Almost a year since UP Diliman political party Student Alliance for the Advancement of Democratic Rights in UP (STAND UP) backed out from the May 2023 student council elections (SCE) to address its mishandled abuse, harassment, or rape (AHR) cases, it announced on March 2 the disaffiliation from certain individuals—some for misconduct and others for sexual harassment. 

Though this falls in line with its promise last year to amend its flawed mechanisms in processing AHR cases, the resolution still came delayed, as internal conflicts hampered the alliance’s reorganization.  

STAND UP, however, continues to refine its processes and structures, despite these hindrances, in its ongoing effort not only to win back the trust of its constituents but to also rectify its past faults. 

Failed Safe Spaces 

The accusations that led to STAND UP’s withdrawal from the SCE came from its former chairperson and now disaffiliated member during the Aktibisita open forum in May 2023. There, he alleged that the alliance had prevented victims from publicizing their experiences and allowed perpetrators to remain members.

Five councilors under STAND UP then disaffiliated from the party, and the party fully withdrew from the elections to reorganize itself and its internal mechanisms. 

In its initial resolutions, STAND UP said that the party will be amending its constitution to contain more extensive processes in handling AHR cases, as the lack of provisions and well-defined measures contributed to its faulty processing of past sexual harassment cases. 

But deficiencies in STAND UP’s constitution were only one part of its shortcomings, as even the alliance acknowledged that its past resolutions for AHR cases were poorly implemented, ultimately failing to give justice to victims and provide safe spaces for its members. 

“Past leaderships have not been successful in upholding these resolutions, kaya nagbunga pa siya ng mas maraming problema, frustrations, at sugat para sa mas maraming kasama,” said Penn Pacheco, current convenor and former propaganda and strategies head of STAND UP, in an interview with Collegian.

However, accounts after the Aktibisita forum revealed not only inadequacies in upholding resolutions but in devising them at all, as they criticized the alliance for allowing perpetrators to stay within the organization even after they were processed to have committed AHR. 

“Recognized ng [Anti-Sexual Harassment (ASH)] Committee na kinakailangan ng improvement kung paano i-handle yung cases, since yun yung mga naging kamalian ng mga leadership before. Napagdesisyunan [namin] na uunahing gawin at harapin yung demands ng victim-survivors,” said Alyssa Masangkay, member of STAND UP’s ASH Committee and Anakbayan UP Diliman chairperson, told the Collegian. 

Attempted Rectification

STAND UP held several internal meetings to discuss next steps in adjusting for the gaps in their constitution, following STAND UP’s withdrawal last year. The alliance first decided to dissolve the executive committee and reinstate an executive board (EB), composed of the convener and representatives from member-formations.

The EB then started drafting a code of conduct to systematize its process in handling AHR cases, which extended to adopting the UP ASH Code. The code of conduct, principally authored by Pacheco, was supposed to be presented to STAND UP’s general assembly on April 13, but whether it will be publicized is yet to be decided. 

Moreover, the ASH Committee is still in the process of creating a separate code of conduct as of April 11. 

Similarly rebuilding, the EB and ASH committee contacted individuals involved in past sexual harassment cases again, to undertake the mishandled or unresolved cases from previous terms. 

The ASH Committee opted not to reopen the investigation of some previously mishandled cases anymore, as they are already pending at the UP Diliman Office of Anti-Sexual Harassment (OASH). The committee, instead, just carried out the resolution decided according to the demands of the victim. 

But given the shortcomings of AHR case processing within the OASH, where case deliberation is often dragged out and some cases are dismissed altogether due to technicalities, holding separate processing within organizations is still imperative for the victim to achieve some form of resolution.

“Encouraged ng ASH committee na magpasa ng case [sa’min] through email o kakilala na may contact sa’min. Kung pwede, isama nila yung name nila and yung sa perpetrator, then yung short narrative ng nangyari, and kung ano yung demands. From there, titingnan ng ASH committee sa current capacity nito kung ano yung kaya niyang itulong,” said Masangkay.

Internal Distrust

One of the more public steps STAND UP took this time around with its AHR cases is the expulsion of and disaffiliation from individuals found to be AHR perpetrators. 

Disaffiliated members, alumni, and nonmembers can no longer identify with STAND UP, local chapters, and member formations nor participate in its activities and interact with its members.

This part of the resolution was only enacted on March 2, when STAND UP announced its disaffiliation from certain members, nonmembers, and alumni. A concrete step this may have been, it still came with delays indirectly caused by internal conflicts. 

Among those expelled was one unspecified individual, already in preventive suspension, who was dismissed for drafting a separate code of conduct in August 2023, said Pacheco. The EB alleged that one of its representatives colluded in this act.

This incident sowed even more distrust within the alliance as, according to Masangkay, the EB developed a tendency to point fingers at each other. Consequently, the activity within the alliance waned for at least four months, as the EB reconvened and continued its processing of the AHR cases only in February.

Despite the delays, however, STAND UP announced the finality of its disaffiliation from certain individuals, indirectly responding to one of the listed individuals’ public appeal regarding their expulsion. This is a step toward its rectification of past mistakes, it said. 

Future Accountability

Almost a year after it backed out from the SCE to reorganize, STAND UP has yet to confirm its participation in this year’s SCE, despite filing of candidacy already having started on April 18. The decision to run will still be discussed with STAND UP’s general assembly, Pacheco said. 

The 2022 SCE, the last that STAND UP participated in, saw results inclined toward the party. Whether the alliance has mended its connection with its voters, however, is yet to be seen. 

Voter turnout in succeeding elections dwindled to 24.74 percent for May 2023, then 8.29 percent in the October 2023 special elections.

For now, the alliance is still working on fixing the mistakes that warranted this distrust from its constituents in the first place, especially as more individuals criticize youth activist organizations for having similar deficiencies in handling AHR cases. 

This critical sentiment toward the youth sector can be seen with the formation of anti-AHR group Safe Spaces Network, which STAND UP’s ASH committee has already signed up for and is awaiting a response from, said Masangkay.

But at the end of the day, rectification within youth activist groups is necessary not only to regain the trust of the community but to ensure a safer space for all.

“Ini-struggle talaga ng STAND UP na makapagwasto. Hindi para lang linisin yung pangalan [ng alliance] pero para mas maging maayos yung mga organisasyon, mabigyan ng hustisya yung mga kasama namin, and para mas makapag-serve kami sa student body nang mas maayos,” said Masangkay. ●