All unopposed candidates from the newly formed political party, ADVANCE CMC, secured seats in the College of Mass Communication Student Council* (CMC SC) elections, the College Secretary announced yesterday, May 16.
Chairperson-elect Cyrus Paulo Quiapos garnered 389 votes with 86 abstentions. Quiapos is currently the CMC representative to the University Student Council (USC) and was the overall head of UP Fair 2025—a flagship project of the USC.
Quiapos’s leadership was questioned in Radio Circle’s On the Spot election forum as the UP Fair main stage banner bearing the words “Marcos Singilin, Duterte Panagutin” was rolled up amid performances, which the organizers and nighthandlers later addressed in a statement citing “legal implications” involving the attending artists.
In her bid for a higher position, incumbent Communication Research (CRes) Representative Chiello Fernandez was elected vice chair with 403 votes. She previously served as the council’s treasurer in 2023.
Another incumbent SC member, CRes Representative Alyanna Louisse Marie Avergonzado, will join the USC as the college’s representative, after earning 386 votes. She will work with the Laban Kabataan Coalition, which holds the majority of the councilor and college representative seats.
ADVANCE CMC fielded candidates for all department representative positions except for the Film Institute, marking the third consecutive regular poll with no candidates vying for the said post.
Meanwhile, Jan Maximus Bulanadi and Fritz Clarisse Somyden clinched the Broadcast Media Arts and Studies (BMAS) representative seats, with 101 and 91 votes, respectively. Both BMAS reps-elect currently hold positions in the college’s Freshie, Shiftee, and Transferee council.
Sole CRes Representative bet Clarisse Andrea Vibal also garnered 74 votes, while both Andrew Nicoli Dela Plana and Dawson Bastie Quiambao were elected as Journalism representatives, earning 97 and 94 votes, respectively.
ADVANCE CMC is the first local political party to field candidates in the CMC SC elections in the past two years. In 2023, a five-member slate initially campaigned under the local chapter of Student Alliance for the Advancement of Democratic Rights in UP (STAND UP), but later chose to run as independents after the party’s mishandling of sexual harassment cases came to light.
READ: New political party ADVANCE CMC vie to lead Maskom
Still, the newly proclaimed student council is similarly short-handed like the previous ones. Five positions remain vacant: secretary, treasurer, two film representatives, and one CRes representative.
CMC SC’s thirteen seats have not been filled since 2018. During the 2024 regular elections, seven independent candidates led by outgoing chairperson Gnoiel Edelweiss Nazal secured posts, leaving six seats vacant. A by-elections held in October last year elected the two BMAS representatives to form the council.
READ: BMAS representation returns to CMC SC, vacancies remain
During this year’s two-day voting period, 475 out of 987 or 48.13% of Maskom students exercised their right to vote—lower than the 55.84% turnout in last year’s special elections.
