Thomasians can access a summarized version of the UST Students’ Elections Code, highlighting the revised and newly added provisions, here. For the full version of the 2025 code, click this link.
AFTER several failed attempts, the revision of the 14-year-old UST Students’ Election Code (USEC) is finally in motion, with the Central Commission on Elections (Comelec) eyeing to implement the updated version in the upcoming student council polls.
On Feb. 14, the Central Comelec conducted a consultation with the Central Board and student political parties to discuss the proposed revisions, which include new policies for political parties and updates to existing election guidelines.
While the Central Comelec initially anticipated the new USEC to be signed on the same day, its chair, Franz Soriano, clarified that the “signing” was only ceremonial to signify the beginning of the revision.
“The signing event was not really the signing for approval of the document. It was ceremonial and signified that we are undergoing the process,” Soriano told the Varsitarian in a mix of English and Filipino.
“Our agreement with the Office for Student Affairs (OSA) is that if students contest any revisions and changes are necessary, we cannot secure full approval and consensus among the CSC, Central Board, and OSA,” he added.
Soriano said the Central Board, composed of local student council presidents, is reviewing the proposed revisions. After that, the 2025 USEC will be forwarded to the CSC before being submitted to the Office for Student Affairs (OSA) for final approval.
The Central Comelec has less than a month to complete the process if it intends to implement the revised USEC in the upcoming CSC elections. The final list of candidates is set to be released on March 1, with campaign activities beginning on March 18.
Proposed revisions
New rules under Articles 6 and 7 provide for how political parties are accredited and funded in line with the Central Comelec’s goal of reviving these organizations.
Soriano said the provisions were “added to regulate the political parties…so we can ensure that they adhere to the election code and the implementing rules and regulations.”
Article 6 details the process that new and existing political parties must go through to receive accreditation. It also outlines the grounds for suspension and cancellation accreditation, which include accepting aid from non-UST organizations (suspension) and failure to nominate or endorse candidates in two consecutive elections (cancellation).
Article 7 provides for the allowable sources of funds for these parties. Only members’ and alumni’s contributions or funds raised through OSA- and Central Comelec-sanctioned events are permitted.
Fundraisers involving lotteries, games, bingo, and similar activities are prohibited.
During elections, central and local political parties must spend not more than P3 per enrolled student while central and independent candidates must limit their expenditures to P2 per student.
Under the revised USEC, political parties must adhere to a specific recruitment period instead of the previous all-year-round registration.
Election offenses will now be categorized as minor and major to allow for more proportionate sanctions. The previous USEC penalized violations according to the number of offenses.
Two or more minor offenses may lead to a major offense, depending on the decision of the quasi-judicial tribunal of the Central Comelec.
Under the proposed revision to Article 3, Section 4 of the USEC, the resolution period for these offenses or controversies will be extended to 10 school days from five to allow more time for deliberation.
According to Soriano, the new code also aims to safeguard the CSC elections from last-minute withdrawals of candidates, which occurred in 2024 when all bets backed out following the TomasinoWeb censorship controversy.
USEC 2025 expands the campaign period of candidates for central and local student council posts. CSC aspirants may now campaign for three weeks while local bets are allowed two weeks beginning the day after the release of the official list of candidates.
The new code will allow local Comelec units to implement their own constitutions and bylaws. It removes the mandatory composition of local Comelec units consisting of a chairperson, eight commissioners, and one representative to the Central Comelec, as stated in Article 3, Section 1 of the 2011 USEC.
