Ed Caitum, the incumbent Vice Chairperson of UPC’s University Student Council, envisions a student regent that stands as a “beacon of true service to the UP community and the people.” He says that the next student regent must be able to unite and mobilize the student body to carry not only their own calls, but the different sectoral campaigns as well.
As an SR nominee, Caitum believes that campaigns for sufficient budget allocations and expanded assistance programs can only be attained by consolidating the student body. This involves reinvigorating different alliances such as the Rise for Education Alliance, as well as regularly consulting the UP system’s different institutions, organizations, and federations. He also wants to forge stronger alliances with organizations outside UP, and hold the Marcos-Duterte regime accountable for their failed first year.
Caitum puts a particular emphasis on condemning reclamation and quarrying, which he says are “anti-people dump and fill projects in line with the neoliberal agenda that impoverishes the people. He wants to work closely with concerned organizations to reject these projects, and further strengthen the campaign against developmental aggression.
He also emphasizes the campaign for academic freedom. He says that it is essential to keep lobbying for institutional mechanisms to protect students, particularly those that can prevent groups with a history of endangering students into the campus. Beyond this, he wants to equip UP students with the skills and knowledge to protect themselves from these attacks by partnering with legal institutions such as the UP Law Center, the National Union of People’s Lawyers, and other local networks.
Caitum also wants to protect democratic rights and welfare, particularly by reestablishing the UP Rise Against Tyranny and Dictatorship.He also wants to do this by campaigning for the freedom of political prisoners, demanding the UP system to adopt a strong stance against any form of harassment, especially in cases of gender-based violence, and intensifying the call for more psychosocial services for UP students.
#GASC55
