, Bukidnon
walked from Bukidnon to Manila for 2 months with a distance of 1700
kilometers. 10 years before this walk, the Sumilao Farmers likewise staged a
28-day hunger strike in front of DAR Central Office in Quezon City and Cagayan
de Oro City. Ka Rene Penas was one of those farmers who boldly registered
their disgust to the government for inefficient implementation of the
Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP).
The enactment of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law was thought to
benefit the small farmers as the law intends to respect their dignity. Though
sad to note, this law is sometimes used for the benefit of the few land owners
and to infringe the rights of the small farmers. Ka Rene Penas shares this
situation. He was, and still is, expose to various injustices happening to small
farmers. This is the very reason why Ka Rene never loses hope that someday
he will have his own farmland and personally till it, so that his family could
have a better life.
Ka Rene is a farmer since birth. As such, he is devoted to uplift the lives of his
fellows. He is known for his land reform advocacy not only in Sumilao,
Bukidnon but across the country. He has been an active member and a leader
to various farmers’ organizations and federations both in the local and national
level. At present, he is one of the Board Members of Mapadayunong
Panaghiusa sa mga Lumad Alang sa Damlag (MAPALAD), Chairperson of
Panaghiusa sa Lalawigang Mag-uuma sa Bukidnon (PALAMBU) and of
Pambansang Kilusan ng mga Magsasaka (PAKISAMA). Likewise, he is serving
for his 2nd term as Barangay Kagawad (Councilor) of Barangay San Vicente,
Sumilao, Bukidnon. He uses these venues and opportunities as a tool
advocating for the respect, protection and fulfillment of the rights of the small
farmers.
The farmers’ organizations and federations mentioned where Ka Rene is a
member, are pushing for the extension and reform of the Comprehensive
Agrarian Reform Program.

Ka Rene is married to Evangeline Penas and a father of 4 children.

Frequently Asked Questions about the Blue Movement

What is the Blue Movement?
It is a student community organizing effort in the block level guided by the following principles:

1. Civic engagement – organizes students around issues and causes through advocacy campaigns and elicits collective action.
2. Student Empowerment – provide tools and channel that enables active participation in student governance, educational quality check on the students’ perspective, and vigilance in the state of our community.
3. Atenean Values – provide materials and discussions that reinforce Atenean culture and values; create a culture of responsibility.

What is the purpose of the movement?

The purpose is to build and develop an informed and active Atenean constituency motivated to engage issues and concerns and intent in transforming the community.

What motivated the inception of the movement?

For so many years, the methods of governance in the student body have been conceived from the bottom down and no structured connection from the constituency. We believe that this resulted to the deepening of apathy, wide disconnect, and relative distrust to the governance system by the student community. The recent years, we have seen a growing gap between the leaders and student body fuelled by a seemingly deteriorating culture of engagement among the students where the passion for Atenean activism has slowly degenerated into a craving for raw entrainment. This is a response to start transforming that drift and organize the student body towards a direction of creative student centered -governance.

What does the movement do?

The movement provides education sessions, , student caucus on issues, leadership and organizing seminars, small campus projects, student mobilization on advocacy campaigns and relevant information.

How can I join?

Ever bona fide students of Xavier University – Ateneo de Cagayan are welcome to join. Just submit your application form through hand or email (thebluemovement@yahoo.com).

What are the members’ responsibilities?

Recruit other members

Participate in the activities and campaigns of the movement in varying degrees of commitment ,action, and capacities

What is the structure?

4 member students in one block can form a block chapter. Among themselves, they choose their block leader. 4 block leaders of the same year level can form the year level council. Among themselves, they choose their college representative. The college representative will represent the core group.

Minimum backbone number of members: 4 members x 4 blocks x 4 year levels x 7 colleges = 448 members

Change Politics Meeting

This is my first time to fly to Manila alone. I am here in CODE-NGO Headquarters in front of the Ateneo attending a meeting of the regional point-persons of the Change Politics Movement. I am the only one below 20 years old so at least I know how to situate myself. In this meeting, I reported what happened in Cagayan de Oro regarding the initial activities of the movement. Scanning the presence in the room, I saw the need to present a different perceptive from the usual sharing so I filled it in with my report on the youth’s perspective and actions in this part of Mindanao. I reported to them the use of social networking to boost up awareness among the youth in the area. Though not the ultimate organizing weapon, the internet can be used to boost up presence in this movement. Furthermore, I also created an image that we are treating the expansion and implementation of this movement as war; organizing ground troops, mapping out the fronts, scanning the airwaves, and setting up camps. These are all geared up to create a strong presence of the movement in Cagayan de Oro city especially in the youth sector. Now the battle has begun. Join the grand army for change! I will be going to ateneo after the meeting! Amdg!

A FACELESS ILL IN OUR GENERATION

A FACELESS ILL IN OUR GENERATION

We are deeply saddened by the recent suicides of two of our brothers. Though the reasons of the acts are isolated and respectfully confidential, these are signs of a growing faceless ill that is encroaching in the lives of our generation. Depressing and alarming as it is, our entire community should seriously pause in reflection on the trends, actions, and events that may have fuelled and triggered these unfortunate acts.

We call on our formators, counselors, and teachers to give greater emphasis on formation that teaches resiliency in the midst of personal challenges, foster a greater environment of trust and open communication and to be more vigilant in probing students with ill signs and act upon it with utmost personal care and professional guidance.

We call on our fellow students to be more sensitive and loving with one another, building real and rooted relationships that bring out the best in each and everyone. We also call on our fellow students to break the growing wall of isolation and build strong bridges of care and love to those who most need it.

We call on our parents to constantly and caringly communicate with their children and assist them in processing their life experiences.

These unfortunate events are a wake up call for all of us. It is very sad that this faceless ill has to take two young lives for us to realize the urgency of confronting and preventing it from striking again.

We should face this crucial chapter in our lives with deeply rooted faith, a resilient and caring spirit, and unyielding hope for the challenges to come.

We extend our deepest sympathy to the families and loved ones affected by this very unfortunate event.

Register to Vote

Amended Schedule of Satellite Registration in the Barangays of Cagayan de Oro City. This will be held in their Barangay Hall respectively.

Pagatpat April 27 – 28
Bayanga April 29-30
Tagpangi May 4-5
Mambuaya May 6-7
Dansolihon May 11-12
Tignapoloan May 13-14
Besigan May 20-21
Tuburan May 25-26
Pigsag-an May 27-28
Tumpagon June 1-2
Macasandig June 8 -10
Indahag June 15-16
Macabalan June 22-24
Puntod June 29 – July 1
Consolacion July 6-7
Barangay 1 -40July 8 – 11
Iponan July 12 – 15
Bulua July 27 – 29
Patag August 3 -5
Carmen August 10 -12
Balulang August 17 -19
Kauswagan August 24 -26
Bonbon August 31 – Sept 2
Bonbon Sept 1 – 2
Bayabas Sept 7 -8
Lumbia Sept 9 -10
Pagalungan Sept 14 – 15
Canitoan Sept 21 - 23

Campus Politics Memo Points

I’ve realized that the students actually have tremendous influence in the different school boards and committees. If we have just ordered our top agendas and consistently lobby it to the administrators with the right people and reason, certain policy dents may happen that improve students’ welfare in general. I was part of the Awards and Recognition Committee, and I saw how the chairperson really values students’ opinion. We will change the percentage sharing in the selection of the class valedictorian from 50-50 to 40-60 which gives heavier bearing on involvement. We also included an interview portion to verify the candidates’ depth of understanding of his/her Jesuit Education aside from the scripted and well prepared speech. Making significant influence is another story but the conducive atmosphere is present. One good result of this was the actual allocation of a Php 5,000 operational capital of all extra-curricular organization. This is a breakthrough and a product of cordial and well supported lobbying.

The idea of student oppression has been reduced as a political tool or a sort of leverage employed by far left groups to incite sympathy and animosity among some vulnerable sectors of the student body towards the administration thus gaining some “patriotic” or “maki-baka” votes. With my interactions with other student leaders, I have come to realize that we are by far the most liberal in terms of student government autonomy in the entire region. I guess responsibility is primarily the priority with this given freedom. Still, we need to be vigilant on certain actions taken by higher powers that may infringe our rights stipulated in the Magna Carta.

Tactful partnership with the Administration I believe is still the best policy in solving common challenges such as quality education and student services. If by consensus, the representatives of the student body deems that the administration is or has caused the problem, diplomatic bi-lateral talks supported by written facts testimonies, and alternatives is still the best and the most Atenean way of getting our point across.

Political Parties should be encouraged in the University so students can learn and appreciate the value of critical thinking, social analysis and political action.

I recommend that all of the new university clusters (eg Research and Outreach Cluster, Mission and Ministry Cluster) should include one student representative in their general board meetings. I believe this new line can open great opportunities of cooperation, collaboration and communication.

Students who observe inconsistencies or “injustices” by our hardworking security guards should report it directly to the security office so corrective action could be made. From there, certain procedures should be followed.

All who undergo the Freshmen Formation Program should touch and understand the topic on the Magna Carta of Students’ Rights and Responsibilities. It should be part of their formation curricula. [Which had been acted upon by the 15th Directorate]

With intelligent and reasonable analysis you deem your teacher inadequate or has grossly violated your rights, do not hesitate to talk to him/her first. Or go the other way of reporting it to the OSA if the gravity is deemed heavy or employ a student mediator from the Xavier Students’ Action Center to help you process the case. [Which had been acted upon by the 15th Directorate]

The College Councils in essence should be basically responsible for injecting the spunk based on their college culture in student life since they have the direct authority over the student base. The Central Student Government on the other hand is challenged to make “governance” a popular and cool practice. Use plurk.

Shift Gear out of USA

I believe the day of judgement has passed. And I am most likely will not be flying to the United States of America. The reason behind the results is not yet clear. I believe the Global Undergraduate Exchange Program trimmed downed the national grantees from 15 to 10 and they prioritized cultural minorities which is in essence the major core requirement of the program. Still, a glimmer of hope still exists because of the “unstable” nature of the final list. Some may back out or other slots of other countries are not filled.

Nevertheless this is once more a great opportunity to put character into test. Why so? Did you ever have that feeling of a sense of heaviness, a sense of sinking desperation, a sense of dread when something you highly hope for seems to fade away every tick of the clock? When I got word that one of my fellow nominees got their ultimate call around morning, I waited and waited for mine to ring as well. There is always that sense of great optimism that any second now my phone will ring. But when the clock seems to skid longer, it came into me that “hey, maybe it is not for you”. It is in that moment when a tug of war happened inside me. I was getting pulled by the impending reality of not getting it and the other force saying just wait and see. When I got word that only 4 made it in Mindanao and at that moment I knew 3 nominees were already contacted, the beating of my heart seemed to increase. And suddenly, an hour before lunch time, I got a text message saying that another nominee from Zamboanga got the call. It is final; we didn’t make it to the top 10 list. In an instant, a flashback occurred in my head. From the day of application, the day of interview, the toefl exam, the things I have to trade off, the fantasies and the plans when I return. It was quite similar to the mix of emotions during my course shift a semester ago. Absorbing this explosion of scenery in my head signalled me to move up to the next level of the interior processing which I have tired to master. A sense of indifference automatically overrode my system. I began to tame myself, my expectations and finally set my soul to a full year in Xavier University next school year. I will embrace again my mission at home. I believe it was not hard to shift gear because in the beginning of this potential journey, I already plan courses of action when it happens not as what I expect. I have an alternative plan if ever I will not get what I am hopeful about. I will be in full time service to the XU community and beyond.

In a way, I feel blessed to have gone through this feeling of great hope, deep desperation and then great freedom. I guess millions of other citizens of the world had gone through a disappointing stage in life and just rubbed it off but it is only these rare moments of dread that we can summon the values that have defined our character and prove it once more that one of the most enduring truths is that the problem in this world is not the problem itself, but how we as individuals and as humanity deals with it.

AMDG

SUMMER PROJECT

To transform the realization posted in “SIN OF A CITY BOY” into concrete action, I have come to the decision to apply for a summer job! Classic isn’t it?!

I will be working as assistant to the Coordinator for Student Activities and Leadership Development Office. This job was actually offered to me. This would be my first non-volunteer job. I hope to absorb the value of earning from your labour, self-discipline and submission to authority. So I’ll deal basically with strategic planning, program design and project evaluation of student activities and leadership programs. This also holds an assistantship in the transition project of the Central Student Government.

I will also volunteer for Kabataang Bayani, an electoral education initiative implemented through the Kristohanong Katilingban sa Pagpakabana – Social Involvement Office. This is a summer workshop series in different parishes for the youth. We hope to teach them the importance of voting as a sacred duty to ourselves and especially to our future.

I want share this because there is a tremendous amount of opportunity where we can share our effort and time for a greater project of building hope for a better day. Summer is supposedly a period of rest, but I feel I should not waste the opportunity this free period brings.

Little Things of Change

The Directorate is the highest policy making body of the Central Student Government. If you recall your Pol Sci class, it is the equivalent of Congress. This year marks the 15th year of the existence of the Directorate and this is the reason why it is called the 15th Directorate. It is an organic body composed of the elected Presidents of the council and 2 sectoral representatives. These are the Chairpersons of the Xavier University – United Religious Organizations and the Assembly of Extra-Curricular Organizations. Their major mandated task is to craft and pass legislation. For the past months in session, here are the key contributions of the 15th Directorate.

Setting the trend Opening of the 15th Directorate– this is the first time the Directorate officially opened witnessed by the Leadership Community and Administration during the summer. It is also where the triumvirate individually addressed the congregation of their vision and plans. We hope to start a tradition of this sort.

Creation of the Xavier Students’ Action Center - Still in its infancy, this center hopes to carry effectively the processing of students’ concerns and complaints.

The integration of the Magna Carta and Student Org Awareness into the new FFP Curriculum – this is a collaborative effort between the Directorate and the Freshmen Formation Program that aims to cultivate the sense of involvement for the freshmen. This is planned to be implemented in the next school year.

Formation of the XU Green Crusade (Legislation Package) – This is a series of enactments that aims to stir the consciousness of students and their council about the need to keep our surroundings clean. This includes the banning of Styr phones from the councils and the initial creation of an autonomous body charge of organizing and implemented environmental initiatives sponsored by the United Arts and Sciences Student Council and XU United Religious Organization through their Green Hour.

The enrolment assistance of our Muslim brothers and sisters – This enactment is applied every time the Holy month of Ramadan falls under enrolment or payment of fees. This hopes to aid our Muslim brothers and sisters in reducing any physical burden in time when they fast and contemplate deeply the presence Allah.

Extra-Curricular operational subsidy – in partnership with the Office of President of the CSG, finally the extra-curricular organizations are given operation capital of Php 5,000 every semester.

Creation of the Xavier University Student Leaders’ Code of Ethics – this is a code that hopes to guide student leaders to be examples of Atenean moral decency.

1st XU Forum – this a gathering of the student leadership community that aims to identify in consensus the major concerns present and future governments should prioritize. We aim that it will become an annual official gathering before the start of the academic year for better and consistent direction setting.

Inclusion of the KKP-Chairman as a member of the Directorate – this is an expansion of the Directorate that aims to gather multiple student orientation especially in the socio-political involvements of students

The Directorate Blog – for transparency, record keeping, and interaction, the Directorate published its first blog. The address is http://www.the15thdirectorate.wordpress.com/ where you can get all the resolutions, statements, enactments, and important documents of the Central Student Government.

Blog to Blog campaign - an experimental initiative, the Directorate tapped the power of the blog world by requesting XU Bloggers to copy and paste the "12 Little Things Every Atenean can do to Help our XU Community" in their own blog sites.This initiative hopes to spur a little sense of responsibility in part of each individual and a ignite a sense of duty to the community. This was also circulated through a Directorate memo around campus. We hope that this little reminder would spur a change in our consciousness.

These are the humble contribution of the Directorate, as a deliberative body to the community. As you can see, these dwell more on the institutional and process development of the government for the student body in our hopes to set our reforms in the long-term. We hope that what we have nurtured would continue to bear good fruits for future generations to come. More has yet to be done.

HOT POLITICS THAT WAS

On March 31 - noon time, my position as Vice-President officially expired. The end of a roller coaster journey finally is at hand and this deserves some points to reflect and share. First, I want to share that the office of the Vice-President sounds to be the most useless job in a government. As if I am waiting for the President to die or to flunk and take office. But thanks to the framers of the CSG constitution, I was also mandated to be the convener of the 15th Directorate – the sort of congress composed of the presidents of the 7 college councils. Now, it is in this setup where my problem began. As any man sees it, I am serving two masters at one time - the executive and the convener of the legislative branch. In its legal wisdom, this is an ideal set up where the powers can harmoniously link from branch to branch but this is far from reality in my situation. To put it plainly, a noticeable rift began to happen between the councils and the executive body after the General Assembly [due to some parochial reactions to a fusty blog post]. So I have to shift my gear so I acted as the immediate mediator of the sides that solidified even my heart demanded justice for the importance of the councils in the CSG framework. This is where the fun started.

I seem to ping pong from side to side, always compromising and mediating. I began to be passive and employed a policy in which I called “appeasement” [not firing the shots] which was tested during the surfacing of an impeachment initiative against the president. The impeachment during the first semester was never filed due to this and I considered it a victory since we preserved the stability of the government. In this time frame, there were also some circulating rumours that the Commissions were the actual culprits behind a coup de tat plot. This was demystified during the mid year retreat in Opol when they were called for and admitted that they themselves disfavour this “non-substantive” impeachment complaint. So in this present predicament, I felt like in the hot seat because I pretty much influence the very soul of the democratic institution of the student government – the Directorate/ the Congress. Fast forward; this seat was finally put in the test when the call for impeachment grew with substantive claims and data. The rift eventually erupted into a massive fault line fuelled by the seemingly intentional by pass of the Directorate’s authority, some mishaps in the campaign period, personal slurs and political alliances. This eventually resulted to the suspension of the president for the rest of his term by a higher power.

One thing that taught me during this period is the not so pleasant reality when politics is occupying too much space in the head especially in people you look up to. It can cause us to be calculative and manipulative, horrific attributes for young leaders who are supposedly the future leaders of this nation. It taught me how to sharpen independent judgement and the anguish of blind loyalty. When I know something is wrong, I should assert the right which I believe is something that I lacked because I am either too forgiving or too afraid to stand against the many. We should never compromise respect for the sake of expediency. I also learned the necessity of disagreement. We all disagree but we should not go personal about it. I also felt sick and tired about being left out by important matters of government which eventually opened my heart to one side of the rift. I also understood that the most disabling feeling of any student leader is that feeling of being held hostage by one’s own expectations and also by the unaccounted expectations of others. The best way to combat this is to have a clear plan you are confident about which comes from the sound opinion from the students. I am not bitter at all; I embrace all of these as great experiences fertile for growth and maturity. I treat myself very blessed for having experienced the roller coaster life of governance and politics. I am happy that even though a cloud of animosity hovers over us, we still share the solidarity we shaped as a group of students who sacrificed to serve others. This is the common purpose that binds us above personal and ideological differences.

This is my note to future leaders. Always invest in relationships. And measure your success on quantifiable indicators, not on gut feeling and emotions. Govern with greater responsibility and common sense.

Being NSTP Class Facilitator

My stint as the class facilitator of the CWTS L class known as “The Leadership Formation Class” together with Crystal (BSAC II) had a tremendous force of impact that has somehow reshaped how I see people and authority. I guess this has something to do with having the responsibility to live out what you teach in the NSTP class, having the responsibility to shepherd people, and having that unique opportunity to form others. I believe this three best capture the thoughts that stirred me during the duration of my facilitation. I hope to give out a message to those who are interested in being a KKP volunteer and specifically a NSTP Class facilitator. This is not an easy task because it entails tremendous amounts of patience, large amounts of energy to wake up before 7:00 am, and a sort of “pleasing personality” which I guess could be learned. Equally important are skills such as communicating, organizing, and synthesizing. But the whole beauty of the experience is that you can learn all of these things one moment at a time. Sort of a on the job training but don’t worry, KKP provides skills development workshop before the start of the year. Anyhow, back to the meat. The experience taught me about credibility. The idea that you do what you speak. This is a great challenge for me because I often times forget what I say and do things contrary to what I say. One good example is being generous and sensitive. I feel ashamed knowing I haven’t done much to those beggars who come begging me for money or food, or to the lines of under aged prostitutes lining across the street from my house. And this really led me to question my own sincerity up to this point. I am just being frank and honest. As fallible as I am, I am challenged to continuously recheck my values and to continuously explore ways where I could do something starting in my own home. Second is the chance to shepherd and form people. To me, this is the most rewarding experience. I was given the right environment to diffuse my insights and by sheer osmosis, I hope to contaminate them with that itch to get involved. And this also bears a great amount of responsibility and of course, credibility. It is all connected. In sum, beyond the satisfying feeling of control and influence, the best part of being an NSTP facilitator regardless of what kind of class it is, is to see your students unfold before you, to see your students realize that they themselves have the power to change things. Just give them the right tools and the correct reason to believe.