Miting de Avance
Enderun politics was at its height last Friday night during the Miting de Avance, which was held at the cafeteria. This event was said to be a “Consensus with Justice”, wherein candidates running for office were given the opportunity to say their piece, and leave it to the rest of the student body to decide come election day. It was also an opportunity for candidates to present their platforms. There were two main political parties; namely, Voice, and Pillars. Only one candidate, Sofia Arifin, chose to run independently as senior batch representative.
Sheila Garces, the host of the night, started off the Miting by handing over the microphone to Nitesh Dolwani. As outgoing president of the Student Government, it was but proper for him to give a little piece of advice to the candidates before anything else. This bit of advice was to simply have fun and to do their best during the entirety of the event.
The Government party, Voice, was the first to present their plans to the audience, and the panel was comprised Enderun’s “bigwigs”: Mr. Jack Tuason, Mr. Javie Infante, Dr. Angel Espiritu, Atty. Raymund Martelino, Ms. Ruth Hung, and Dr. Sta. Maria. Nitesh Dolwani, Student Government President and Rey Moraga, Student Government External Vice President were two of the students that were part of the panel as well. Voice’s candidates are namely, Sang Hyun Lee as president, Piero Rodriguez as Internal Vice President, Patch Bautista as External Vice President, Aric Lim as Secretary, Jodee Verdejo as Treasurer, Abby Gonzales as Senior Batch Representative, Monica Yang as Junior Batch Representative, and the following students were running for the position of Sophomore Batch Representatives: Natasha Cabarrus, Ezra Sumbillo, and Geremy Kho.
The Pillars was the opposing party and its members were comprised of: Ron Hortaleza as President, Erin Lane as Internal Vice President, Alexis Lustre as External Vice President, Gianne Dilay as Secretary, Luigi Santos as Treasurer, and Rico Alday as Junior Batch Representative. The following students belonging to this political party ran for Sophomore Batch Representatives: Peter Francisco, CJ Bautista, and Mark Limon.
All candidates were given a specific time frame of two minutes and thirty seconds to deliver their platforms. This was followed by a question and answer portion by the panel, as well as an “open mic” set-up that allowed people from the audience to question their credibility and sincerity in running for office. Lastly, there was a debate between both parties. All, if not most, of the people within the room felt an air of suspense and excitement as both parties battled it out during the debate. “How would you define an Enderun man, woman, and gay?” is just one sample of the many mind-boggling questions that the candidates had to answer on the spot. This was undoubtedly the event of the week, which showcased a glimpse of the kind of school spirit that Enderun’s students ought to have.
The bottom line of it all is not about voting another pretty face, but choosing those people who actually deserve a position in the Student Government. Being a leader is about being committed to the entire student body, reaching out to them and addressing their concerns. Ultimately, it will be the students who will have the final say. What will it be, Enderun? Will you stand with the Pillars, speak with one Voice? Or Side with Sofia?
