THE 14-year-old UST Student Elections Code (USEC) is in for a massive revamp as the Central Commission on Elections (Comelec) crafts a new version in time for the student council polls.
Since 2011, the Central Comelec has been implementing the old USEC, which covers the activities of student leaders, political parties, and council elections. There had been a number of failed attempts to update the code.
Central Comelec Chair Franz Soriano said the revised USEC was being reviewed by the Office for Student Affairs (OSA) and would go through final review and signing on Feb. 14.
“We have already given the draft to OSA, and it’s already under review…during the elections this year, we’ll already be using the USEC 2025,” Soriano told the Varsitarian in a mix of Filipino and English.
Among the key provisions in the new USEC is the classification of campaign violations into major and minor offenses, with penalties based on the severity of the violation.
This is a departure from the previous election code, wherein CSC candidates were penalized based on the number of campaign violations committed.
Soriano said the 2025 USEC would also introduce provisions to prevent the sudden withdrawal of CSC candidates, an issue in recent years.
In 2023, two candidates pulled out of the CSC race, leaving all aspirants unopposed. All bets backed out from their campaigns the following year after the TomasinoWeb controversy broke out.
READ: No CSC bets this year as last candidate withdraws
The 2025 USEC will also restructure the Central Comelec by enforcing the permanency of officers to ensure that offices will still run in case of vacancies. Provisions aimed at clarifying the functions and jurisdiction of central and local election bodies were also proposed.
Soriano hopes the new USEC will revive student politics in the University, which he said dwindled during the pandemic.
“Here in the Central Comelec, we recognize that the USEC is only part of what we can do in overhauling the student government system and student politics in the University,” he said. “The USEC will kickstart activities and advocacies aimed at changing this system.”
