Following vacancies caused by abstentions in the last regular poll, 10 candidates are now running for the standard bearer and councilor positions in the University of the Philippines Diliman University Student Council (UPD USC) special elections.
Facing off for the USC’s top post are College of Mass Communication (CMC) students and independent bets Sean Kirby Latorre and Andrew Ronquillo.
Latorre and Ronquillo were previously elected as USC councilors under the Student Alliance for the Advancement of Democratic Rights in UP (STAND UP) banner in 2021.
The former partymates assumed respective leadership positions after their terms as councilors ended.
Ronquillo served as lead convenor of the Defend UP Network in 2021 and was the sole Diliman nominee during the 39th Student Regent (SR) selection in 2022. Although he did not secure the SR position, he was later selected as the national chairperson of KASAMA sa UP, the only systemwide alliance of UP student councils, that same year.
He has not been reaffiliated from STAND UP since the political party’s mishandling of sexual harassment cases was revealed during the 2023 Aktibisita forum. He is currently an officer of the Union of Journalists of the Philippines-UP, which is a member-formation of the university-wide alliance.
When asked yesterday during the miting de avance about his perceived absence from campus politics over the past year, Ronquillo clarified that he still participated in the local campaigns and emphasized that his brand of leadership “also transcends beyond UP at the national level.”
Meanwhile, Latorre chaired the UP CMC Student Council in 2022 under the STAND UP CMC slate.
A year later, Latorre ran independently and was elected as the USC vice chairperson during the 2023 special elections, which marked the lowest voter turnout in Diliman’s history.
Latorre is still a member of STAND UP CMC. The local chapter was among the few chapters who did not sever their ties with the university-wide alliance in 2023.
According to their statement in May 2023, they did not disaffiliate from STAND UP as they vowed “to partake in the party-alliance’s initiatives to make the people involved accountable.”
During the CSiyasat 2024 forum on Oct. 22, Latorre clarified that he only remained affiliated with STAND UP CMC to “hold perpetrators [of sexual abuse] accountable.”
From then on, the once dominating STAND UP was not able to field any USC candidate for three consecutive elections, including last year’s special poll.
In its official statement about its current disposition last March, the party admitted that the current executive board “had faced setbacks and internal conflicts in their rectification process.”
Despite running independently, Latorre and Ronquillo share similar campaigns that mirror STAND UP’s past campaigns.
They also have the same platforms such as establishing Bantay Boto 2025 for the upcoming national midterm elections and strengthening existing multi-sectoral alliances including the UP Not for Sale Network and Defend UP Network.
Mix of old and new faces
The roster of candidates running for the vice chairperson and councilor comprises both familiar and fresh faces.
UP Alyansa ng mga Mag-aaral para sa Panlipunang Katwiran at Kaunlaran’s (UP ALYANSA) lone bet Therese Jan Mangussad contends for the vice chairperson seat once again.
Mangussad lost her first vice chairperson bid against a majority abstention vote in the 2023 regular election, leading to the vacancies of the top two USC posts.
Before she lost her bid in the 2023 polls, she served as USC councilor despite ranking 14th in the 2022 election after Councilor-elect Emmanuel Cruz withdrew from his post.
She aims to create a solicitation project for the transportation expenses of students coming from provinces during enrollment season and a UP Fair, an annual “week-long advocacy-led music fair,” where proceeds will go to dormers and athletes’ basic needs.
She will face independent candidates Franz Joseph Beltran and Ron Dexter Clemente.
Beltran first won as the vice chairperson of the UP University Freshie Council under the STAND UP banner in 2022. The following year, he was elected in the regular elections as the NCPAG representative to the USC under the STAND UP NCPAG slate. STAND UP NCPAG was also among the local chapters that severed its ties from the university-wide counterpart.
His platforms include crafting an omnibus of student spaces across the campus, launching a USC caravan and Isko Leadership Academy, and expanding the Transparency Corner to include a financial accountability dashboard.
Meanwhile, League of Filipino Students – College of Social Sciences and Philosophy Chairperson Clemente aims to draft the Diliman Student Agenda from the resolutions coming from the League of College Councils—the alliance of local student councils of UPD.
He also campaigns for the termination of the UP-Armed Forces of the Philippines Declaration of Cooperation (UP-AFP DOC).
On Aug. 8, UP signed a partnership with the AFP “for future projects involving collaborative research, publications, and capacity-building initiatives.” Various UP sectors condemned the administration’s lack of consultation, pressing the DOC’s potential threat to academic freedom due to the increasing state forces’ presence on campus.
Alongside the chairperson and vice chairperson candidates, five independent councilor candidates also aim to secure a seat. Even if all are elected, the USC will still be seven councilors short.
The last time USC had a complete set of councilors was in 2022, all coming from STAND UP.
Former USC councilor Kristian Martin Mendoza is seeking reelection. This is his second time to run during a special election.
According to Tinig ng Plaridel reports, he did not run for any university-wide position during regular polls.
Mendoza is also part of STAND UP’s executive board as representative of Anakbayan-UP Diliman, based on the USC 2023-2024’s Transparency Corner.
If re-elected, he will launch roundtable discussions among sectoral leaders, create the Diliman Community Agenda, and strengthen the UP Not For Sale Network, a multisectoral alliance he co-founded, fighting against campus commercialization.
Anakbayan – Kolehiyo ng Arte at Literatura Chairperson Aimee Ramos and UP Samahan sa Agham Pampulitika Chairperson Joaquin Buenaflor also filed their candidacies for councilor.
Ramos’ platforms include the “Bantay Komunidad Watch Desk” which aims to respond to demolition threats and militarization faced by UP communities, a community-based fair, and a publicity campaign against the commercialization of UP spaces.
On the other hand, Buenaflor demands for increased basic student services by having a grievance desk for student demands and dialogues with the UP administration for academic spaces. They also plan to establish a UP Dormers’ Council to facilitate and direct the dormers’ concerns to the administration.
Previously, the Alliance of Concerned Dormitories UP Diliman, composed of different dormitories’ house councils, served a similar purpose but has been inactive since 2018.
Meanwhile, transwoman and Bahaghari-UPD Chairperson Olivia Herrera is also running for councilor, centering her campaign on gender and development.
Herrera plans to revisit the Anti-Sexual Harassment Code, strengthen the Transgender and Gender Non-Conforming People guidelines, and form the UPD Safe Spaces Committee, inspired by the initiative of UP Baguio USC and their gender-based organizations’ local chapters in 2021.
Rounding up the slate of councilor candidates this year is National Network of Agrarian Reform Advocates Youth – UPD Chairperson Ramon Christian Placido.
His plans include revitalizing art and cultural performances in the university, campaigning for accessible and healthy food options, especially among dormers, and revisiting the university’s history in forwarding the calls of the different basic sectors.
As a peasant advocate, Placido also calls for genuine land reform as well as the termination of the UP-AFP DOC.
Alliances and endorsements
Despite running independently, some candidates have noticeably formed alliances.
Former USC members Latorre, Beltran, and Mendoza did their room-to-room campaigns together and secured endorsements from several current and former UPD student leaders from College of Fine Arts, College of Business Administration, School of Statistics and College of Home Economics.
When questioned about seeking endorsements from local college councils during the CSiyasat 2024 election forum, Latorre emphasized that the student leaders’ endorsements are “reflection of their personal choice and principles.”
“Hindi naman natin tine-take away sa mga students natin na bilang botante ay may agency rin sila para kilatisin ‘yung mga kandidato na humaharap dito sa kanila,” he added.
The trio is also backed by UP sectoral alliances Samahan ng Manininda sa UP Diliman (SMUP), UP Transport Group, and UP Shopping Center Stallholders Association.
Meanwhile, vice chairperson candidate Clemente joined forces with councilor candidates Buenaflor, Hererra, Placido, and Ramos, and College of Arts and Letters representative candidate Nimra Gonzales.
They formalized their coalition at an Oct. 21 press conference where they signed their consolidated “10-point agenda.”
But the coalition was under fire after allegations that their camp forced the maninindas to endorse them, as revealed by former USC chairperson Shine Reyes during yesterday’s Miting de Avance. Ramos denied the allegation as mere “personal attacks.” However, a screenshot posted by Reyes on her X account showed her conversation with SMUP President Narry Hernandez, who said that some individuals tried to “dictate” the organization into endorsing the coalition’s candidates.
On the other hand, chairperson candidate Ronquillo secured support from national organizations’ representatives, former UP student regents and nominees, and notable UP alumni like Kabataan Partylist Representative Raoul Manuel, human rights lawyer Neri Colmenares and former USC chairperson Raymond Palatino.
He also gained an endorsement from UP sectoral groups Samahan ng Nagkakaisang Guardia ng UP Diliman and UP Workers’ Alliance. The said sectoral groups also endorsed vice chairperson candidate Clemente and all the five councilor candidates.
Meanwhile, UP ALYANSA’s lone candidate Mangussad was endorsed by Akbayan Representative Perci Cendana.
Voting lines will be open from Oct. 29 until Oct. 30, 5 p.m.