In results from the quickest election count in UP history, Titus Tan of Nagkakaisang Iskolar para sa Pamantasan at Sambayanan (KAISA) won chairperson of the 2009 University Student Council (USC) on Feb. 25, the first time for the yellow party since it was founded in 2005.

The 2009 election, when all voting in UP Diliman was uniformly done and counted electronically for the first time, gave KAISA 11 seats in the 34-member council, along with Student Alliance for the Advancement of Democratic Rights in UP (Stand-UP). Nine seats went to the Alyansa ng mga Mag-aaral Para sa Panlipunang Katwiran at Kaunlaran (ALYANSA), while three went to independent candidates. (see updated USC elections 2009 results)

Tan scored a more than 1,500-vote lead over Airah Cadiogan of Stand-UP, to whom he lost last year in a tight race for USC vice chair. Tan got 4,900 votes while Cadiogan won 3,389. Niña Marie Angela Acasio of ALYANSA meanwhile gained 1,276 votes.

Stand-UP’s Jaqueline Joy Eroles won USC vice chair over Joseph Miguel Gutierrez of ALYANSA with a 614-vote difference. Both are councilors in the outgoing council.

Tan, the first candidate from KAISA to win a councilor seat in 2006, is also joined in the incoming USC by three councilors from KAISA. They won the last of the 12 councilor seats and gave their party its first councilor posts since Tan first won.

An independent candidate, Christopher Mariano “Kester” Yu, meanwhile became the number one councilor after running on an environment-focused platform. In at least four years, it was also the first time an independent snagged the most votes among councilors.

Stand-UP and ALYANSA shared four councilor seats each. The other independent, Arnie “Bong” Arquiza, landed 24th place among the 35 candidates.

Tan and Yu both come from the College of Science, where they succeeded each other as college student council chairpersons.

All goes electronic

This year’s vote also put to its first large-scale test an electronic voting system that for the first time connected computers in precincts all over UP Diliman.

Students this year had a chance to vote by merely registering at the precinct, logging online with their student numbers and generated passwords, selecting their favored candidates, and confirming their votes with a mouse click.

Voter turnout this year dipped almost three points from last year, with 10,024 students or 42.96 percent of the total voting population of 23,333. The 2008 elections registered a 45.91 percent turnout.

Members of the technical team from the UP Linux Users Group (UnPLUG) stationed across the precincts to assist students and facilitate the voting.

UnPLUG developed the open-source software used for the elections, which has been used in dormitory council elections for some years and at five UP buildings in last year’s elections.

Votes cast from all colleges were monitored and counted by a central server in the Electrical and Electronics Engineering Institute. After 7 p.m., the team at the server had to wait for all precincts to finish before it could close the system and start counting, members said.

All precincts finally closed around 7:30 p.m. Less than a minute after, the total results were available for viewing in each precinct.

Last year, election watchers had to hold vigil in Vinzons Hall until early morning as the results came in from each college, the larger or farther ones often near the end.

Despite technical setbacks on election morning, the election turned out “successful,” as described by Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Elizabeth Enriquez to the Philippine Collegian.

Six students in various colleges were reported by the Collegian to have voted manually. Other students’ names also did not show up in the database.

A number could not vote at once due to problems logging in. Usually these were caused by mistyping the passwords given to them, said UnPLUG members. For instance, the students often mistake the small letter L for the number 1.

UnPLUG told TNP/UPJourn.net it hopes to release the breakdown of votes this week.

CMC Student Council, AY 2009-2010

The two competing parties at the College of Mass Communication will share seats in the next academic year’s student council, seven to six, in favor of the college chapter of the Student Alliance for the Advancement of Democratic Rights in UP (Stand-UP).

While rival party Interdependent Student-centered Activism (ISA) got the CMC representative to the USC post, top seats at the council went to Stand-UP.

CMC students elected incumbent council vice chair Rupert Francis Mangilit of Stand-UP as the new chair and his running mate Paula Bianca Lim as vice chair. Candidate Jihad Karlo Mariano won as council secretary.

ISA’s Jo Javan Cerda won as CMC representative to the USC, and Michelle Miranda as the new council treasurer.

The eight seats for department representatives were equally shared by the two parties. Representative bets of Stand-UP both won in the Journalism department, while ISA bagged both seats for Film Institute representatives.

The parties shared one representative each for the Broadcast Communication and Communication Research departments.

Stand-UP held the majority last year with eight seats, including the top posts from college representative to treasurer. Outgoing council chair Marian Kris Santos ran this year for USC councilor under Stand-UP but eventually lost.

The last time the CMC-SC had a similar party division was in 2007, when ISA first ran in the elections. ISA then held the top posts in the council with college representative Anne Kathleen Malolos and chair Karol Mark Yee.

Voter turnout this year was 57.22 percent, which edged last year’s 56.88 percent and 2007’s 55.96 percent. Data from the College Student Electoral Board showed 655 students voted out of the 1,144 population, with more than half of the voters coming from the Journalism and Broadcast Communication departments.

College of Mass Communication Student Council winners

CMC Representative to the USC:
Jo Javan Cerda, BA Journalism (ISA)
Chairperson:
Rupert Francis Mangilit, BA Journalism (Stand-UP)
Vice Chairperson:
Paula Bianca Lim, BA Broadcast Communication (Stand-UP)
Secretary:
Jihad Karlo Mariano, BA Communication Research (Stand-UP)
Treasurer:
Michelle Miranda, BA Communication Research (ISA)
Broadcast Communication Representatives:
Micaela Faeska Salonga (ISA)
Athena Keziah Chavez (Stand-UP)
Communication Research Representatives:
Claire Pantoja (ISA)
Michelin San Diego (Stand-UP)
Film Institute Representatives:
Grace Simbulan (ISA)
Thesa Tang (ISA)
Journalism Representatives:
Kelvin Paulino (Stand-UP)
Judy Ann Espiritu (Stand-UP)

Updated Feb 27 to correct last year’s turnout to 56.88%, not 55.96% -Ed

The Interdependent Student-Centered Activism (ISA) and Student Alliance for Democratic Rights in UP (Stand-UP) have released their General Program of Actions (GPOA) for the upcoming elections. Find the similarities and differences in terms of their proposed projects.

Legend:
(check) = Party mentions item in their GPOA/SPOA
(blank) = GPOA/SPOA does not include it

Project idea	ISA	STAND-UP
Consultation with students and administration regarding college issues	“push for transparency, compromise, and dialogue for issues regarding laboratory fees, open consultation with administration and regularize talks between administration and CMC-SC”	“No To XOXO: a campaign to push for a moratorium on pending laboratory and rental fees hike and the scrapping of imposed exorbitant fees”
Empowerment of Council of Representatives (COR)	organizations will host COR meetings regularize dialogues between organizations and student council open COR meetings	EnCORe: “energize the council of representatives. Letting organizations to host meetings and set agenda”
Strengthening / empowerment of department teams by including them in CMC-SC constitution	(check)
Strengthening ties with alliances such as KASAMA SA UP, SHOUT NOW!, UMAKSYON, Youth Act Now, etc.	(check)
Suggestions for improvement of DZUP	DZUP Nandito Ako “coordinate with other colleges to widen the reach and increase listeners of DZUP” Push for repair of speakers under skywalk	Tapping other colleges and students to work for DZUP Expanding of coverage within the university
Coordination with / Empowerment of Graduate Students Association	Push for inclusion of GSA representative to SC under the SC constitution Coordinate and collaborate with graduate students for college activities	FGD (Forge Ties, Get Together, Disseminate)”a set of programs that aims to give graduate students a sense of belongingness in the college”
Student council website	post regular announcements on COR decisions and activities CMC Interactive: posting of student works on a section of the site	Go maskom.com: uploaded minutes of the SC meetings are, posted statements and directories Creation of web helpdesk and forums board
Store that sell items that students need (tapes, medicine, pens)		(Check)
Printing services	(free)	(low-cost)
Electricity for SC office		(check)
College drinking fountain	(check)
Space utilization	(idle spaces for organization activities)	(free use of SC office for meetings)
Push for open use of computer labs	(check)
Conversion of readings to PDF format	(check)
Boost wireless signal in college	(check)
Utilization of existing means of communication	Utilize mailing lists such as masocista yahoo group, verycmc.multiply.com	CMCentral: “threading existing communication platforms with new to effectively inform and serve the students”
Text hotline for feedback		(check)
Empowerment of student-interest groups such as Wildcats, Himig Maskom, Mass Commotion	(check)	(check)
Lobbying for organization representative in Faculty-Student Relations Committee		(check)
Basic masses integration		(check)
Tie-up with professors for photo visits, docu making, news writing and participative research		(check)
Tie-up with NGOs, mainstream companies and foundations	(check)
Video exhibit during Mass Media Awareness month		(check)
Freshmen orientation		Project Headstart: Plaridel 101 (orientation assembly), FreSHTr directory (database of contact details), La Solodarity Night (acquaintance party)
Awareness campaign on 2010 election	Best Ad and PSA, SWS surveys and reports, awareness SAA, bills passed online Bring registration to CMC
Fund raising	Selling CMC shirt and CMC planner Christmas tree dedication
Workshops	CMC Learn (resume writing, video editing, audio editing, marketing workshop, experimental photography, software workshops)	(integrated in department SPOAs)

SPOA for Broadcast Communication Department

Project idea	ISA	STAND-UP
Orientation and special projects for BC freshies, shiftees and transferees		(check)
Information dissemination on curriculum matters	“in preparation for pre-advising week”	“constructing a concrete schedule of the professor’s consultation hours:
Dialogue with alumni	Focusing on “success stories”	“give inspiring talks and provide students with information and insights into field”
Production workshops	Focuses on make-up and dress
Probing of exorbitant and questionable BD fees		(check)
Asserting of transparent student-faculty consultations		Open dialogues on new curriculum and individual thesis-making policy
Fund raising		Creation of “recycling bin” where students could donate their productions (proceeds will go to ScripTOfolio
Creation of portfolios		ScripTOfolio: automatic portfolios of production at end of semesters
Community immersions		(documentaries and PSA as outputs)
College-wide airings and evaluations of productions		(check)
Media tours		(check)
Intersection of college department		“exchange of knowledge and equipments among students of different departments”

SPOA for Communication Research Department

Projects	ISA	STAND-UP
Promotion of Communication Research as a course	(to high school students)
Forums on job opportunities	(check)
Solicitation of funds from alumni and donors	(check)
Semestral pay for electric socket usage	(check)
Compilation of research works	(online; password protected)
Online database of sources for literature	(check)
Push for more democratic departmental decision-making system on DERP topic, etc.		(check)
Promotion of grassroots research as alternative		(grassroots community paper presentation, connecting to institutions, organization and publication)
Dissemination of studies to high school campuses, colleges, universities, etc.		(check)
Solidarity night of Comm Res students		(where participation against commercialization will be encouraged)

SPOA for Film Department

Projects	ISA	STAND-UP
Film festival	(revival of UP film festival)	(each film organization will produce films, it will be open to the university
Casting fair	(check)
Film workshops	(check)
Donation of films to AV library	(check)
Creation of online database on film matters		(list of available films in AV library, inventory of equipment available, schedule of borrowing of equipment, films featured at Cine Adarna, database of contacts for location, cast, equipment rentals, etc)
Start tradition of featuring a filmmaker per semester		(check)
Gallery of film-related materials during Mass Media Awareness Month		(check)
Consultations between film students and faculty, student council, and among the students		(check)
Community immersion		(docus and PSA to be shown at Cine Adarna as trailers and will be featured at MMAM)

SPOA for Journalism Department

Projects	ISA	STAND-UP
Journalism Workshops	Called The Pen dialogues	Called Coffee Write Up
Empowering freshies, shiftees and transferees	Called Journalism Primer: an orientation about the basics of journalism profession, its perks, challenges and career opportunities	Called Kalayaan Express: include a series of activities including a talent night
Creation of beat directory	(check)
Assisting Tinig ng Plaridel and UPJourn.net		(increase the popularity, aid in recruitment
Community immersion		(teaching of basic journalism to community)
Regularize department assemblies		(check)
Solidarity night	Called Journ us	(check)

]]> http://www.tinigngplaridel.net/sections/news/2009/02/25/look-closely-cmc-parties-gpoas/feed/ 1 http://www.tinigngplaridel.net/sections/news/2009/02/25/local-cmc-party-violates-election-code/ http://www.tinigngplaridel.net/sections/news/2009/02/25/local-cmc-party-violates-election-code/#comments Tue, 24 Feb 2009 16:34:11 +0000 TNP http://www.tinigngplaridel.net/?p=208 By Ernica de Guzman
Tinig ng Plaridel / UPJourn.net

College of Mass Communication party Interdependent Student-Centered Activism (ISA) breached a provision of a memorandum released by the University Student Electoral Board by wearing shirts that show their party’s name and logo during the campaign period.

This issue was raised in CMC’s miting de avance dubbed “Hot off the grill” on Feb. 20 when a member of the audience asked if any party violated an election code.

Minutes before the mudslinging started, ISA candidates changed attire from party’s campaign shirts to plain shirts in order to comply with the said memorandum. Jovan Cerda, running for CMC representative, said they also consulted Dr. Lourdes Portus regarding the shirts on the same day.

“Ang importante lang po dito ay tinanong po namin at nakita niyo naman po kahit last minute ay gumawa po kami ng paraan para wala kaming ma-violate,” said Cerda.

Cerda also explained that they consider their shirts as “org shirts” and that they didn’t wear it “dahil gusto lang namin s’yang isuot. Dahil ito ung pagpapakita ng brand namin as an organization.”

“A week prior to this day, mineet po kami ni Dr. Portus, ang head ng CSEB (College Student Electoral Board),” said Rupert Mangilit, standard bearer for local council of Student Alliance for the Advancement of Democratic Rights in UP.

“There is no excuse for both parties na meron tayong na-overlook na mga rules,” added Mangilit.

This memorandum released on Jan. 30 and received by the CMC administration on Feb. 2 “reiterated and clarified” provisions in the university election code.

The memorandum stated that “T-shirts containing party names and logos and campaign slogans are deemed as political gimmickry and therefore prohibited,” as reference to the campaign guideline which states that “pins, buttons, badges, bookmarks, matches, T-shirts and other forms of political gimmickry including the giving/distribution of any form of material gift shall be prohibited.”

(Jo Javan Cerda, ISA candidate for CMC representative, is the editor in chief of Tinig ng Plaridel and has taken a leave of absence from editorial duties in light of his candidacy.)

Titus Tan of KAISA arrives at the College of Mass Communication for an informal debate for USC candidates.

By Rachel Miranda and Katrina Alba
Tinig ng Plaridel / UPJourn.net

If building call centers and commercial centers on UP’s unused land is commercialization, how about building a zoo?

Titus Tan, Nagkakaisang Iskolar para sa Pamantasan at Sambayanan (KAISA) candidate for University Student Council (USC) chairperson, gave this as an instance of a “productive” use for UP’s idle assets when asked for alternatives to tuition and other fees increase (TFI) at a USC mudslinging event last Feb. 20 at Palma Hall.

Tan and three other candidates from KAISA joined four candidates from Alyansa ng mga Mag-aaral Para sa Panlipunang Katwiran at Kaunlaran (ALYANSA), four from Student Alliance for the Advancement of Democratic Rights in UP (STAND-UP), and one independent candidate at the debate dubbed “Babangon Ako’t Dudurugin Kita.”

A zoo, Tan said, was his favorite example of how using the university’s resources generate income for the university while still “encourag(ing) academic integrity,” one of five “safety nets” KAISA proposed to ensure that using these lands does not border on commercializing UP.

“Ang lupa kasi is a form of state subsidy that is given by the government for us to utilize,” Tan said. “So one example na pinakagusto kong i-share: kunwari magpatayo tayo ng zoo dyan. It is not commercialization.”

Other safeguards KAISA proposed in its General Program of Action (GPOA) were consulting with affected sectors, not using these lands as a substitute for the state subsidy, preserving the environment, and ensuring transparency.

Councilor candidate Raymond Pestana from STAND-UP replied, “The problem with (these proposals) is that they entice commodification. Iiba ang focus ng administration. Magtayo tayo ng structures sa UP para pumunta ang tao, magka-pera tayo. It’s not just for education.”

When asked if the global financial crisis would make it hard for UP to get a higher share in the national budget, STAND-UP’s Jemimah Garcia said the worsening economy is enough reason the government should invest more in social services for the people.

“May pera ang gobyerno. Ang problema ay allocation,” Garcia said. STAND-UP is calling for collective action by students to campaign for greater state subsidy for UP and other state universities and colleges.

KAISA, ALYANSA, and independent candidate Christopher Yu all called for UP to develop its lands to supplement the government subsidy which funds the university.

ALYANSA is also campaigning to strengthen the Socialized Tuition and Financial Assistance Program (STFAP) as an alternative to TFI.

JB Gomez, running for councilor under ALYANSA, said, “Naniniwala tayo na (kung) kayang magbayad, bakit hindi magbayad? Ang hindi kayang magbayad, bakit dapat magbayad? Tutulungan na lang.”

KAISA challenged ALYANSA’s answer, saying that such a system of the rich paying more to answer for the less-fortunate was already present in the taxes paid by the parents of UP students.

The mudslinging was organized by the Halalan sa Diliman ’09 team led by the Philippine Collegian and UP Solidaridad, a system-wide alliance of student publications and writers’ organizations.

Keeping votes safe and correct need not be a problem in the upcoming University Student Council (USC) elections.

Rystraum Gamonez, University of the Philippines Linux Users Group (UnPLUG) president, assured student voters this year’s fully computerized election system would run smoothly as planned.

“The possibility of it being hacked is very low. In the event that someone attempts to do so, it will be easily detected by our computer server.” Gamonez said.

Votes would also be immediately confirmed after being “cast,” thus eliminating the possibility of multiple voting. “The system blocks any attempt to re-vote using the same issued user name and password,” Gamonez said.

Gamonez also guaranteed tamper-free election results since the processing of the ballots would only involve retrieval of votes from various colleges. “The only physical paper that has to be handled would be the final and certified election results that would be printed out,” he said.

UnPLUG’s technical team, which developed the “Halalan” automated voting system, has been working closely with the UP Computer Center and the University Student Electoral Board to facilitate the elections.

“There will be at least one UnPLUG volunteer at each precinct on election day. They will monitor the use of software and offer assistance if needed,” Gamonez said.

According to a Philippine Collegian report, at least 22,000 students would cast their votes in UP Diliman on Wednesday, with polls closing at 7:00 P.M.. The votes would be counted soon after.

“Halalan”, already a fixture in some UP dormitory council elections, was first used by the College of Engineering and the School of Statistics in the 2007 university vote.

Last year, three more units adapted the system: the College of Mass Communication, the School of Library and Information Science, and the College of Business Administration.

Contrary to what was earlier reported, the College Student Electoral Board (CSEB) of the National College of Public Administration (NCPAG) moved the deadline of filing for candidacy from Feb. 13 to 16 because the candidates failed to verify the documents required for the college student council elections.

NCPAG CSEB chair and college secretary Dan Saguil denied the Philippine Collegian report released Feb. 14 saying it was the candidates’ failure to submit a required P1, 500 cash bond that mainly caused the postponement. The amount would be used to fund a post-election cleanup.

Saguil said both local political parties, Practice of Administrative Leadership and Service (PALS) and Pursuit of Unity, Leadership, Service and Excellence (Pulse), didn’t have their documents for residency and academic standing checked with the student records officer, Aurora Villavicencio.

Section 7 in the NCPAG Student Council Election Code, Saguil said, directs candidates to file duly-accomplished certificates of candidacy together with the supporting documents to the chairperson of the electoral board not later than a specific deadline. This year, the deadline was 11:00 am on Feb. 13.

Since the papers weren’t verified by Villavicencio in time for the original deadline, Saguil gave the parties time to have them checked.

The filing of candidacy was rescheduled “to look like they (the parties) did not violate anything,” Saguil said. He said he didn’t want to disqualify both parties because it would result in a failure of elections, a violation of the NCPAG election rules.

The official tally of candidates was also finalized that day.

Part 1 and Part 2 have been posted previously. You can view all the videos on Vimeo.

Question # 3: “Natapos na ang SR referendum at naratipika ang CRSRS. Batay sa inyong mga pahayag, lahat kayo ay naniniwala na mahalaga ang student representation. Ano nga ba ang tunay na kahulugan ng ’student representation’ para sa inyo?”

Audience question: “Looking back, ano ang pagkukulang na hindi ginawa sa paghahanda sa CRSRS referendum?”

Stand-UP responds.

Audience question: “Looking back, ano ang pagkukulang na hindi ginawa sa paghahanda sa CRSRS referendum?”

ALYANSA responds.

Question # 4: “Finals week. Hating gabi. Nasa Vinzons Hall ka. May mahalagang pulong ang USC tungkol sa isang event na bukas magaganap, at ikaw ang punong abala. Ngunit, meron ka ring pagsusulut bukas ng umaga, at hindi ka pa nakapag-aral. Ito ang magpapasiya kung papasa o babagsak ka sa klase na iyon. Ano ang gagawin mo?”

Question # 5: “Ano ang iyong pagtatasa sa outgoing University Student Council?”

(This video series encompasses the first five questions asked to candidates during the event, as well as questions from the audience. Videos taken by Tinig Ng Plaridel staff members Jenin Velasquez and Rachel Miranda.)

2009 USC Elections Mudslinging (February 20, 2008) – Part 2 from Rachel Miranda on Vimeo.

Part 2: (question was cut off)

Question # 2: “Sa panahon ng krisis pang-ekonomiya, malabo nang makakuha ang unibersidad ng mas mataas na pondo mula sa gobyerno. May alternatibo pa ba sa tuition and other fees increase (TFI)?”

Also includes a question from an audience member.

Previous parts: Part 1

(This video series encompasses the first five questions asked to candidates during the event, as well as questions from the audience. Video taken by Tinig Ng Plaridel staff members Jenin Velasquez and Rachel Miranda.)

2009 USC Elections Mudslinging (February 20, 2008) – Part 1 from Rachel Miranda on Vimeo.

Part 1: Opening remarks by Philippine Collegian editor-in-chief Larissa Mae Suarez and explanation of debate mechanics.

Question # 1: “Nasa kalagitnaan na ng kanyang termino si UP President Emerlinda Roman. Kung bibigyan ka ng pagkakataong humalili sa kanya sa loob ng isang linggo, anu-ano ang gagawin mo at bakit?”

Also includes a question from an audience member.

Next parts: Part 2

(This video series encompasses the first five questions asked to candidates during the event, as well as questions from the audience. Video taken by Tinig Ng Plaridel staff members Jenin Velasquez and Rachel Miranda.)