Candidates in this year’s Student Government (SG) elections run unopposed as all 38 qualified students come from the long-standing party-list of the Alliance of Youth (ALAY) Leaders.
As observed in the official list released by the De La Salle Lipa (DLSL) Commission on Elections (Comelec) last April 20, the 38 number of this year’s candidates is less than the 49 from last year’s elections, highlighted by three executive positions, namely the vice president, executive PRO and executive auditor, being vacant.
In an earlier interview with Alyza Reign Camacho, DLSL Comelec Chairperson, she clarified that the vacant positions will be occupied through an appointment and that their role is to check if the candidates proposed by the newly-elected SG officers have met the qualifications.
Under the College of Education, Arts, and Sciences (CEAS), the coordinator of the education and multimedia arts programs are vacant. Meanwhile, the council of the College of Business, Economics, Accountancy and Management (CBEAM) lacks candidates for the accounting system and accountancy program coordinators.
For the College of Information, Technology and Engineering (CITE), no candidates will be running for the coordinator of the electronics communications engineering, and industrial engineering. The College of Nursing (CON) also lacks candidates for their third year and fourth year representatives.
The only college with a complete roster of candidates is the College of International, Hospitality and Tourism Management (CITHM).
Camacho said how it has saddened them that this year’s election is composed of unopposed and incomplete candidates.
“For next year, we really plan to promote student leadership para maraming mag step up.” said Camacho, when asked how Comelec will try to help address the matter.
Meanwhile, the number of candidates became a concern among student voters, with Niña Therese Sabale, a second year legal management student, sharing her disappointment at the vacancies and lack of aspiring student leaders.
Sabale also pointed out how she observed many students speak their minds but nobody has stepped up to lead others.
“Hopefully, before the next academic year starts, we’ll be able to find more capable and qualified student leaders to fill these vacancies,” Sabale said.
As per DLSL Comelec’s timeline of events, the two-week campaign period for the SG elections started last April 24 and will end on May 6. Candidates will also be answering questions and concerns from students and different DLSL organizations in Tapatan 2023 today, May 3, from 1 to 6 p.m. at the Nexus Lab.
The SG election voting period will be from May 8 to 11 and the results are expected to be released on May 13.
Article by: Yuan Miguel Abjelina and Win Sharm Cinco
