MARI OKOL, THE President of the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) Student Council (SC), has announced that the Student Assembly has been rescheduled to February 5 at the Pamanang Bedista in order to “address” and “resolve” the failure of the Fourth-Year Level Representative Special Elections caused by a “lack of qualified candidates.”

San Bigkis Party’s (SBP) Kent Sta. Ana, the sole candidate for the supposed Fourth Year Level Representative Special Elections, filed his withdrawal of candidacy to the San Beda Electoral Board (ELBO) last January 18, due to a “conflict of requirements,” a few days before the Town Hall Meeting and the Election Day.

Accordingly, on the same day, ELBO released Resolution No. 15-2425, acknowledging and authorizing Sta. Ana’s withdrawal from the special elections.

Shedding light on this issue, Enrique Louise Bonete, SBP’s Chairperson, told The Bedan that, while Sta. Ana was “ready to serve the Bedan community,” there was a “conflict of requirements,” exacerbated by the “lagging process” of the “Athletics’ Office in catering to the enrolment process of student-athletes.” With this, Bonete further explained that the registrar cannot issue Sta. Ana’s Certificate of Enrolment (COE)– a crucial requirement for his Certificate of Candidacy (COC) as provided in “Article VI, Section 2 of the Omnibus Election Code (OEC).”

In a separate interview, ELBO told The Bedan that the failure to comply with the prescribed requirements “does not imply any exclusion or denial of democratic principles. Inversely, such actions are necessary in upholding the integrity of the electoral framework set forth, to ensure that all candidates are of the same standard and that the process remains in compliance with the rules.”

Acknowledging the limited period of ten (10) days allotted for the conduct of Special Elections, ELBO implemented a “formal contract agreement,” expressly requiring “the submission of all outstanding requirements no later than January 18, between 9:00 AM and 1:00 PM.” “Noncompliance with this stipulation would be construed as a voluntary withdrawal by the candidate, as explicitly stated in its terms of the agreement.” Yet despite such leniency, ELBO explained that the candidate “failed to comply with the necessary documents on time, prompting him to withdraw.”

Even amid the supposed lagging process of the Athletics Office, “In accordance with the principles of due process, the Board, in the absence of duly issued documents from the proper authorities, cannot justifiably rely on a student’s academic, organizational affiliations, or status as the basis for determining eligibility or standing. The integrity of due process must be respected, both within the school and in external matters, to ensure fairness and accountability,” ELBO explained.

On the same day as well, ELBO also declared a “Failure of Elections” through Resolution No. 16-2425, stating that Sta. Ana’s withdrawal “left the position of Fourth Year Level Representative without any remaining qualified candidates,” thus, making the Special Elections “infeasible.”

Left with no qualified candidates, in an effort to address and resolve the matter promptly and efficiently,” the CAS Office of the Prefect of Student Activities (OPSA) prompted the incumbent SC to convene a Student Assembly alongside ELBO, as provided in Article V, Section 1 of the SBU-CAS SC Constitution.

As such, in a now-deleted post, last January 20, President Okol called on “all Fourth-Year classroom presidents and/or beadles” for their attendance in the Student Assembly to “address the vacancy in the Fourth Year Level Representative position.”

While the Student Assembly was initially planned to be convened tomorrow, January 29, but due to the Chinese New Year celebration, which Malacañang declared as a special non-working holiday through Proclamation No. 727, Okol told The Bedan that the Student Assembly will be rescheduled on February 5 at the Pamanang Bedista.

According to Article VIII, Section 3 of the SBU-CAS Constitution, the Student Assembly shall (a) serve as the avenue for discussion of issues affecting the whole CAS Students; (b) facilitate the queries of all students; (c) endorse possible actions to the Executive Council (EC) pertaining to the entire studentry; (d) perform/coordinate activities that will benefit the whole CAS Students; (e) decide on concerns through a majority vote of 50% plus one of all the members of the SA; and (f) sit in banc with the EC to decide for impeachment suspension and removal proceedings.

Following the issues that arose during the Special Elections, The Bedan is actively communicating with the CAS-SC to understand how the council plans to address the situation.