ABSC elections

ABSC bets’ candidacy certificates suspended due to alleged poll violations

ABSC bets’ candidacy certificates suspended due to alleged poll violations

THE CERTIFICATES of candidacy (COCs) of seven of the eight candidates for this year's Artlets Student Council (ABSC) polls have been suspended right after the proclamation of elected officers for the next academic year due to alleged violations of elections rules. The COCs of president-elect Timothy Santiago, candidate for internal vice-president Josh Moncayo, external vice president-elect Matthew Enriquez, secretary-elect Hannah Calara, secretary aspirant Gabriel Gabrillo, auditor-elect Joseph Coronel and public relations officer-elect Rachelle Mirasol were suspended, according to a resolution released by the AB Commission on Elections (AB Comelec) on April 1. AB Comelec chairman Franz Soriano told The Flame…
Read More
ABSC candidates slam proposed mandatory ROTC

ABSC candidates slam proposed mandatory ROTC

ALL EIGHT candidates of this year’s Arts and Letters Student Council (ABSC) elections are against the revival of the mandatory Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) program, saying it might reinforce “corrupt” and “exploitative” practices. DEKADA’s candidate for president Timothy John Santiago said UST was once the site of the atrocities of the ROTC system. Mark Chua, a Thomasian cadet, was killed after exposing the corruption in his unit in 2001. His death led to a series of protests that paved the way to the abolition of the mandatory ROTC program. Santiago believes that the mandatory ROTC puts restrictions on the…
Read More
Majority of ABSC bets want full face-to-face learning next academic year

Majority of ABSC bets want full face-to-face learning next academic year

MAJORITY OF the candidates seeking posts in the Artlets Student Council (ABSC) are pushing for the return of full in-person learning next academic year, saying students and UST administrators should work together to ensure its safe implementation. The Office of the Vice Rector for Academic Affairs (OVRAA) recently released a set of guidelines stating that the University won't implement full face-to-face learning next school year. According to the OVRAA memorandum containing the guidelines, no course shall be delivered purely onsite “to ensure that academic staff and students continue to enhance instruction through the use of the UST Cloud Campus and…
Read More
Independent candidates eye amendments to ‘outdated’ ABSC constitution

Independent candidates eye amendments to ‘outdated’ ABSC constitution

by EDUARDO FAJERMO INDEPENDENT CANDIDATES running for president and external vice president of the Faculty of Arts and Letter Student Council (ABSC) are pushing for amendments to the student body’s constitution, citing the need to update and clarify some of its provisions. Ratified in 2005, the constitution outlines the basic principles of the ABSC, including the powers and duties of the elected officials and the committees.  ABSC presidential aspirant Cyrille Coronado and Ierathel Tabuno, candidate for external vice president, believe there are pressing issues that need to be resolved within the document to better lead and serve the Artlet community. …
Read More
ABSC polls to be held in April

ABSC polls to be held in April

by KRISTINE ERIKA AGUSTIN    THIS YEAR’S Artlets Student Council elections is expected to take place from April 4-8, the Faculty of Arts and Letters Commission on Elections (AB Comelec) announced Thursday.  The filing of certificates of candidacy will start on March 9, while the submission of student deficiencies will be on March 11. The miting de avance will be held on March 14, but candidates will be allowed to campaign from March 12-17. However, the AB Comelec clarified that the schedule may still change.  The UST Central Comelec earlier announced that the filing of certificates for candidacy in the…
Read More
Artlets challenge ABSC candidates’ stance on key issues

Artlets challenge ABSC candidates’ stance on key issues

by ARTHUR N. APOSTOL  TWO UNOPPOSED candidates’ grasp of political and social issues were tested as they engaged in a fierce Miting de Avance for the 2021 Artlets Student Council (ABSC) special polls last Tuesday. Candidate for president and political science sophomore Denzelle Jude Caro’s stance on student activism in AB was questioned by students who pointed out how the ABSC was formed during the Marcos dictatorship. He said he was against activism in AB and that there are other platforms to express it. “Every channel is blocked because of the pandemic. In your student activism, currently, you are individualistic…
Read More
AB Comelec postpones special elections, extends filing of COC

AB Comelec postpones special elections, extends filing of COC

THE UNAVAILABILITY of the electronic voting system has forced the Faculty of Arts and Letters Commission on Elections (AB Comelec) to postpone the student council special polls. The Artlets Student Council (ABSC) special elections, which were originally scheduled for Aug. 23 to 28 have been moved to Sept. 13 to 18. The filing of certificates of candidacy (COC) for three vacant positions will also be extended. In a resolution dated Aug. 18, the AB Comelec said the UST Office for Student Affairs had released a letter addressed to the ABSC regarding the postponement of the polls. "Whereas, the letter states…
Read More
SDP sweeps ABSC polls; former treasurer is new prexy

SDP sweeps ABSC polls; former treasurer is new prexy

By ALI IAN MARCELINO V. BIONG ALL SIX candidates of the Students' Democratic Party (SDP) secured a seat in the next academic year’s Arts and Letters Student Council (ABSC). Former ABSC Treasurer Rafael Arellano (SDP) will lead Artlets as new ABSC president after garnering 892 votes, defeating Grand Alliance for Progress’ (GAP) standard bearer and former ABSC Public Relations Officer (PRO) Wrexler Bayani (656 votes), and independent bet Dindo Roxas (579 votes). A total of 232 votes were unanswered. Arellano said that while he is grateful to Artlets for trusting his political party, the next student council will still need…
Read More
AB Comelec eyes higher voter turnout due to automated elections

AB Comelec eyes higher voter turnout due to automated elections

By ALI IAN MARCELINO V. BIONG THE FACULTY of Arts and Letters (AB) Commission on Elections (Comelec) is expecting a higher voter turnout of 75 percent due to the revert from manual to automated system of voting and canvassing this coming central and local student council elections. “We believe that this year's elections will be less time consuming compared from last year since we are using an automated system. So the switch from manual elections to EVoSys (Electronic Voting System) could increase the total voter turnout not just in AB but in the entire Thomasian community,” AB Comelec Chairperson Ayla-Rhey…
Read More
ABSC bets vow to work with Artlets, address gender-based issues

ABSC bets vow to work with Artlets, address gender-based issues

By LUIS MIGUEL B. ARUCAN THE CANDIDATES for this year’s Arts and Letters (AB) Student Council elections seek Artlet involvement to carry out their advocacies and promised to focus on gender-based issues during the mandatory debate held April 12. Wrexler Bayani from the Grand Alliance for Progress (GAP) challenged his fellow presidential candidate Dindo Jerome Roxas (Independent) on how he plans to prevent tuition hikes as he promised in his platforms. Roxas said he is prepared to launch signature campaigns and protests if the University’s administration declines his request. “’Pag hindi tayo pinakinggan, sasandig tayo sa lakas ng kolektibong pagkilos.…
Read More