MANILA, Philippines – Aspiring student leaders of the University of Santo Tomas (UST) joined calls from the student body to restore abstain votes in the UST Central Student Council (CSC) elections after abstentions were removed in this year's university-wide polls.
Four out of 6 posts in last year’s CSC polls have been removed from ballots due to abstain votes, the UST Central Commission on Elections (COMELEC) said.
Independent public relations officer (PRO) candidate Jeremiah Pasion filed an appeal with the UST Central COMELEC, urging the commission to reconsider its ruling on abstentions.
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“The removal of ‘abstain’ in the ballots not only tramples upon the democratic right of Thomasians to express their choice if they want to approve or reject certain candidates,” Pasion said.
Secretary bets Carol Anne Balita and Robert Dominic Gonzales also called for the retention of abstentions in this year's elections.
In a tweet, Balita said students "opt to abstain from choosing those who don't represent the student body."
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">In the extent of our judgment of the candidates, we opt to abstain from choosing those who don't represent the student body.<br><br>Let the students be. Don't restrain us from our freedom to choose! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/RetainAbstain?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#RetainAbstain</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/UpholdDemRights?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#UpholdDemRights</a></p>— Carol Balita ✊ (@casbalita) <a href="https://twitter.com/casbalita/status/982597509666095112?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 7, 2018</a></blockquote>
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Meanwhile, Gonzales called "for a speedy future amendment" of the UST Students' Election Code (USEC) of 2011 for the retention of abstentions in student polls.
"Let us empower everyone to practice their right to vote. If you deem it necessary not to vote for a candidate, you have the freedom of choice," Gonzales said.
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="und" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/RetainAbstain?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#RetainAbstain</a><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FightForDemRights?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#FightForDemRights</a> <a href="https://t.co/ITPzTVrIsA">pic.twitter.com/ITPzTVrIsA</a></p>— Robert Gonzales (@robertkaaatz) <a href="https://twitter.com/robertkaaatz/status/982596171934744576?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 7, 2018</a></blockquote>
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Other CSC candidates have yet to publicly comment on the issue.
‘Attack on democratic rights’
In a press conference on March 8, the UST Central COMELEC announced there would be no “abstain” option in ballots to be used in the upcoming elections, but students could leave the ballots unanswered.
This move is in accordance with the order of the CSC Central Judiciary Board (CJB) regarding last year’s polls, which stated that including “abstain” in the ballots was a violation of the USEC.
“Abstain” won the positions for president, vice president, treasurer, and auditor in last year’s elections, which various students have viewed as an expression of the student body's discontent with "traditional politics.”
The said posts were left vacant for the entire academic year.
Militant student group League of Filipino Students (LFS)-UST condemned the removal of abstentions in the upcoming elections as an attack on the democratic rights of students, and urged students to tweet using the hashtags #RetainAbstain and #UpholdDemRights.
“Ang pagtanggal ng abstain vote ngayong CSC Elections ay isang direktang atake sa karapatang demokratiko ng mga Tomasino para magpasya at mamili ng kanilang lider (The removal of abstain vote in the CSC Elections is a direct attack on the democratic rights of Thomasians in voting and choosing their leaders),” LFS-UST stated.
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Several students also protested the removal of abstain votes using the two hashtags.
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">We'd rather choose abstain over position-hungry and crappy candidates. ABSTAIN is a statement in itself.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/RetainAbstain?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#RetainAbstain</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/UpholdDemRights?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#UpholdDemRights</a></p>— time + space. (@dropdeadmowey) <a href="https://twitter.com/dropdeadmowey/status/982577579751190528?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 7, 2018</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="tl" dir="ltr">Isang porma ng harapang pambabastos sa BOSES at KARAPATAN ng mga tomasino ang pagtatangal ng abstain votes sa <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/USTHalalan2018?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#USTHalalan2018</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/RetainAbstain?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#RetainAbstain</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/UpholdDemRights?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#UpholdDemRights</a></p>— renz (@RNZquivel) <a href="https://twitter.com/RNZquivel/status/982579864027844610?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 7, 2018</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The foundation of the student council elections is the studentry's democratic right to elect. Our choice not to elect anyone for a position should just be as valid. It's a protest vote that is meant to send a message across. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/RetainAbstain?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#RetainAbstain</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/UpholdDemRights?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#UpholdDemRights</a></p>— gian (@gianconel) <a href="https://twitter.com/gianconel/status/982614647546064897?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 7, 2018</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Let the Thomasian student body have the option of not choosing anyone when they think no one deserves their vote. It is our democratic right, and removing abstain from the choices strips us away of that right. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/RetainAbstain?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#RetainAbstain</a></p>— Patricia Teves (@patriciativs) <a href="https://twitter.com/patriciativs/status/982653903664594944?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 7, 2018</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="tl" dir="ltr">Karapatan ng isang estudyante ang pumili ng isang student-leader na alam nilang sasandig at itataguyod ang laban ng masang estudyante. Ang pagtanggal sa abstain sa balota ay ang pagtanggal sa kakayahang ito. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/RetainAbstain?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#RetainAbstain</a></p>— marc (@edisonagustin_) <a href="https://twitter.com/edisonagustin_/status/982895345192517632?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 8, 2018</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="tl" dir="ltr">'Wag natin hayaang mabaliwala ang tagumpay ng abstain noong nakaraan na eleksyon. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/UpholdDemRights?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#UpholdDemRights</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/RetainABSTAIN?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#RetainABSTAIN</a></p>— kat (@katongbascon) <a href="https://twitter.com/katongbascon/status/982617408392212480?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 7, 2018</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">We NEED abstain..<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/RetainAbstain?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#RetainAbstain</a> <a href="https://t.co/WQCVjA3U3A">https://t.co/WQCVjA3U3A</a></p>— The UST Files (@TheUSTF) <a href="https://twitter.com/TheUSTF/status/982600304129490944?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 7, 2018</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="tl" dir="ltr">mga tr4p0 matapos tanggalin ang abstain sa balota <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/RetainAbstain?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#RetainAbstain</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/UpholdDemRights?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#UpholdDemRights</a> <a href="https://t.co/cn5X8nXiAQ">pic.twitter.com/cn5X8nXiAQ</a></p>— aerish #OverthrowDu30 (@sadtambay) <a href="https://twitter.com/sadtambay/status/982601695728320512?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 7, 2018</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">THE D IN MOMMY D STAND FOR DEMOCRATIC RIGHTS <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/RetainAbstain?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#RetainAbstain</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/UpholdDemRights?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#UpholdDemRights</a> <a href="https://t.co/5msQ8g5Bo3">pic.twitter.com/5msQ8g5Bo3</a></p>— pork chao fan with dumplings (@gageaux) <a href="https://twitter.com/gageaux/status/982606759331184642?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 7, 2018</a></blockquote>
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The UST Central COMELEC has not commented on Pasion’s appeal nor on the statements of Gonzales and Balita. The university-wide polls are set to push through starting Wednesday, April 11, until April 21, Saturday.
The CJB ruling on abstentions, however, does not take effect in local student council elections where candidates losing to abstain votes are common, as their respective constitutions state specific provisions on abstentions and are autonomous from the CSC and the UST Central Comelec. –Rappler.com
Philip Jamilla studies Literature at the University of Santo Tomas. He is currently the executive editor of TomasinoWeb, UST’s official digital media organization.