My COMELEC Experience Secui Unus

Of all the extracurricular activities I had during my stay in DLSU, I’d have to admit hands down that my experience with COMELEC was the best I’ve had.

During my freshman year, I joined (or tried to join) a total of three organizations within DLSU, plus two external affiliations. I tried to join the DLSU Pops Orchestra as a pianist, but since I’m not classically trained, I didn’t make the cut. I was initially planning to join The LaSallian as both a news writer and photojournalist, but decided to apply for the photo section only, and my stint lasted until the third term. I also joined the Physics Society, but wasn’t really active in it since I was just a freshman. The two external affiliations were the LaSallian Youth Commission, where I helped in the marketing committee for the Summer Youth Caravan (which was later cancelled), and my APLYC 7 delegation, where I was to head in organizing a National LaSallian Youth Congress (which never pushed through because of the lack of interest among my compeers – how can a leader act when he has no followers?).

As a freshman, with all these organizations, I was trying to put my feet on a place where I can stand and fight with the best of my capabilities. I’d have to say, joining The LaSallian was a real challenge and I’ll never forget my experiences there. But I didn’t really connect with the people I worked with, and I kept on avoiding residency coz all that I would do in the office was to sing to myself or draw/write a poem in the logbook. Other ventures were too shallow or there was just so little opportunity to grow or tap into my potential.

So then in the third term, one of my block mates came along and asked me if I wanted to join DLSU’s Commission on Elections (COMELEC). Being the naïve little freshman that I was, I said “Sure, why not?” and that would be the start of a long story.

I didn’t really have any idea what I was diving into, but I guess I like to see and explore something out before saying I don’t like it. So I was scheduled an appointment with the Legislative Assembly (L.A.). and I wooed them with my words. It was pretty easy for me to become a commissioner. One of the requirements was to have no record of membership with a political party. I never joined either Tapat or Santugon since I thought these orgs were for fairies (don’t blame me – the people recruiting for these parties in their room-to-room campaigns were fairies and borderline transvestites). Moreover, I had no plans to join politics, so I didn’t join them because I didn’t plan to run anyway.

So I became a COMELEC Commissioner for the College of Science, and volunteered to become the assistant secretary, and later was promoted to executive secretary. It was a new experience for me to be working hand in hand with 11 other commissioners. What was special about COMELEC was the bond that we had with each other, which was probably cultivated by our evening meetings which would start at 6pm. It was different from the other orgs I joined. Somehow, COMELEC was able to break my shell and I easily became friends with the other commissioners.

During my first term of office I wasn’t so passionate and was probably low-key. At the very least I did the job that was assigned to me. After I finished my work, I would ask to go home first. What was important to me was that I would be there during the meetings (even though I had an exam the next day), and to do the task that was delegated to me. As the secretary it was my job to do the minutes, which I did every meeting, and to compile the documents.

But my work in COMELEC and my assignments in TLS were often in conflict, and it came to a point that being in TLS was becoming more of a burden than something that I enjoy doing. It ultimately came down to quitting TLS. From then on I’ve been practicing photography as an amateur (I didn’t have any lessons or seminars when I was in TLS anyway), with nature as my most common subject (see my deviantArt gallery, where I post my photography portfolio: http://young-invincible.deviantart.com).

What was fun about my first term as COMELEC Commish was being with the other commissioners. They were really good company, and having them as co-workers provided the motivation to attend meetings and everything. Neps, Trixie, Mags, Meg, Nico, Marianne, Cindy, Blesee, Norms and Shyn were really good people to work with.

What I really liked was the hearings. It was hard to decide and sanction parties and/or candidates, with the consistency and the reputation of COMELEC at stake (as our chair Meg would always remind us before making a final decision), but it was nice to experience a hearing firsthand. My dad’s a lawyer, so I guess he has imbued within me both the skill and passion to debate and question logically.

As our terms of office were nearing its end, we were talking about who would be our next set of officers. There were five of us who expressed interest in becoming commish again – me, Nico, Cindy, Neps and Marianne. We were all teasing Nico to be the next chair, because he always had the best thing to say during the hearings. I was eyeing the position of vice-chair, which had no real function when the chair is around (which is almost always), except to set-up the perimeter for the polling areas. But things didn't turn out as I expected...

Secui Duos will be coming soon...

Assimilating The Future

This is my final integration paper for my religious studies 4 subject, which I took last term. It talks about my plans for the future in terms of my participation in society and what advocacy i will undertake.

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In the Beginning of RELSFOR, the class was introduced to the Four Big Decisions in Life:
1. Who or what shall I serve?
2. What shall I do with my life?
3. With whom, if anyone, shall I share my life with?
4. How can I help make sure that I’ll have a future at all?

I plan to answer these questions with what I know at present with this final integration paper.

Most of my friends would agree that I am an idealist, and I guess I want to expect that from myself, and also from those in my generation, the youth at present. This is because I believe that the youth will always topple over the traditions of the older generations in order to create a society that is close to ideal, according to the standards of the youth. To be referred to as an idealist by my peers must mean that I have bigger dreams for myself and for this world than most of them.

However, I myself would admit that my dreams are pretty complicated, and I still don’t have a solid grasp of what I want to pursue in this world, but definitely most of my dreams would lead me to advocate the need to build a society that is closest to the ideal.

The RELSFOR classroom discussions have been pretty reiterative, because I have learned of the conflict, oppression, and inhumanity that strive in our society. I myself have experienced some discrimination, some alienation, and some prejudice even if I have lived only less than a quarter of my expected lifespan on this earth. With such experiences, I have come to the resolution that I will always denounce discrimination in any form – whether it is racism, sexism, homophobia or what not. Mostly, I have been influenced by artists who also denounce discrimination. I idolize Kurt Cobain partly because of his advocacy against discrimination. He doesn’t like racists, sexists and homophobes in his audience.

Moreover, Kurt Cobain, along with other influential artists, has taught me individualism, which is something that I can use against discrimination and against inequality. Individualism values the contributions, talents, skills, personality and characteristics of each human being, no matter how benign or significant. Kurt Cobain himself was a high school dropout, but some people, his avid fans, would consider him as a genius equal in greatness to Einstein.

But being knowledgeable about discrimination and all these conflicts and struggles is only the start of the process, and the tip of the iceberg. Actually doing something about it is another longer story. But before I could do anything, it is my practice to completely discern what it is that I will and can be doing and with what rationale.

This leads me to the first question – “Who or what shall I serve?” Having mentioned discrimination, my primary benefactors would be those who are discriminated and those who have an unequal disadvantage. But there are too many of them, and I would want to specify which among the discriminated should I serve more than others. This leads me to recapitulate on my personal experiences, and also from what I’ve learned from advocates and artists. Since I am a Lasallian, one of my primary concerns would be the youth. Since I am Asian and Filipino, I shall fight for equality to be given to those in my race. Since I value nature, I shall fight for the environment. Since I am in the medical profession, I shall fight for those with disease and those who have a lack of access to medical facilities. Since I am a student, I shall fight for students’ rights in the university and also in public. There are definitely many causes to fight for, but how should I fight for them?

This leads me to answer the second question – “What shall I do with my life?” For the moment you could say that I am dormant in relation to my service to the society at large, but mostly I would consider myself as someone who has not fully tapped into his own potential, and this is mostly because I am still learning the ways of the society. My foremost involvement is still within the bounds of school, and since I have not yet fully grasped the essence of what it is to be an independent individual with his own income, I do not yet understand the many qualms that problem our society.

But it is also possible for me to join organizations and help in whatever way I can. I have had such an experience with my RELSFOR community service program with ARCSEA, but have learned from that experience that I want something that brings out more of my potential, something that taps more into my talents, abilities and intelligence. I guess I’m looking for something that matches my abilities.

In the next ten or so years, I will still be spending a lot of my time learning and studying, but I might be able to join organizations and do the background work or research, and also promote advocacy through writing and through the use of social media. If need be, I would take a political stance if I believe that this would be an effective way to take action.

But with whom shall I share these goals? Definitely, it will be with the people who have their hearts aligned with mine. But if the third question refers to a spouse or lifelong partner, then I am dumbfounded. I still do not see myself marrying anyone or having anyone as a lifelong partner.

I guess it’s pretty much implied from what I’ve written here that education is my primary insurance of having a stable and secure future. I’ve already taken the first few stepping stones in the M.D. career path, but who knows what opportunity waits for me in the future? Moreover, who knows what waits for me in the future at all?

It’s always easy to think about the future, and it’s always comforting to dream. But I guess I’ll rid myself of too much optimism and take just one day at a time, and make do with what I already have in order to make at least those under my sphere of influence have better welfare.

My Perfect Major

I scored 100% in Engineering (which should be Physics!), Biology and Philosophy! Woohoo! hahahaha You scored as Engineering. You should be an Engineering major! Engineering 100% Biology 100% Philosophy 100% Mathematics 92% Anthropology 92% Psychology 92% Chemistry 83% Journalism 83% Sociology 75% Theater 75% Linguistics 75% Dance 67% English 67% Art 33% What is your Perfect Major? (PLEASE RATE ME!!<3) created with QuizFarm.com