The first official list of candidates for this year’s regular University Student Council (USC) elections showed a threefold increase in college representative candidates from last year, with 15 students vying for such posts of the 28 total candidates.

For half a semester last year, 13 college representatives divided among 12 colleges manned the USC in the absence of university-wide officers. With only 13 candidates currently running for university-wide positions and looming abstentions, local college officers might need to take up that mantle again. 

While candidacy for college representatives increased, this year’s 10 councilor candidates is one less than the final number of councilor contenders last regular elections. The number of candidates for the standard bearer positions is also lower now than in last year’s special elections, where two ran for chairperson and three for vice chairperson.

This year, incumbent USC Councilor Joaquin Buenaflor, CSSP, is running unopposed for chairperson as an independent candidate. Vying for the vice chairperson seat are former STAND UP campaign manager Darlene Cerico (CS) running as an independent candidate and Chloe Antonio (NCPAG) who changed party colors from red, having previously run for USC councilor then NCPAG chairperson under STAND UP, to blue.

UP Alyansa has remained the only political party to field candidates for three consecutive elections since STAND UP withdrew from the 2023 regular elections.

Ten students are running for councilor positions, with two fielded by Alyansa. One of the independent candidates is political prisoner Amanda Echanis (CAL), a peasant activist who has been detained since December 2020 for trumped-up charges of possession of illegal firearms and explosives.

From five candidates last year, this year’s candidacy for college representative seats has:

• Three for CSWCD;
• Two for CSSP, CAL, and DEPPO;
• One for NCPAG, CMC, CS, Eng’g, Eduk, and SE

However, only 10 out of 20 colleges have standing candidates. Despite the increase in the number of candidates, there is still the risk of underrepresentation of students from other colleges.

The rise in this year’s candidacy does not ensure that more officers will sit in the USC. In last year’s regular polls, abstain votes triumphed over all university-wide candidates. Even after the special elections, only the two standard bearers and two of the 12 councilor candidates were elected, with three councilor candidates losing to the abstain vote.

The official campaign period will run from April 28 to May 14, while the election days proper are on May 15 and 16. ●