On the UPPhA Election (Part 2)

First of all, I’m supposedly studying for my 2 exams tomorrow. But as always, there is an inner calling to write my feelings… to respond to things… and this is a natural reflex for me.

Anyway, after reading Chai’s post regarding the election tears suddenly flowed from my eyes. I cried because I am touched… what she wrote was the plain truth. During the whole nomination, filing for candidacy, campaign, and election, I did not shed a single tear. A leader is strong. A leader should not show wkeaness in front of her constituents. A leader will and should always be the standard-bearer.

It was only after the results were released that I started to cry. Mainly because of disappointment. I really wanted to win because I believe that I could do something for the College of Pharmacy and the students as well. I know that with the issues that we are facing right now, I can do something about it through collective action. The issues such as the Return Service Obligation and tuition increase could greatly affect our future… especially the incoming and aspiring Pharmacy students.

“Panghuli, si Moe na pumayag maging tanglaw at ulo ng CHANGE sa pagkakataong ito ay napakalaki sana ng maihahandog para sa kolehiyo.” I remember last year before the Christmas break when someone told me that she will be nominating me for President of UPPhA. I said, “I will think about it.” The thing is, I do not want to leave The Manila Collegian. If I will run as President (or whatever position), I have to leave Kule. To my close friends, they know how dedicated I am to Kule. It is my life… my second home. I told my parents that I might run for the council. They said that they will support me no matter what. They didn’t know the consequences. My father asked me if I could handle Kule and the council at the same time, I didn’t say anything then. I was still not decided. Come January, I told Eiz my hesitations. At that time, the last thing I wanted to do was to leave Kule.

During the nominations, I was the only one nominated for the position of the President. I just didn’t say anything. I’m still thinking about the consequences. It was only February 6 when I told our EIC that I will be running for the local council… and that I will be taking a leave of absence all throughout the campaign period. Currently, I am the Acting-Managing Editor and the News Editor. It was a really hard decision… but when Cat, our EIC, allowed me to take the leave, I was relieved. And then I told PROPharm that I am accepting the invitation. And that was the start. 🙂 I started looking more deeply at the current situation of the College of Pharmacy… and started to think about the changes that I envision not only for the council but also for the students and the whole college. Being the leader of the party, I started thinking about our General Plan of Action, which PROPharm fully supported later on. I know that as a whole, C.H.A.N.G.E. can offer a lot for the college. Some people thought that we are too ideal. Our projects are very much feasible, having undergone feasibility studies prior to proposal. Our projects are SMART – specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time-bound. People might have thought that we are too ideal because most of our projects are new… and some are variations of previous proposal. But this time, we assured the students that we can do these things. Because we will be working collectively and we all know that there is power in collective action. Not only that, we can do all these things because we have gained the support of the administration, the faculty, and the students. And… we are confident in our capabilities… that we can carry out these tasks in a span of 1 year.

“Napakarami niyang plano, at mula sa objektibong mata ng isang manunulat tulad niya, nakikita niya ang tunay na sitwasyong kinakaharap ng kolehiyo.” Indeed, I, together with the whole C.H.A.N.G.E. have so many plans for the college. We thought about these for a long time and with democratic consultation with all the slate members. Being part of The Manila Collegian for 4 years exposed me to several and different college councils and university student councils. I know what kind of C.H.A.N.G.E. we need. I know that most councils do not execute all their GPoAs during their campaign. And I thought that this time, we should start proposing more feasible projects centering on the needs of the students. We should always have a stand on issues. How will we able to lead if the leader does not have a stand on certain issues? Paano malalaman ng studyante kung saan sila dapat papanig? The council should be the voice of the students to the administration, local or national. The council should always stand for the students. The council should always serve and protect the best interests of the students.

“Nais niyang ibaba ang kaniyang panulat at tumayo sa kaniyang mga paa upang kumilos para sa kolehiyo natin.” Because I believe that I could do more. This is the time for me to go out of my comfort zone and do something different because I know that I could do a lot of things for the college.

“Mahirap ang naging laban ni At Moe kahit buo ang kaniyang loob sa kaniyang gagawin.” It is hard. Ang kalaban ko ay incumbent Vice-President. Mas kilala sya ng mga tao. Pero buo ang aking loob. Alam ko na nung umpisa pa lang na magiging mahirap ito… but I still tried. And I ran for the position of the President. Because C.H.A.N.G.E. believes that capacity to serve is not measured by age and experience. What is more important is the willingness to serve.

“Maraming bagay siyang sinakripisyo.” I sacrificed a lot… And I do not regret sacrificing so many things. Because only then can I realize the importance of things. I set aside my personal priorities to take on the responsibility and possibility of being the next UPPhA President. My sacrifices were for the greater good. 🙂

“Hinarap niya ang mga kritisismo.” Maraming nagtaka kung bakit ako tumakbo. Kung kaya ko ba. Mas kampante kasi sila sa kung anong meron na sa kolehiyo. Sa tingin ko, takot lang ang karamihan sa pagbabago. Let us admit that we are not all very adventurous. Karamihan ay hindi risk-takers. They are afraid because they are so comfortable with the status quo. Mas okay na na walang pakialam sa mga bagay-bagay kasi mas importante daw ang studies. Mas importante ang maging GC kesa makipaglaban sa karapatan ng mga studyante. Masyado kasi tayong self-centered sa kolehiyo. Mas importante ang sariling kapakanan. Natatakot sila sa mga taong selfless… na ang mas iniisip ay ang kapakanan ng iba. Pero pano na ang pagbabago? Kung hindi ako, sino ang magsisimula? Kung hindi ngayon, kailan? Kaya ngay
on, kahit na wala sa konseho, I will still continue to serve the people. 🙂

“Pero nakita ko na siya bilang isang taong malakas at hindi basta bumibigay sa mga pagsubok at paghihirap.” True. Maraming tao ang nakakaalam na isa akong strong na tao. Hindi ako basta-basta sumusuko. At hindi rin ako nagpapaapekto sa pagkatalo… I am very resilient. And I think that this value should be embodied in each and every one of us. Failure should not stop us from achieving our goals. Instead, it should help us think about the changes we could do to eventually succeed.

“Matibay ang kaniyang paninindigan, may sariling opinyon at bukas ang mata at isip sa lahat ng nangyayari sa paligid niya at ‘yon sana ang pagbabagong gusto niyang gawin sa mga mag-aaral ng Pharm: ang lumabas sa kani-kaniyang comfort zones at isipin na ang buhay ay hindi lang isang desperasyon na magtapos at huwag bumagsak sa mga subject.”

Sabi ko nga, we should always be open to changes. We should go out of our comfort zones. Kailangan may sariling opinyon at hindi dapat nagpapadala basta-basta sa mga kung anu-anong sinasabi ng iba. Dapat ay sinusuring mabuti ang mga impormasyon… Dapat din ay ipinapahayag ang mga saloobin. Dahil para saan pa ang impormasyong ito kung hindi mo rin ipamamahagi sa iba? Para saan pa ang impormasyon if it will only be for the benefit of those in power?

Kaya eto ang challenge sa susunod na council… the students have entrusted you with their future. Wag sirain ang tiwalang ibinigay sa inyo. Learn to stand up for the students. Learn to lobby for the rights of the students. Dahil kung wala ang mga estudyante, wala rin kayong mandate.

For the whole college, let us not be complacent with what is presently happening. There are so many things that could be changed. But these changes should always be for the better.

Sabi nga ni Chai, wag tayong makuntento sa “wala silang ginagawang masama”, bagkus humanap tayo ng “ginagawa nilang mabuti”.

We should always continue to strive for excellence. Thank you. 🙂

And again, congratulations to the future UPPhA. Wag matakot manindigan.