THE SAN BEDA Electoral Commission (ELCOM) addressed the abrupt removal of the Miting de Avance (MDA) livestream for the College of Accountancy and Business (CAB) Student Executive Council (SEC) inaugural general elections, issuing a statement as the recording of the MDA was republished on August 17 amid questions over the Commission’s handling of the August 14 forum held at the Jonathan Sy auditorium.

The ongoing election will be the first to establish an elected SEC for CAB, further strengthening the establishment of CAB as a separate college from the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) with its own student-government structure.

Despite a series of delays in the MDA, the event began with the candidates’ introduction, their platform exchanges, election debates, and a panel discussion, which was composed of representatives from various organizations. 

During the MDA, candidates focused their platforms and responses on building systems for the new council, coordinating student organizations, maintaining administrative continuity, managing student funds, and improving student welfare.

In the course of the platform exchange, Shara Chrisly Esteba, vying for the position of Chairperson under the San Bigkis Party (SBP), questioned independent candidate running for the same position, Francis Gabriel “Gabby” Gaw, on the feasibility of the 100,000-peso prize money in his “CAB Venture Cup,” given the budget limits and strict limitations of the accounting office.

Here, Esteba expressed that instead of allotting it to a specific team, he could have invested it in the general welfare of the student body, to which Gaw answered, “Iba kasi ang theoretical sa practical. We… should be an outcome-based college.”

In the panel discussion, candidates were asked how proposed systems could function alongside existing student organizations, remain useful beyond a single administration, and promote freshman and sophomore representation.

Organizational coordination was among the issues examined during the forum. A proposed centralized calendar, “CABSynch,” was presented by Executive Vice-Chairperson (EVC) aspirant, Jayna Xyzha Tayag from SBP, as a means of allowing the SEC and CAB students to keep track of organizational activities and plan ahead for scheduled events and administrative requirements. The proposal was also questioned on how it would preserve the autonomy of individual student organizations.

The continuity of council operations was another recurring concern. Gabrielle Bettina P. Garcia, the SBP candidate for Vice Chairperson for Secretariat (VCS), defended “SECompass,” which is a proposed administrative handbook intended to preserve procedures for succeeding councils. Garcia emphasized that the system would be maintained through documents uploaded to Google Drive and passed on to future officers, allowing the material to be reused and updated as leadership changes.

On concerns regarding the lack of lower year level representation in the council structure, Tayag, EVC candidate, stated “I don’t think that there will actually be a problem with the program representatives to represent the first and second-years,” expanding that, “It is our job… to actually address those issues to their corresponding organizations as to not have confusion in the modes of communication between them.”

During the audience forum portion of the MDA, Tayag was asked by current Junior Bedan Law Circle (JBLC) President Julien Kyle Lopez regarding the former’s platform of “CABSynch.”

In the midst of the exchange, tension arose when Tayag questioned ELCOM’s fairness after being cut off in her allotted answer portion despite allowing other candidates, similarly situated as her, to exceed the one-minute mark.

“Why in this scenario was I not allowed to answer my question, my opinion on the question…?” Tayag asked, which prompted a short break in the MDA with organizers reminding the candidates to engage in “proper decorum.”

The event then continued amid the late-morning suspension of face-to-face classes, with numerous exchanges between the audience and the candidates regarding the clarification and feasibility of their platforms and advocacies.

Moments after the MDA concluded, its livestream published on Facebook was quickly taken down without prior notice to the public. 

Right after the sudden removal of the livestream, The Bedan reached out to ELCOM regarding the situation but was met with no response.

On August 17, three days after the initial removal of the livestream broadcast, an official statement was published by ELCOM regarding the abrupt removal and subsequent republication of the MDA livestream. In their published post on Facebook, the Commission stated that it was “part of the original plan and was not undertaken to suppress, conceal, or diminish the proceedings or the statements of any candidate.” 

The electoral body further stated that they take full accountability and acknowledge that the handling and communication should have been more effective.

Prior to this, several issues arose before, during, and after the MDA, including the delayed start of the MDA and the failure to immediately provide a full recording of the event following the livestream.

ELCOM concluded in its official statement that it maintains that they are a commission that “remains committed to an electoral process that is fair to every candidate, accessible to every voter, and worthy of the confidence.” 

For the electorate, the MDA serves as an important opportunity to evaluate the candidates who will soon comprise CAB’s first-ever elected SEC. 

On August 14, ELCOM by virtue of its Resolution No. 11-2627, first extended the campaign period until August 18 and moved the election day from August 17 to August 19. Subsequently, on August 18, ELCOM has once again rescheduled the CAB SEC elections through Resolution No. 12-2627. 

The latest measure permitted online and face-to-face campaigning as the campaign period was extended until August 22, Saturday, with the election rescheduled to August 24, Monday, following ELCOM’s determination that further adjustments to the electoral calendar were necessary. 

On August 19, ELCOM, along with the San Beda Debate Society (SBDS), released a joint statement acknowledging that the forum “did not fully meet the standards expected of an electoral activity of such significance.” The organizations recognized the shortcomings in the administration and execution of the event.

The statement, however, was released five days after the MDA, during which communication with the publication remained limited as concerns surrounding the event unfolded. 

In the same statement, both ELCOM and SBDS ultimately reaffirmed their commitment “to respect the electoral rights of the CAB student body.”

(with Eunice Karen M. Buccat)