A FORMER Artlets Student Council auditor is seeking to climb to the Central Student Council (CSC), proposing a student-led congress aimed at strengthening student participation in policymaking.
Political science junior Joseph Coronel, the lone candidate for CSC auditor, is pushing for “Kongreso Tomasino,” an assembly of student representatives from UST campuses to engage in policymaking and dialogue with the administration.
Coronel said the body would differ from the existing Central Board and function similarly to international assemblies like the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the United Nations.
“The Thomasian Congress will serve as a student congress where we can give a place to all Tomasino, wherever they are, including those who are far away, who are in UST GenSan,” he told the Varsitarian.
UST has approximately 42,000 students across two campuses, with UST General Santos recording 126 enrollees in its maiden academic year. The Santa Rosa Research Complex in Laguna has yet to offer academic programs.
Building on his previous initiative — the proposed AB Transparency Act — Coronel plans to introduce the Thomasian Transparency Act, which will require student councils to release reports and updates regularly.
“We will consolidate all the student councils so that we have a unified and collective action when it comes to releasing transparency reports and other progress reports of the council,” Coronel said.
The proposal also requires the CSC to hold regular town hall meetings with local councils and sets a 20-day period for addressing student concerns.
Coronel also aims to push for gender equality through a Gender Development Committee, an ad hoc body that will cater to Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, and Expression (SOGIE) concerns, including cross-dressing.
“We will do this because we see that the Thomasians need a specific office to go to their student council regarding these affairs. And of course, to mobilize our student councils to really work on that specific issue, which is the SOGIE rights,” he said.
He urged Thomasians to choose candidates based on qualifications and track record.
“Nando’n ka hindi para sa titulo, kundi para maging servant leader at maging transformative,” he said. “Foster meritocracy in CSC above all else.”
