As the election period started last May 4, political parties and independent candidates in the College of Social Sciences and Philosophy (CSSP) grapple with fulfilling the requirements needed for the filing of their Certificates of Candidacy (COC) brought about by the delayed announcement of the timeline of elections of the CSSP Office of Student Affairs (OSA).
In an interview with SINAG, SALiGAN sa CSSP raised their concerns on the said matter. They recount that on May 3, the Office of Student Project and Activities (OSPA) posted the guidelines for the University Student Council (USC) elections. No further instructions were provided for the college-wide elections.
After SALiGAN sent a letter to the OSA and the Office of the College Secretary (OCS) last May 4, the OSA responded that a meeting will be held with CSSP’s College Student Electoral Board (CSEB) regarding the said election guidelines.
On May 4, CSSP OSA shared on their timeline the announcement from the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs.
It was only on May 11, three days before the deadline, when CSSP OSA was was able to post a CSSP-specific election timeline alongside an image of the COC, and other requirements needed including the candidates’ biodata, True Copy of Grades (TCG), Certificate of no pending cases from the Student Disciplinary Council (SDC) and the Office of Student Ethics (OSE), their platforms, and the official Facebook page links of the parties and personal accounts of the candidates.
SALiGAN is disappointed with OSA’ reply to their email regarding requirements. OSA said that “you are expected to have prepared since the University sent out the Timeline last week”.
The said political party also lamented that no further instructions were provided as well as templates for the other requirements unlike in the guidelines released for the university-wide elections and in other colleges.
The party underscored that they indicated in their email their availability for a possible dialogue for a more effective information dissemination of guidelines needed for the election. According to OSA’s election calendar, the candidates will meet with the USEB on May 18.
Additionally, for one to obtain a copy of their TCG would require them to pay fees which SALiGAN notes is alarming, as the money could have instead been used in extending assistance to communities especially amid the pandemic.
“Sa tingin ng partido, hindi sapat ang inilaang panahon para tupdin ang mga itinakdang kahingian,” SALiGAN asserts.
(The party thinks the time allotted for the accomplishment of the requirements is not enough.)
The party demands that an extension be granted for the filing of COCs in the College.
Furthermore, SALiGAN also calls for the removal of the TCG as a requirement and if ever this would be unfeasible, the party instead asks that the fees for the document be removed.
SINAG also contacted BUKLOD CSSP for an interview; however, the publication received no response from the party.
Today is the last day of filing Certificates of Candidacy (COC). No announcement of any extension of filing has been announced.
Featured Image courtesy of CSSP OSA.
