FIVE YEARS after student political parties were last accredited at UST, the Central Commission on Elections (Comelec) is working on reintroducing them to the student body while lobbying for fewer restrictions.
Central Comelec Chairman Franz Soriano told the Varsitarian that the commission has been coordinating with the Office for Student Affairs (OSA) to relax some of the University’s restrictions on political party accreditation.
“We have constantly been in communication with the [OSA] because we are lobbying for a more relaxed stance or application of some of the Univesity’s rules and regulations so we can encourage students to understand what a political party is,” he said in a mix of English and FIlipino.
“For our part, we have tasked units to collect cases or reports regarding political parties so we can gauge the status of the political parties within the University,” he added.
According to the UST Student Election Code, political parties are groups of students who share the same ideology, political ideas, or platforms of governance. For University-wide parties, a minimum of 50 members must be met, with at least two representatives from 15 academic units.
During CSC elections, political parties typically scout for potential candidates who represent their advocacies and values and provide them with training in preparation for their Executive Board candidacies.
Political parties also support the campaigns of their CSC candidates.
The last CSC elections with accredited political parties were held in 2019, when Lakas ng Diwang Tomasino and Lakas Tomasino Coalition fielded candidates. Since 2020, the Central Comelec has not accredited any political party, forcing all candidates to run as independents.
Pandemic-hit
Soriano attributed the absence of political parties to the Covid-19 pandemic, which not only disrupted in-person elections but also affected leadership transitions within these political groups.
“Before the pandemic, the political parties were already dwindling. This may be attributed to what students believe is student oppression. They say that our administrators were too strict,” he said.
“When the pandemic came, they (political parties) were hit harder because they lost connection, they were unable to meet onsite, and their members weren’t able to interact physically,” he added.
While Soriano acknowledged the struggle of political parties, he said the Central Comelec could only play a limited role in their revival. Its mandate is to accredit parties, not form them, he stressed.
For now, the Central Comelec aims to educate Thomasians on how political parties operate and why they are important.
“[We want] to ensure that by the end of the year, even though there may be no political party that will register, at least the student body is more aware of the purpose and the mechanisms of political parties,” Soriano said.
Underground operations
The five-year gap in accreditation did not mean that political parties had stopped operating behind the scenes.
Soriano said it was an “open secret” that political parties continued to mobilize candidates without formal accreditation.
However, the chairman clarified that the Central Comelec was not inclined to launch motu proprio investigations into these parties, even though it has the authority to do so.
“The motu proprio action is risky because we can do that to any candidate—we can suspect them (of being part of a political party) and issue show-cause orders even without a reason,” he said. “That’s why we limit the use of that action.”
“There have been background checks, but we can’t act on it. We need a report,” he added.
This year’s elections will have two independent CSC aspirants: medical biology junior Meckia Villanueva, running for secretary, and legal management sophomore Annie Agon, who is vying for public relations officer.
The University-wide election period is set for Nov. 11 to 16. Amador Denzel M. Teston with reports from Janica Kate J. Buan, Ella Mae A. Sison, and Carlo Jose H. Ruga
