THREE INDEPENDENT bets from the Faculty of Arts and Letters will be running unopposed as they seek positions in the Central Student Council (CSC) for the upcoming 2021 elections, according to the official list of the UST Central Commission on Elections (Comelec).
Interim CSC Secretary Krizia Milleny Bricio is the lone candidate for the presidency.
Bricio said that some student leaders encountered difficulties adjusting to the new normal, given the pandemic and the academic workload, which urged her to run.
“I won’t blame them if they opted not to continue serving anymore because it’s understandable, given our circumstances. However, I saw na during this pandemic as well, mas kinailangan natin ng student leaders and not just student leaders alone, but ‘yung effective, efficient, and accountable student leaders,” Bricio told The Flame.
Bricio was elected as the CSC secretary in the 2019 general elections and served as the acting president after CSC President Robert Gonzalez filed a leave of absence last December 2020 to January 2021.
Meanwhile, Artlets Student Council outgoing Vice President (VP)-Internal Gerald Matthew Dela Cruz is running as the vice president.
Dela Cruz said that with the upcoming 2022 national elections, the role of student leaders becomes more crucial.
“Tayo ‘yung maging boses ng mga Tomasino, hindi lamang [sa] national [elections] this year, but [also] sa mga societal issues na kinakaharap hindi lang bilang Thomasians, but also as Filipinos,” Dela Cruz told The Flame when asked why he decided to run.
Journalism junior Anne Arnet Ysabel Paguirigan is the only candidate for the position of secretary.
Paguirigan, the CSC executive coordinator to the secretary, said that she saw the need for student representation as the University shifted to distance learning.
“We need to address the important issues that we have about distance learning and alam mo ‘yun, parang we have to amplify the concerns of the student body, so that’s the main reason talaga why I ran,” Paguirigan said.
Three independent candidates, Institute of Information and Computing Sciences outgoing public relations officer (PRO) Jeric Mataga, former vice president of College of Commerce and Business Administration Jerome Espinas, and UST Pedagogue PRO Gabriele De Lara, will be competing for the position of PRO.
There are no applications for the positions of treasurer and auditor.
The candidates filed their certificate of candidacy on Tuesday held via Zoom.
The campaign period will be from April 24 to May 8. The Miting de Avance: Tagisan will be on April 30.
The election period will be from May 10 to 12 and May 14 to 15, according to UST Central Comelec. F
