FIVE candidates for this year’s Central Student Council (CSC) elections laid out their positions on key national and campus issues during the Tagisan 2025, the mandatory debate held on April 5 at the Buenaventura Garcia Paredes, O.P. Building.
The debate covered campus and national issues such as tuition hikes, the dispute over a new UST faculty salary and benefits deal, former president Rodrigo Duterte’s arrest, and Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment.
Candidates also tackled contentious topics such as abortion and divorce in the debate sanctioned by the UST Central Commission on Elections.
For each topic, Annie Agon (candidate for vice president), Nashville Mauricio (candidate for secretary), Joseph Coronel (candidate for auditor), and Nathan Blaza and Heavenly Nerizon (candidates for public relations officer) were given the choice to say yes, no, or abstain.
Here’s a closer look at their stances on some of the key issues discussed during the debate.
Aspirants support legalization of divorce, abortion
The CSC candidates were asked about long-debated issues in predominantly Catholic Philippines, the only country aside from the Vatican where divorce remains illegal.
All five expressed support for legalizing divorce in the Philippines and the promotion of transgender rights within UST. All but Mauricio, who abstained, said they were in favor of legalizing abortion.
Lawmakers have long pushed for a divorce bill, and while multiple versions have been submitted in both chambers of Congress, none have gained final approval in a country where about 80% of the population is Catholic.
RELATED: Filipinos remain divided over legalization of divorce
On other national issues, all five candidates expressed support for Sara’s impeachment and the arrest of former president Duterte. They unanimously opposed mandatory military service and the reinstatement of the death penalty.
All but Blaza were against revising the 1987 Constitution. The public relations officer aspirant later clarified that opposed charter change.
The candidates were split on jeepney modernization: Agon, Coronel, and Nerizon opposed it, while Mauricio and Blaza supported the policy.
Candidates back USTFU stance but raise concerns
The candidates also weighed in on the UST Faculty Union’s (USTFU) declaration of a deadlock in negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA), one of the most pressing issues in UST this year.
All candidates except Nerizon expressed support for the union’s move.
Nerizon, a political science junior, said he supported finalizing a CBA but not the declaration of a deadlock, arguing that it limited collaboration between faculty and the administration.
“It (deadlock) limits the collaboration and the platform for agreement. So, imbis na mag-come up tayo with an agreement, which is the objective of the CBA, mas nali-limit ang both parties,” he said.
During the debate, Agon was asked how she planned to advocate for increased teacher wages while opposing tuition hikes — 70% of which are legally allocated for compensation for teaching and non-teaching staff.
Agon said UST could sustain its operations without tuition increases.
“Ina-acknowledge natin na pinagkukuhanan talaga tayo ng pera for wage increase [ng teachers],” she said. “[Pero] hanggang ngayon wala pa rin siya, and for better facilities is hindi rin naman siya nararanasan.”
She also echoed the USTFU’s claim, which has been denied by the University, that UST has P12 billion in “unrestricted funds,” which could supposedly be used to finance salary increases.
Blaza, in an interview with the Varsitarian before the debate, warned that students should be concerned about the CBA deadlock, saying government intervention might result in internal policy shifts at UST.
“Thomasians should be concerned because there will likely be a policy change that will happen in order to solve this ongoing dispute,” he said.
Coronel emphasized that teachers, as one of the most crucial stakeholders of a school, must be fairly compensated.
“Kailangan nag-i-invest din sila (UST) doon sa mga taong nagpapatakbo ng unibersidad, in this case, ang mga profesor,” the CSC auditor aspirant told the Varsitarian. “Nararapat lang na mabigyan ng tamang compensation and just na mga benepisyo ang mga profesor.”
Mauricio expressed concern over the potential disruption of classes if a strike were to occur.
Should government mediators fail to produce a compromise between union and management negotiators, the USTFU may stage a strike — or a temporary work stoppage — as early as May 2.
“[My] concern is it will impede education, pero we should also take into account the welfare ng faculty natin or what they need right now and ‘yong advocacy nila na makuha ‘yong shares nila,” Mauricio told the Varsitarian.
The University-wide CSC elections will run from April 7 to 12. with reports from Mabel Anne B. Cardinez, Janica Kate J. Buan, Fritz Nathan A. Diaz, Micah G. Pascua, Sydney Venice V. Berba, Marco Luis D. Beech, Ella Mae A. Sison, and Amanda Luella A. Rivera
