One chairperson candidate, two vice chairperson candidates, and eight councilor candidates are campaigning across colleges on the campus to convince voters to choose them in the 2025 USC elections. The campaign period runs from April 28 to May 14.

This page will be updated every time a college-wide MdA concludes. 

Slates' Opposing Stances on Abstain, DiliMall Boycott, Other Univ Issues On Display at CS MdA

By Sidney Fernando

Opposing stances of UP ALYANSA and the Laban Kabataan Coalition on several university issues were on full display at CSiyasat 2025, the College of Science’s local Miting de Avance, Thursday.

Candidates were divided on the following issues:
— Abstain vote, with Laban Kabataan for its removal and ALYANSA defending it as a valid choice
— Boycotting DiliMall, with Laban Kabataan agreeing with reservations and ALYANSA disagreeing with reservations
— UP College Admission Test (UPCAT), with Laban Kabataan agreeing on its removal and ALYANSA disagreeing with reservations
— Smoking and vaping ban, with Laban Kabataan agreeing or agreeing with reservations and ALYANSA disagreeing with reservations
— UP Fair, with candidates suggesting different ways to revitalize the event.

In the open forum, Laban Kabataan candidates supported the abstain vote’s removal. Councilor candidate Nimra Gonzales, who serves as CAL representative to the USC, said the abstain vote does not represent an actual person and that a lack of genuine representation would hamper efforts such as the campaign for student spaces at his college.

Councilor candidate Fatima Mendoza clarified that she is for removing the abstain vote, but is not against abstention itself or not voting at all. She also emphasized that any electoral reform should only be done after consultation with the student body.

Candidate for vice chairperson Chloe Antonio meanwhile, the sole UP ALYANSA candidate at CSiyasat, said the abstain vote stems from growing distrust toward councils. She asserted that it is a valid choice, as even if abstain prevails in an election, student organizations may still take various roles left by the vacuum of an empty USC.

The coalition claimed that the abstain vote is an obstacle to the success of campaigns such as the fight for student spaces. (Lemuel Pabalan/Philippine Collegian)

The abstain vote dominated the last regular elections with 60.80% of votes in the chairperson bid, leading to a USC with neither standard bearers nor councilors. In the last special elections, it garnered 37.61% of votes for the chairperson bid, with the chairperson-elect only leading by a small margin of 0.79% of the votes.

The lone UP ALYANSA candidate also had differing opinions with Laban Kabataan on the removal of the UP College Admission Test. While the coalition agreed with its removal, Antonio disagreed, citing that high schools have varying standards on how they rate their students, making the process of assessing applicants from different schools unequal.

Antonio was the sole dissenter on the question of removing the UP College Admission Test. Echanis was for its removal. (Lemuel Pabalan/Philippine Collegian)

She added that admission into the university should be more skill-based, with more focus on the knowledge relevant to the course one is applying for.

Antonio was also the lone dissenter on boycotting DiliMall. She disagreed with reservations while all other Laban Kabataan candidates agreed with reservations. The candidates were not given the option to explain their stances during the segment.

While Laban Kabataan, including Echanis, agreed with reservations on boycotting DiliMall, Antonio disagreed with reservations. (Lemuel Pabalan/Philippine Collegian)

The issue of displaced advocacies at the UP Fair was also a major point of discussion during the open forum. Candidates agreed that advocacies have been sidelined in favor of increasing commercialization, but cited different ways to address this.

Chairperson candidate and incumbent councilor Joaquin Buenaflor of Laban Kabataan plans to campaign for a greater budget for the USC, as he says the need to commercialize events like UP Fair stems from a lack of funds. In the past, the council’s bids for funds were hampered by bureaucracy and budget requests that take months to be fulfilled.

Amanda Echanis, also from Laban Kabataan and the first political prisoner candidate for the USC, recommended looking back at UP Fair’s historical roots as an advocacy-driven protest and highlighted that it should be a venue to showcase the culture and arts of the university.

Antonio suggested consulting with the UP Los Baños Student Council to adapt strategies used in planning the UPLB February Fair, a free advocacy concert similar to Diliman’s UP Fair. She also highlighted the need for lower ticket prices and more affordable food options.

On the imposition of a smoking and vaping ban on campus, Echanis agreed with reservations while other Laban Kabataan candidates agreed. Only Antonio disagreed with reservations.

Apart from these issues, all USC candidates were for the reinstatement of a reading break, against the return service policy for Department of Science and Technology scholars, against nuclear energy in the country, and agreed on the validity of armed struggle.

Notably, the Miting de Avance marks the second absence in a row of Laban Kabataan’s vice chairperson candidate Darlene Cerico in college-level Miting de Avance. ALYANSA’s councilor candidate Ynigo Panghulan was also not present.

The College of Science is the second most populous college in the university with 2,785 voters. Candidates will continue to campaign and hold local Mitings de Avance across different colleges until May 14. ●

USC Candidates Divided Over Melchor Cafe, Eng’g Spaces, MRT-7 in First College MdA

By Alex Lauricio

Candidates running for the University Student Council (USC) remain divided on Eng’g issues, including the opening of ILO Cafe in Melchor Hall and the transfer of Eng’g organizations, and on the MRT-7 University Avenue station, during Wednesday’s VotEng’g, the first college-wide Miting de Avance this election.

Incumbent Eng’g Chairperson Vherwyn Nuñez, the sole councilor candidate from Eng’g and part of the Laban Kabataan Coalition, was the only candidate who agreed with reservations on the ILO Cafe opening, despite the rest of his coalition disagreeing. He clarified during the open forum that he was against commercialization, but not ILO Cafe itself. 

ILO Cafe’s opening on April 26 finalized the displacement of the Materials Science Society and 49ers, both Mining, Metallurgical, and Materials Engineering student organizations, from their spaces in Melchor. The cafe is a small extension of the cafeteria on the building’s first floor.

USC candidates’ stances were made known by raising colored flaglets. Green and red stood for decisive agree and disagree, respectively, while shades of blue were used for agree and disagree with reservations. (Sarah Gates/Philippine Collegian)

But this may only be the first in a series of org relocations, with an order from the Eng’g administration for organizations to move to their respective departments and buildings being cited during the open forum. Melchor Hall historically housed all Eng’g organizations, with most department buildings allotted for laboratory and classrooms having little space for org tambayans.

Both UP ALYANSA’s candidates disagreed with the supposed directive, while the Laban Kabataan Coalition had mixed stances. Nimra Gonzalez and Fatima Mendoza agreed with the directive, while the rest disagreed.

For some organizations, their buildings do not house enough indoor spaces. Outdoor spaces are risky as trophies, accolades, and other storage materials from the organizations may be exposed to harsh weather. (Sarah Gates/Philippine Collegian)

The establishment of an MRT station along University Avenue also elicited mixed reactions from the candidates. Both UP ALYANSA standard-bearers agreed but had reservations, while the Laban Kabataan Coalition candidates were divided between agreement and disagreement with reservations.

UP ALYANSA’s duo consistently had the same answers, while the Laban Kabataan Coalition was divided on some issues. (Sarah Gates/Philippine Collegian)

The ILO Cafe and the MRT station are just some of the many concerns prompted by the Miting de Avance’s list of questions that scrutinized the candidates’ stances on some national and university issues, including repealing the 1987 Philippine Mining Act, the sufficiency of the two-year org relocation transitory period, and the Philippines rejoining the International Criminal Court.

The candidates were not given any chance to explain their stances during the flag-raising portion of the Miting de Avance. Notably, none of the questions contained any mention of the abstain vote, in a college where 42.74% of students voted to abstain for the USC chairperson position in the 2024 special elections.

Meanwhile, during the open forum held after the platform presentation, multiple candidates like UP ALYANSA’s Ynigo Panghulan and Laban Kabataan’s Alyssa Alano noted that the USC’s current term is not efficient, while others like Mendoza noted that it was because of the vacancy of seats this year. 

This was also Amanda Echanis’ first Miting de Avance, which she attended online from a jail cell. Despite being detained for trumped-up charges since December 2020, the Malikhaing Pagsulat student still vies to be the first political prisoner councilor in the USC. 

“Hindi ako naniniwala na walang pakialam ang mga UP students noon, at lalo pa ngayon. Kailangan natin ipakita na kailangan ang student council, [na] ang pagkakaroon ng student representation ay ating demokratikong karapatan,” Echanis said in an open forum question prompted regarding declining student participation.

Echanis was arrested as the country’s youngest political prisoner at that time. Her father, who was also an activist, was murdered two months before her arrest. (Sarah Gates/Philippine Collegian)

The College of Engineering is the most vote-rich college, having 5,819 available voters and comprising 21.6% of the student body on campus. A plethora of issues still remain that must be addressed by the candidates moving forward. ●