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COMELEC delays official list, sheds light on recent issues

By Levie Julianne L. Martin and Kathy Mae V. Arnedo

Weeksprior to the annual central and college elections, AMV Commission on Elections (COMELEC) Chairperson Cristine Yvette Malabanan breaks down recent changes in the local election landscape.

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In a memorandum issued by COMELEC last February 28, the release of the official list of candidates and the active virtual campaign were postponed to a later date due to delays in the paper processing. Malabanan explained that the necessary signatories were not accomplished on time, prompting the organization to adjust the timeline.

“For the [resolutions] kasi, we need to have our adviser’s sign, the resolution, and then the SWD before we can release. However, due to the changes to onsite signing, we cannot have the papers signed agad,” she said.

No considerations were made for the election proper to be moved as the original date, March 27 to April 1, is the most feasible. Instead, the roomto-room campaigns were postponed to accommodate the adjusted examination schedules brought by the unprecedented labor strike.

candidates and executive board members in the council. But, of course, that is not our only avenue for being able to provide student leaders in AMV. We were saddened by that fact but it did not stop us from expressing our stand as a political party.”

LAKASDIWA - Accountancy

Unit is the AMV arm of the university-wide political party, LAKASDIWA: Lakas ng Diwang Tomasino.

On practicing the right to vote:

When asked why AMVians should practice the right to vote, Malabanan said that the council helps in the process of communication with the administration.

“These leaders would be the [ones] helping them in their college life,” Malabanan stated. “[AMVians] should elect qualified student leaders for the position so that they will have a better college life.”

Meanwhile, the COMELEC Constitution is open for all AMVians and can be accessed upon request from the organization.

On MISMO’s partylist cancellation:

After failing to field candidates for two consecutive elections, a COMELEC resolution was released on August 18, 2022 declaring the cancellation of MISMO’s partylist registration.

Following the resolution, COMELEC perpetually bans the usage of the partylist name as well as the composition of its original members.

“We held a hearing about this… Grounds for cancellation ang hindi makapagpatakbo ng candidates for two consecutive elections. Doon sila nag-fall and unfortunately, they can’t continue their political party,” she stated.

Currently, the list of aspirants are dominated by five independent candidates and three ASSET runners. Due to their sanctions, LAKASDIWA and MISMO were unqualified to form their own line-ups this year.

On LAKASDIWA’s suspension:

Art By Janine Zyrelle S. Awat

On amendments of the election guidelines:

In accordance with the amendments to Resolution No. 14, incoming second-year or third-year students are now eligible to run as Vice President, while incoming third-year or fourth-year students can vie for the Presidential seat.

The said amendments were made to align with the current ASC Constitution allowing third year students to run during elections. The COMELEC chair went on to share that the supposed amendment was already in execution pre-pandemic, but was prohibited by the administration during the online set-up.

Furthermore, when asked about the relevance of the imposed minimum GWA of 2.25 for aspiring candidates, Malabanan said, “Hindi pwedeng puro council works lang ang gagawin ng student kasi nga, first and foremost, he or she is a student first before they become a leader.”

Malabanan expressed that the accumulation of minor offenses committed by LAKASDIWA was committed in the previous campaign period. Prior notices were given to the local partylist before the decision was made. However, Malabanan refused to disclose any specifics apart from the ones mentioned in LAKASDIWA’s statement.

No public disclosures about the suspension were made by COMELEC in accordance with the party’s wishes.

Last March 6, LAKASDIWA released an official statement concerning their partylist status on their Facebook account.

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