(UPDATED) For the first time in the recent history of the University of Santo Tomas (UST), students chose to abstain in four out of six positions, including president and vice-president, in the Central Student Council (CSC) elections.

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“It is common for the abstain vote to win in local student council elections but in my 5 years in UST, I have never encountered or heard of stories from higher batches of abstain vote winning in CSC,” Shash Bernardez, UST Central Comelec Deputy Commissioner, said in an interview with members of the Inquirer Volunteer Corps.

Students pointed to the lack of substance of the candidates and their failure to win the trust of students as reason for the majority abstain votes.

Ann Labog, a senior high school student who experienced her first university elections, described the campaign tactics of the candidates as ‘repetitive’.

“Sinasabi lang nila yung tagline nila pero wala talaga yung substance ng gusto nilang mangyari na project,” she said in an interview.

[“They were just saying their tagline but there was no substance when it came to the projects they want to accomplish.”]

A total of 13 candidates ran for the school’s highest governing student body of which only one candidate ran for president. Two independent candidates out of thirteen managed to snag the positions of secretary and public relations officer.

Pharmacy students Stef Iglesias and Erin De Lara, who both abstained during the elections, said that they were dissatisfied with this year’s candidates.

Iglesias thinks that the students chose abstain because they did not see anybody competent for the job. De Lara felt that the candidates’ stand on several national and university-based issues did not agree with the sentiments of the Thomasian community.

Edward Mendoza, from the College of Tourism and Hospitality Management, feels that the candidates failed to win the trust of students.

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Angelo Factora, a student from Institute of Physical Education and Athletics, feels that abstain won majority of the votes because of the ‘ineffectiveness’ of the student council in the past year.

Civil Law student Kaira Marie Carlos, in her five-year stay at UST, said she saw how Thomasians became more critical thinkers in choosing their leaders.

Journalism student Mauro Mendoza acknowledged that as a consequence of voting abstain, the local student councils would be affected.

“They [voted] abstain because they know they deserve better” he said.

He also hoped that the university’s political parties would “improve so that they can give UST better student council leaders.”

Triumph of Abstain

With four posts remaining vacant in the CSC, outgoing and incoming members of the Central Board (CB) sees the triumph of abstain as a manifestation that student are becoming more critical. The CB is composed of presidents from local student councils as well as the president of the CSC.

“People nowadays are more knowledgable of how politics goes inside the university, and it’s not anymore a battle of personalities, it’s a battle of platforms and intellect of every candidate,” Ysa Marasigan, outgoing student council president of Faculty of Arts and Letters said in an interview.

Marasigan added that perhaps the reason students opted for abstain is because they were not satisfied with the performance of the candidates during the campaign period, but not because of student apathy.

With the absence of the highest position in the CSC, Faculty of Arts and Letters Student Council President-elect, Reymark Simbulan admits that it would be difficult for the CB to connect with the CSC executive board.

“Sa CB naman ngayon, isang member na wala, which is the president ng CSC… Pero still it feels like an arm is lacking. Yung arm na magcoconnect sa amin sa executive board ng CSC.” Simbulan said.

[“There’s only one member lacking for the CB, that is the president of CSC, however it still feels like an arm is lacking. An arm that will connect us to the executive board of CSC.”]

Jose Antonio de Guzman, College of Science Student Council President-elect, addressed that the situation is ‘alarming’ since it would affect the preparation for the incoming academic year.

According to the CSC Constitution, in case abstain won in several positions, a call for special elections will take place two months after. The incoming members of the CB will nominate and appoint from the CB.

“Ang next step na lang is to finalize kung ano talaga yung mangyayari doon sa mga nanalo, and how to fill up the vacant positions. Fina-finalize na lang namin with the Office of Student Affairs with the CSC para malaman natin kung ano ba talaga yung dapat gawin na next step,” UST Comelec Chairman Arvin Carlo Bersonda said.

[“The next step is to finalize what will happen to the elected officers, and how to fill up the vacant positions. We’re finalizing it with the Office of Student Affairs with the Central Student Council in order to know what needs to be done next.”]

‘Independent’ trend

The obvious trend among the results of the recent elections is that the two victorious winners of CSC positions were independent candidates.

Kirby Salonga, from the Faculty of Engineering, feels that the independent candidates were more appealing for voters because the were seen as brave to campaign without a political party to help them.

“Hindi na dapat nadadaan sa mga casual speeches yung camapaign. Dapat talaga kung ano yung tatatak sa isip at tsaka kung ano yung hinahanap talaga ng students ang dapat ibigay ng mga candidates sa mga susunod man na taon” he said.

[“The campaign should no longer be done through casual speeches. Candidates should provide what the students are looking for in the coming years.”]

Wanted: Worthy Student Leader

With numerous seats still vacant, the Thomasian community is still searcing for worthy student leaders.

Salonga feels that dedication is vital in a student leader. “Kahit tanggalin mo na yung credentials at platforms nya, basta gusto nya yung ginagawa nya at alam mong mahal nya yung ginagawa nya” he said. But he stressed that dedication should be backed by wholehearted actions.

Journalism student Wifredo Reyes is looking for a leader who is not afraid of change. “Hindi takot ilabas ang salobin ng mga estudyante at hindi takot manindigan” he said.

Louise Padiernos, a Tourism student, is on the lookout for a student leader who is courageous. “Yung kaya pong harapin lahat ng issues and kaya pong panindigan yung mga pinangako nya” she said.

Padiernos said that she was not able to find this quality among the candidates.

According to the results of the UST Central Commission on Elections (UST Comelec)’s official proclamation last April 22, Thomasians opted to abstain from the positions of president, vice president, treasurer, and auditor.

“Mahirap. Totoo namang mahirap,” secretary-elect Therese Gorospe admits. “Kakayanin namin ni Kiko kasi nagtiwala yung stduents na kaya namin.”

[“It will be difficult,” secretary-elect Therese Gorospe admits. “But Kiko and I will be able to do it because the students believe in us.”]

Gorospe and Santos are both hoping that the whole Thomasian community will help them along the way.

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