The Freethinker

LOOK: Computing Society's official statement re: scrutiny over vote counting, verification.

𝐎𝐅𝐅𝐈𝐂𝐈𝐀𝐋 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐓𝐄𝐌𝐄𝐍𝐓 | 𝐂𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐑𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐒𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐭𝐲 (𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐒𝐨𝐜) 𝐄𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐄𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐞𝐝𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐬

The Computing Society (ComSoc) of Sorsogon State University – Bulan Campus, College of Information and Communications Technology (CICT), issues this official statement to address inquiries, concerns, and procedural questions surrounding the conduct of the September 03, 2026 election.

We welcome the active participation and vigilance of CICT students. Upholding student trust, organizational integrity, and transparency remains a top priority for our organization. To set the record straight and provide clarity to the student body, Computing Society highlights the following points:

𝗢𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗩𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗠𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗛𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗣𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗲

While the Computing Society Constitution and By-Laws (CBL) provide for broad mechanisms such as electronic voting or paper ballots, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒔𝒆𝒅-𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒎𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒅 𝒖𝒕𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒛𝒆𝒅 𝒅𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑮𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒍 𝑨𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒎𝒃𝒍𝒚 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒂𝒅𝒐𝒑𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝒈𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝒇𝒂𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒐𝒖𝒔 𝒂𝒅𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔. This decision was practical, driven by historical challenges regarding student turnout and engagement during general assemblies, 𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒂 𝒑𝒉𝒚𝒔𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒍 𝒎𝒂𝒋𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒃𝒆 𝒗𝒊𝒔𝒊𝒃𝒍𝒚 𝒂𝒄𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒊𝒏 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒍-𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆.

Moving forward, 𝑪𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒖𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑺𝒐𝒄𝒊𝒆𝒕𝒚 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒊𝒕𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒎𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒂𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑪𝑩𝑳 𝒕𝒐 𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒕𝒖𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒛𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒍𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒕𝒍𝒚 𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒍𝒖𝒅𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒔𝒆𝒅-𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒎𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒅 𝒂𝒔 𝒂 𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒈𝒏𝒊𝒛𝒆𝒅 𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒂𝒍 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒄𝒆𝒅𝒖𝒓𝒆, ensuring our practices align clearly with our governing laws.

𝗢𝗻 𝗩𝗼𝘁𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝘀, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗩𝗲𝗻𝘂𝗲 𝗗𝘆𝗻𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗰𝘀

Computing Society affirms that 𝒄𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒐𝒇𝒇𝒊𝒄𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒎 𝒐𝒇𝒇𝒊𝒄𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒈𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒅𝒆𝒑𝒍𝒐𝒚𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒄𝒓𝒐𝒔𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑺𝒐𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒍 𝑯𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒕𝒐 𝒈𝒖𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒔𝒕𝒖𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒗𝒐𝒕𝒆𝒔 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒈𝒏𝒊𝒛𝒆𝒅. During the assembly 𝒍𝒆𝒈𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒑𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒊𝒆𝒔, (such as instances of double-counting or missed attendees) 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒊𝒎𝒎𝒆𝒅𝒊𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒍𝒚 𝒂𝒅𝒅𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒔𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒐𝒏-𝒕𝒉𝒆-𝒔𝒑𝒐𝒕 𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒔 supervised by presiding officers. Adjustments made during these 𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒐𝒓 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒕𝒍𝒚 𝒆𝒙𝒆𝒄𝒖𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝒕𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒂𝒄𝒄𝒖𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒍𝒚 reflected the consensus of the students present before any winner was declared.

Furthermore, regarding claims that the process was 𝒓𝒖𝒔𝒉𝒆𝒅 "𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘢𝘭𝘪", 𝒘𝒆 𝒄𝒍𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒇𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒂𝒄𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒅𝒊𝒄𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒚 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒕 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒔. The organization was only allotted the 8:00 𝓐𝓜 to 11:00 𝓐𝓜 schedule to use the 𝙎𝙤𝙘𝙞𝙖𝙡 𝙃𝙖𝙡𝙡, as the 𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒖𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒆 𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑺𝒄𝒉𝒐𝒍𝒂𝒓'𝒔 𝑳𝒆𝒂𝒈𝒖𝒆 𝑮𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒍 𝑨𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒎𝒃𝒍𝒚 in the 𝒂𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒐𝒐𝒏. Within this timeframe, ample opportunity was given for floor nominations; announcements were made to allow students to nominate candidates, 𝒊𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒏𝒐 𝒇𝒖𝒓𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒏𝒐𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒔, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒖𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒃𝒐𝒅𝒚 𝒆𝒙𝒆𝒓𝒄𝒊𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒎𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒄𝒍𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒏𝒐𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 for that specific position to proceed with the election.

Additionally, as students began 𝒓𝒖𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑺𝒐𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒍 𝑯𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒎𝒊𝒔𝒆𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒅 𝒖𝒑𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒒𝒖𝒊𝒛𝒛𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒄𝒍𝒂𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒔, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒐𝒇 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒎 𝒐𝒇𝒇𝒊𝒄𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝑩𝑺𝑰𝑻, 𝑩𝑺𝑪𝑺, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑩𝑺𝑰𝑺 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒄𝒄𝒐𝒓𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒍𝒚. Meanwhile, the Bachelor of Technical-Vocational Teacher Education (BTVTED) program—operating under its own minor organization, BTVTED (𝑭𝑴𝑮-𝑻𝒆𝒄𝒉)—𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒂𝒍𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒚 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒖𝒄𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒂 𝒔𝒆𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒈𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒍 𝒂𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒎𝒃𝒍𝒚, 𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒕𝒔 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒐𝒇𝒇𝒊𝒄𝒆𝒓𝒔, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒎𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒔𝒖𝒃𝒎𝒊𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒖𝒍𝒕𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑪𝒐𝒎𝑺𝒐𝒄 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒇𝒇𝒊𝒄𝒆𝒓.

𝗖𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗤𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗔𝘀𝘀𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗹𝘆 𝗔𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲

To clarify the process, 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒏𝒐 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒐𝒓 𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒍𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒐𝒓 𝑪𝒆𝒓𝒕𝒊𝒇𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝑪𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒅𝒂𝒄𝒚 (𝑪𝑶𝑪) 𝒇𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈, as the election was conducted 𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒅𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒎𝒃𝒍𝒚. However, Computing Society 𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒆𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒐𝒇𝒇𝒊𝒄𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒎𝒆𝒆𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒂𝒓𝒅𝒔 𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑪𝑩𝑳, specifically possessing good moral character, having no failing grades in any subject taken in the school year preceding the election. Be a bona fide, and meeting the required academic standing—𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒄𝒉 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒆 𝒔𝒖𝒃𝒎𝒊𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒅 by the elected President and the Internal and External Vice Presidents, as we did not gather these official requirements prior to the election.

Furthermore, regarding attendance, Computing Society operates as a 𝒏𝒐𝒏-𝒒𝒖𝒐𝒓𝒖𝒎-𝒃𝒂𝒔𝒆𝒅 organization for general elections. With a total CICT student population of approximately 1,500 students, the 𝑺𝒐𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒍 𝑯𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒄𝒂𝒏𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒑𝒉𝒚𝒔𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒂𝒄𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒐𝒅𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒓𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒖𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒃𝒐𝒅𝒚. Therefore, the 𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒓𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒑𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒖𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔 of the students present at the assembly rather than an absolute 50%+1 threshold of the entire student population.

𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗶𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗗𝗼𝗰𝘂𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻

Regarding the official tally requested by the student body and 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘍𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬𝘦𝘳, we sincerely apologize that the 𝒐𝒓𝒈𝒂𝒏𝒊𝒛𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒅𝒐𝒆𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒂 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒎𝒂𝒍 𝒄𝒐𝒑𝒚 𝒐𝒏 𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒅. We made active efforts to retrieve the digital record of the results by attempting to recover the files recorded during the assembly using the WPS app, but unfortunately, we were unable to recover the official tally. However, 𝒅𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒄𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒊𝒕𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒇, 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒗𝒐𝒕𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒉 𝒄𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒅𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒇𝒍𝒂𝒔𝒉𝒆𝒅 𝒅𝒊𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒍𝒚 𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒊𝒈 𝒔𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒍𝒆𝒕𝒆 𝒗𝒊𝒔𝒊𝒃𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚

Furthermore, 𝒃𝒆𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒄𝒆𝒆𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒖𝒍𝒕𝒔, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒓 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒍𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒕𝒍𝒚 𝒐𝒑𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒂𝒏𝒚 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒔 𝒐𝒓 𝒐𝒃𝒋𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔, and since 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒏𝒐 responses or issues raised by the assembly at that time, the election process officially moved forward.

We acknowledge the 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒄𝒆𝒅𝒖𝒓𝒂𝒍 𝒈𝒂𝒑𝒔 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒌 𝒐𝒇 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒎𝒂𝒍, 𝒘𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒏 𝒅𝒐𝒄𝒖𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 of the recount process and centralized physical records outside of the projected tallies and officer familiarization. In response to the feedback from the student body and the publication, Computing Society is currently compiling and organizing all available electoral data to ensure complete accountability.

The organization takes this experience as a vital lesson that 𝙚𝙡𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙞𝙨 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙢𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙡𝙮 𝙖 𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙢𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙮, 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙖 𝙨𝙖𝙘𝙧𝙚𝙙 𝙚𝙭𝙚𝙧𝙘𝙞𝙨𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙙𝙪𝙚 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙘𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙙𝙚𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙨 𝙖𝙗𝙨𝙤𝙡𝙪𝙩𝙚 𝙖𝙘𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙩𝙖𝙗𝙞𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙮, 𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙥𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙞𝙗𝙞𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙮, 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙜𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙮, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙨𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙮. Moving forward, the Computing Society (ComSoc) of Sorsogon State University – Bulan Campus 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙢𝙞𝙩𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙞𝙣𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙩𝙪𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙯𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙧𝙞𝙜𝙤𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙨, 𝙛𝙪𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙙𝙤𝙘𝙪𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙘𝙚𝙙𝙪𝙧𝙚𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙚𝙣𝙨𝙪𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙨𝙩𝙪𝙙𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙜𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙣𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙖𝙡𝙬𝙖𝙮𝙨 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙨 𝙖𝙨 𝙖𝙣 𝙪𝙣𝙦𝙪𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙝𝙢𝙖𝙧𝙠 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙧𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙘𝙩 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙩𝙪𝙙𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙗𝙤𝙙𝙮.

LOOK: Union of Public Servants' official statement re: Harapan 2026 and Election procedures.

𝗡𝗘𝗪𝗦 | 𝗨𝗣𝗦 𝗛𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗽𝗮𝗻 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲 𝗲𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝗮𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗱𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘆𝘀, 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗽𝘂𝘁𝗲𝘀

SORSOGON STATE UNIVERSITY – BULAN CAMPUS — What was scheduled to begin at 8:00 a.m. stretched past 5:00 p.m. as the Union of Public Servants (UPS) held Harapan 2026 amid a delayed start, an unexpected walk-in filing, questions over the Election Committee’s preparedness, a party withdrawal, and mounting concerns raised by members.

The program officially began at around 10:00 a.m., following the filing of certificates of candidacy by 𝗝𝗮𝘀𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗡. 𝗕𝗼𝗻 and 𝗔𝘀𝗵𝗹𝗲𝘆 𝗝𝗵𝗮𝘆𝗻𝗲 𝗨𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗼, who entered the race as a tandem on the day of the event.

Their filing came after a party and an independent candidate had already emerged during the designated filing period, meaning candidates had already been identified before the Bon-Unato tandem entered the race.

The Election Committee, headed by fourth-year Public Administration student 𝗝𝗼𝗵𝗻 𝗣𝗮𝘂𝗹 𝗗𝗼𝗺𝗱𝗼𝗺, allowed the walk-in filing, citing the absence of a publicly released deadline for the filing of candidacies from either the Election Committee or the administration.

The decision prompted questions about the election’s procedures, particularly the lack of publicly available electoral guidelines and a formal resolution governing the Election Committee at the outset of Harapan 2026.

Members of the Election Committee later acknowledged that they were not fully familiar with the committee’s scope and limitations.

They said the body had only been convened the previous Tuesday and that no physical meeting had been conducted following its appointment. The committee also said the walk-in filing had not been anticipated.

The delayed organization of the Election Committee likewise raised concerns among some of its members, who expected the electoral body to be constituted before the opening of the filing period.
Concerns over the conduct of the event continued throughout the program.

Fourth-year students twice raised a motion seeking an apology over the issues encountered during Harapan 2026. 𝗝𝗮𝗻 𝗟𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗗𝗲𝗿𝗹𝗮, a member of the Election Committee, responded by asking for patience and additional time as the committee worked to address the situation.

No formal apology was issued before the program concluded.

As of publication, the Union of Public Servants had yet to release an official statement addressing the concerns raised during Harapan 2026.

The events surrounding this year’s Harapan have placed renewed attention on the need for clear electoral guidelines, timely organization of election bodies, and transparent procedures for student elections.

𝗣𝗜𝗟𝗟𝗔𝗥 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗱𝗿𝗮𝘄𝗮𝗹

Before the morning program concluded, 𝗣𝗜𝗟𝗟𝗔𝗥 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘆𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗸 𝗝𝗮𝗶𝗿𝗼 𝗣. 𝗕𝗼𝗻 raised a motion questioning the conduct of Harapan 2026 and manifested his intention to withdraw from the election.

𝗕𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗩𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗞𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗝𝗮𝗻𝘆𝗻 𝗚𝗲𝘂𝗹 subsequently left their party’s lineup, while the candidates from secretary through fourth-year representative continued.

The program proceeded with parties and independent candidates presenting their visions and missions for the organization, followed by a question-and-answer portion with UPS members.

𝟱𝟲% 𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗼𝘂𝘁

The election recorded 155 ballots cast out of 277 registered voters, resulting in a 56.0% voter turnout.

All 155 ballots cast were recorded as valid, with no invalid ballots.
The Election Committee reported releasing 340 ballots, of which 185 remained unused.

The figures mean that 122 registered voters did not cast a ballot, representing 44.0% of the registered electorate. Nearly half of the registered membership therefore did not participate in choosing the organization’s officers for the coming one-year term.

𝗝𝗮𝘀𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗕𝗼𝗻 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝘀𝗼𝗹𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗰𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲

Following Mark Jairo P. Bon’s withdrawal, Jasmine N. Bon became the sole remaining candidate for president and was subsequently elected with 119 votes.

Ashley Jhayne Unato won the vice presidency with 102 votes, against Ram E. Benavides’ 42.

Cris Lawrence Hate was elected secretary with 115 votes, while Jeruza Mae Macabuhay won treasurer with 79 votes.

For auditor, Jhony Gotis received 59 votes, followed by Raise Cyra Novela with 42 and CJ Kleian B. Morata with 22.

Lorraine L. Mercado was elected public information officer with 76 votes.

For business manager, Mary Angeline Godala received 78 votes and Asia Mae Guela’s 69 votes electing them for the position.

John Christian A. Laureta won as first-year representative with 17 votes, while Rachel G. Romero won as second-year representative with 20 votes.

For third-year representative, Francine Faye Estabaya received 38 votes and Diana Rose B. Grajo received 39 votes. Both were elected.

Riven John Ginete, with 26 votes, and John Kenneth Gustuir, with 25 votes, were elected as fourth-year representatives.

𝗠𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗱𝗲𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗺𝘀

Following the election, members were given an opportunity to address the newly elected officers.

Their messages centered on representation, accountability, humility, responsiveness, and the need for the incoming administration to learn from the concerns raised during the election.

“𝘋𝘪𝘳𝘪 𝘬𝘢𝘮𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘱𝘢𝘢𝘱𝘦𝘬𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘢 𝘬𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘴𝘮𝘰 𝘯𝘢𝘯 𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘬𝘢𝘮𝘰 𝘴𝘢𝘯 𝘮𝘨𝘢 𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘴𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘻𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯; 𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘢 𝘥𝘪𝘳𝘪 𝘬𝘢𝘮𝘪 𝘱𝘢𝘨 𝘣𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘰𝘯, 𝘐 𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘦 𝘸𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘱𝘶𝘳𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦,” a third-year member said.

A first-year member challenged the incoming officers to prove themselves through their actions.

“𝘏𝘪𝘮𝘶𝘰𝘯 𝘯𝘪𝘺𝘰 𝘢𝘯 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘰 𝘯𝘢 𝘥𝘢𝘱𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘮𝘶𝘰𝘯 𝘯𝘢 𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘯𝘢𝘺𝘢𝘯 𝘯𝘪𝘺𝘰 𝘯𝘢 𝘬𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘥𝘢𝘱𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘨𝘢 𝘬𝘢𝘮𝘰”

Another third-year member reminded the officers to remain approachable despite criticism.

“𝘮𝘢𝘴𝘬𝘪 𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘯 𝘴𝘢𝘣𝘪𝘩𝘰𝘯 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘺𝘰 𝘴𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘢𝘸𝘰… 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘰 𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘻𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘴𝘮, 𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦, 𝘎𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘭𝘶𝘤𝘬.”

A third-year member also cautioned the incoming leaders against allowing their positions to affect their humility.

“𝘚𝘢𝘯𝘢 𝘬𝘶𝘯 𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘮 𝘮𝘰 𝘴𝘢 𝘴𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘳𝘪 𝘮𝘰 𝘯𝘢 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘬𝘢 𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳, 𝘥𝘪𝘳𝘪 𝘮𝘢𝘨 𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘬𝘢𝘸 𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘨𝘰”

During the post-election portion, newly elected president Jasmine N. Bon was given an opportunity to speak through the microphone. She said that even if members did not like the leader or president, they should at least respect the position.

Another third-year member ended the messages with a direct challenge to the incoming administration:
“𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘦, 𝘯𝘢 𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘪 𝘯𝘢 𝘮𝘢𝘶𝘭𝘪𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘯𝘢𝘨𝘺𝘢𝘳𝘪 𝘴𝘢 2 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘥𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘐 𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘧𝘳𝘶𝘪𝘵𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱 𝘥𝘪𝘳𝘪 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘢 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘮𝘴, 𝘬𝘢𝘺 𝘥𝘪𝘳𝘪 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘬𝘪𝘵𝘢 𝘺𝘢𝘢𝘥𝘪 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘢 𝘴𝘢 𝘱𝘢𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘯 𝘴𝘢𝘯 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘮𝘴, 𝘥𝘪𝘳𝘪 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘺𝘶𝘯𝘢𝘯 𝘴𝘢𝘯 𝘱𝘶𝘣𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘴, 𝘸𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘧𝘶𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘬𝘢𝘺 𝘥𝘪𝘳𝘪 𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘬𝘪𝘵𝘢 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘪 𝘮𝘢 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳, 𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘰 1 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘪𝘵”

Jan Garais, UPS Adviser closed the event by saying:

“𝘐'𝘥 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘸𝘭𝘺 𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘖𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘜𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘗𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘤 𝘚𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘎𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘭𝘶𝘤𝘬”

Harapan 2026 ended after a day that began with a two-hour delay and continued through questions over electoral preparedness, a walk-in filing, calls for an apology, a party withdrawal, and a 44% non-voting share among registered voters.

The newly elected officers now begin a one-year term under expectations from members that leadership must extend beyond programs and publicity materials—to representation, accountability, responsiveness, and the confidence of the organization they were elected to serve.

𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗦𝗼𝗰 𝗘𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝘀𝗰𝗿𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗻𝘆 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝘃𝗼𝘁𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻

Sorsogon State University - Bulan Campus — Questions over vote counting, voter verification, recounts, candidate qualification, and the availability of election records have surfaced following the September 3 election of the Computing Society (ComSoc), the department-based organization serving students from the four programs under the College of Information and Communications Technology (CICT) of Sorsogon State University - Bulan Campus.
Mr. Rytzz Grieta was announced as the newly elected ComSoc president, while Ms. Angel Desiree Cabales was the other presidential candidate.

However, several students interviewed by 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘍𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬𝘦𝘳 raised concerns about how votes were counted and verified during the election, including claims that some students were counted despite not raising their hands, that some votes at the back of the Social Hall may not have been counted simultaneously, and that the counting process became rushed as students began leaving the venue.

The concerns come alongside the absence, as of publication, of an official election tally or documented recount record released or submitted by ComSoc to 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘍𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬𝘦𝘳.

𝙈𝙚𝙢𝙗𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙦𝙪𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙫𝙤𝙩𝙚𝙨 𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙙

Several members described uncertainty during the counting process.

One member said they were counted despite not voting by raising their hand.

“𝘐 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘷𝘰𝘵𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘰 𝘯𝘢𝘬𝘢𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘢 𝘢𝘬𝘰 [𝘴𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘷𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘴] 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘰𝘯.”

Another member said some votes may not have been counted because the process appeared rushed.

“𝘔𝘢𝘺 𝘮𝘨𝘢 𝘯𝘢𝘬𝘢𝘣𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘺 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘰 𝘥𝘪𝘳𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘯𝘢-𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵... 𝘬𝘢𝘴𝘪 𝘣𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘬𝘢𝘬𝘢𝘥𝘢𝘭𝘪 𝘯𝘪𝘳𝘢 𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘢𝘨𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘰 [𝘷𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘴].”

Likewise, a member who participated in the counting also questioned whether votes from the back portion of the Social Hall were counted at the same time as those in front.

“𝘔𝘢𝘺 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘢 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘨𝘢𝘯𝘢 𝘴𝘪 𝘋𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘴 𝘗𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵, 𝘬𝘢𝘴𝘰 𝘯𝘨𝘢 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘥𝘪𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘢𝘴𝘢𝘣𝘢𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘰𝘥.”

Another member recalled confusion while votes from the Bachelor of Technical-Vocational Teacher Education (BTVTED) program were still being counted.

“𝘕𝘢𝘨-𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘢 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘢𝘯 𝘷𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘉𝘛𝘝𝘛𝘌𝘋, 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘶𝘭𝘵 𝘯𝘢, 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘰𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘯𝘢 𝘯𝘢-𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘢𝘯 𝘷𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘯𝘢𝘨𝘬𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘣𝘰𝘬 𝘬𝘢𝘮𝘪 𝘴𝘢𝘥𝘵𝘰 𝘬𝘢𝘺 𝘴𝘢𝘣𝘪 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘰 𝘥𝘪𝘳𝘪 𝘱𝘢 𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘯𝘢𝘪-𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘭𝘶𝘥𝘦 𝘢𝘯 𝘴𝘢𝘢𝘮𝘰 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘰 𝘴𝘢𝘣𝘪 𝘯𝘪𝘳𝘢 𝘯𝘢-𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘭𝘶𝘥𝘦 𝘯𝘢 𝘥𝘢𝘸.”

Meanwhile, questions over the verification of official election results, recount procedures, and the impartiality of the election committee have emerged amid members’ concerns over blatant irregularities in the electoral process.

“𝘗𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘢𝘨-𝘮𝘢𝘫𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘯𝘢, 𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘨𝘰-𝘨𝘰 𝘯𝘢 𝘯𝘪𝘳𝘢 𝘺𝘢𝘥𝘵𝘰.”

“𝘚𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘯𝘢𝘨𝘱𝘢𝘱𝘢-𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵 𝘴𝘪𝘭𝘢 𝘬𝘢𝘴𝘪 𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘪 𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘢𝘯 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘴𝘦-𝘴𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘭𝘢 𝘴𝘢 𝘯𝘶𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳 𝘯𝘢 𝘴𝘢 𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘪𝘯 𝘯𝘪𝘭𝘢 𝘰𝘬 𝘯𝘢.”

Another CICT student described the counting as partly transparent but said they observed instances they perceived as problematic:

“𝘚𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘢𝘨𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘨, 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘰 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘤𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘻𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘪𝘢𝘴𝘦𝘴”

In the same interview, some members cited that officers were distributed around the venue but questioned whether the tally was always visible and whether people who did not raise their hands were sometimes counted.

“𝘚𝘰 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘭𝘭, 𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘴𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘱𝘰 𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘷𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘱𝘰, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘯𝘢𝘱𝘢𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘯 𝘬𝘰 𝘱𝘰 𝘯𝘢 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘱𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘶𝘱, 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 ‘𝘥𝘪 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘯 𝘯𝘢 𝘬𝘪𝘬𝘪𝘵𝘢 𝘤𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘺 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘱𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘪𝘣𝘢 𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥”

𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝘾𝙤𝙢𝙎𝙤𝙘 𝘾𝘽𝙇 𝙨𝙖𝙮𝙨

The concerns can be examined against the Computing Society’s Constitution and By-Laws (CBL), amended in September 2025.
The CBL provides that nominated individuals may be disqualified if they fail to meet the organization’s qualifications. 𝗜𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗿𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗴𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗿, 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗱𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻; 𝗱𝗲𝗺𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗾𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀; 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗻𝗼 𝗳𝗮𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗹 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿; 𝗯𝗲 𝗯𝗼𝗻𝗮 𝗳𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗦𝗼𝗿𝗦𝗨-𝗕𝘂𝗹𝗮𝗻 𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀; 𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝗲𝗻𝗿𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗱 𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗺; 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗻𝗼 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗶𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗿 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗼𝗹𝘃𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘀 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗼𝗹𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗽𝗶𝘁𝘂𝗱𝗲. Candidates for president and the two vice-presidential positions also have an additional restriction concerning on-the-job training.

The CBL further states that officers shall be elected through a “𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗵𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗲𝘅𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗾𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝘂𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆," with final selection determined by majority vote of the members. It provides that voting shall be conducted through a “𝘀𝗲𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀” using an approved method, which may include electronic voting, paper ballots, or another method deemed appropriate by election committees. It also requires election procedures to ensure “fairness, transparency, and integrity.”

This creates two distinct stages in the election process:
(1) Determining whether nominees meet the qualifications and suitability requirements, and (2) Determining which qualified candidates receive the majority of votes.

𝙃𝙤𝙬 𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙘𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙙𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙨' 𝙦𝙪𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙛𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙛𝙞𝙚𝙙?

The raised-hand voting method itself cannot establish whether a nominee meets requirements involving grades, enrollment, disciplinary records, or the other qualifications specified in Article VII.

Former ComSoc President Jenice Gerero, who also served as the presiding officer of the said election, told The Freethinker that the CBL and election procedures were presented to students before the election. However, when asked about written guidelines governing the voting and counting process, she said there were none.
She also said the raised-hand method was not expressly provided in the CBL and had instead been adopted from the previous ComSoc administration.

“𝘞𝘢𝘳𝘢. 𝘒𝘢𝘴𝘪 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘴𝘢𝘢𝘬𝘰 𝘴𝘢 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘚𝘰𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘵𝘺 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘪𝘯-𝘢𝘥𝘰𝘱𝘵 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘥𝘪𝘯 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘰 𝘢𝘯 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘢, 𝘬𝘢𝘺𝘢 𝘮𝘢𝘰 𝘯𝘢 𝘥𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘯-𝘢𝘥𝘰𝘱𝘵 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘰 [𝘴𝘢𝘯 𝘚𝘦𝘱𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳 3 𝘊𝘖𝘔𝘚𝘖𝘊 𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯].”

When asked whether the raised-hand method was stated in the CBL, Gerero replied:

“𝘋𝘪𝘳𝘦.”

Gerero explained that the method was used partly because it was difficult to obtain students’ cooperation during general assemblies, despite explicit provision of using other voting mechanisms such as electronic voting and ballot paper that would be more compliant to its election mandates of providing a ‘secure and transparent process.’

The CBL, likewise states that nominees may be disqualified for failing to meet the prescribed qualifications and that candidates should undergo a comprehensive examination of their qualifications and suitability before the final selection by majority vote.

This does not establish that any candidate failed to meet the CBL requirements. Rather, it leaves open the question of whether the required qualification screening took place in the electoral process.

𝙑𝙤𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙛𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙧𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙚𝙙 𝙤𝙣 𝙛𝙖𝙢𝙞𝙡𝙞𝙖𝙧𝙞𝙯𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣

Gerero said officers relied on familiarity with students to distinguish those who had already voted from those who had not.

“... 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘢’𝘮𝘰 𝘴𝘢𝘱𝘢𝘵 𝘯𝘢 𝘥𝘪𝘯 𝘺𝘢𝘥𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘢 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘶𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘬𝘶𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘰 𝘢𝘯 𝘮𝘨𝘢 𝘥𝘪𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘢𝘨𝘷𝘰𝘵𝘦 𝘯𝘢𝘯 𝘯𝘢𝘨𝘷𝘰𝘵𝘦… 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘻𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘨.”

When asked whether there was a specific mechanism to prevent a student from voting twice, she answered:

“𝘞𝘢𝘳𝘢. 𝘍𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘻𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘨.”

Gerero said officers were assigned by program, with core officers also positioned at the back of the venue to count votes.

She said officers instructed students to raise their hands and kept their hands raised until their votes were counted.

However, the CBL does not expressly establish a voter registry or prescribe raised-hand voting as the election method. Its stated requirement is that voting be conducted through a secure and transparent process using an approved method and that election procedures ensure fairness, transparency and integrity.

𝙍𝙚𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙩𝙨 𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙙𝙪𝙘𝙩𝙚𝙙, 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙣𝙤 𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙢𝙖𝙡 𝙧𝙚𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙩 𝙧𝙚𝙘𝙤𝙧𝙙 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙠𝙚𝙥𝙩

Gerero acknowledged that recounts were conducted when officers believed there were discrepancies.

“𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘬𝘢𝘴𝘪, 𝘮𝘢𝘺-𝘰𝘯 𝘴𝘢𝘯 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘯𝘢 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘯𝘢𝘨𝘥𝘰𝘣𝘭𝘦, 𝘦𝘥𝘪 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘯𝘢 𝘯𝘢𝘬𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘵𝘢 𝘯𝘢 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘯𝘢𝘨𝘥𝘰𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘯 𝘷𝘰𝘵𝘦—𝘴𝘰, 𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘰 𝘬𝘢𝘴𝘪 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘢𝘯 𝘬𝘢𝘴𝘪 𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘶𝘭𝘰 𝘯𝘢 𝘴𝘢 𝘴𝘰𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭...”

She said recounts resulted in some votes being removed because some students allegedly voted twice, while additional votes were added after officers determined that some students had not initially been counted.

“𝘈𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵, 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘯𝘢𝘣𝘢𝘣𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘴𝘢𝘯 𝘯𝘢 𝘷𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘬𝘢𝘴𝘪 𝘯𝘨𝘢 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘯𝘢𝘨𝘥𝘰𝘣𝘭𝘦, 𝘮𝘢𝘺-𝘰𝘯 𝘴𝘢𝘯 𝘯𝘢𝘨𝘥𝘢𝘨𝘥𝘢𝘨 𝘬𝘢𝘴𝘪 𝘯𝘨𝘢𝘯𝘪 𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘢 𝘯𝘢𝘨𝘷𝘰𝘵𝘦.”

Gerero said the changes were small.

“𝘋𝘪𝘺𝘶-𝘥𝘪𝘺𝘰𝘢𝘺 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘨. 𝘈𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘥𝘪𝘺𝘶-𝘥𝘪𝘺𝘰𝘢𝘺 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘴.”

She confirmed that the recount was completed before Grieta was announced as president.

However, when asked whether there was a formal record of the recount, Gerero said:

“𝘞𝘢𝘳𝘢, 𝘴𝘢 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘫𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘪𝘺𝘢 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘯𝘢𝘬𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘺.”

The organization therefore has not provided 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘍𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬𝘦𝘳 with a written recount record that could independently show the original count, the revised count, the reasons for changes, or which votes were removed or added.

𝘾𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙗𝙖𝙘𝙠 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙧𝙪𝙨𝙝 𝙩𝙤 𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙫𝙚

According to Gerero, core officers were assigned to the back portion of the Social Hall to count votes from students there.

”𝘈𝘯 𝘴𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘴, 𝘮𝘢𝘺-𝘰𝘯 𝘥𝘪𝘯 𝘬𝘢𝘮𝘪 𝘪𝘯𝘱𝘢𝘱𝘢𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘢 𝘴𝘢 𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘬𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘰𝘥 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘢 𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵 𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘢.”

She said the officers attempted to ensure that presidential votes were properly counted.

However, she acknowledged that program officers were rushed as students began preparing to leave the Social Hall.

“𝘠𝘶𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘥𝘢𝘭𝘪 𝘥𝘪𝘺𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘮 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘴, 𝘥𝘪𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘦 [𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘴]. 𝘈𝘯𝘨 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘢𝘭𝘪 𝘥𝘰𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘯 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘮 [𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘴] 𝘬𝘢𝘺 𝘯𝘢𝘨𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘩 𝘯𝘢 𝘥𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘯𝘢 𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘭𝘪 𝘯𝘢 𝘴𝘢 𝘴𝘰𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭…”

Gerero said some students were already gathering around the attendance area because instructors were requiring attendance.
She maintained that the counting did not stop simply because one candidate had reached a majority.

“𝘋𝘪𝘳𝘦. 𝘕𝘢𝘨𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘨𝘢 𝘬𝘢𝘮𝘪 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘢 𝘮𝘢𝘴𝘬𝘪 𝘱𝘢𝘱𝘢𝘯-𝘰 𝘬𝘢𝘪𝘱𝘶𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘨𝘪𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘰𝘯 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘵𝘢 𝘯𝘢 𝘮𝘢𝘴 𝘭𝘢𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘬𝘢 𝘯𝘢𝘯 𝘥𝘪𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘨𝘢 𝘪𝘯𝘪 𝘭𝘢𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘨…”

She said the purpose of the recount was to establish that Grieta had a larger vote total than Cabales.

𝘼𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙧𝙚𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙦𝙪𝙤𝙧𝙪𝙢

Gerero estimated that around 300 students attended the General Assembly and said she considered this insufficient in relation to the organization’s student population.

“Siguro around 300 lang sadto an nag-attend sa GA, kaya wara talaga sa quorum.”

She added that, in her view, a larger number of votes would have made the result more acceptable.

However, the CBL’s quorum provision should be distinguished from this statement.

The CBL defines the General Assembly as composed of two members from each class or block and separately provides for the organization’s quorum in its governing provisions. The document does not establish a rule stating that 50% plus one of the entire student membership must attend for the election to be valid.
Thus, the reported attendance figure alone does not establish that the election lacked a quorum under the CBL.

𝙉𝙤 𝙤𝙛𝙛𝙞𝙘𝙞𝙖𝙡 𝙩𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙧𝙚𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙪𝙗𝙡𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣

Gerero recalled that Mr. Rytzz Grieta received approximately 146 votes, while Ms. Angel Desiree Cabales received approximately 138 votes during the presidential election.

However, these figures have not been independently verified by The Freethinker.

As of publication, the Computing Society had not released or submitted an official tally of the September 3 election to the publication.

Gerero herself was uncertain whether the officers still had a copy of the final tally.

“𝘿𝙞 𝙠𝙤 𝙨𝙪𝙧𝙚 𝙠𝙖𝙨𝙞 𝙠𝙪𝙣𝙜 𝙢𝙖𝙮 𝙧𝙚𝙘𝙤𝙧𝙙𝙨 𝙥𝙖 𝙖𝙣𝙜 𝙤𝙛𝙛𝙞𝙘𝙚𝙧𝙨.”

She explained that the technical personnel entered the totals shown through the projector.

The absence of an official tally means the figures cited by Gerero remain an account from the former ComSoc president rather than an election document that can be independently examined.
The CBL also assigns the Secretary responsibility for keeping records of organizational proceedings and minutes.

However, 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘍𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬𝘦𝘳 has not obtained the official tally, a formal recount record, or a voter record identifying the students counted in the presidential election and other electoral posts.

𝙋𝙧𝙤𝙘𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙢𝙪𝙣𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙙, 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙙𝙤𝙘𝙪𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙧𝙚𝙢𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙨 𝙡𝙞𝙢𝙞𝙩𝙚𝙙

Gerero maintained that the election procedure was communicated to students before voting.

“𝘕𝘢𝘨𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘢 𝘬𝘢𝘮𝘪 𝘴𝘢𝘯 𝘊𝘉𝘓 (𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘉𝘺-𝘓𝘢𝘸𝘴) 𝘵𝘢𝘱𝘰𝘴 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘵𝘰 𝘯𝘢𝘬𝘢-𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘥𝘪𝘯 𝘴𝘢 𝘊𝘉𝘓 𝘬𝘶𝘯𝘨 𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘰 𝘢𝘯 𝘮𝘨𝘢 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘦𝘥𝘶𝘳𝘦, 𝘳𝘶𝘭𝘦𝘴, 𝘵𝘢𝘴 𝘨𝘶𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴 𝘴𝘢𝘯 𝘱𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘴.”

However, she also confirmed that there were no written voting and counting guidelines specific to the September 3 election and that the raised-hand method was adopted from the previous administration.

The distinction is significant because the CBL itself requires elections to follow a secure and transparent process and requires election procedures to uphold fairness, transparency and integrity.
The available information therefore establishes that a process was communicated to students, but questions remain about how that process was documented and how compliance with the CBL was demonstrated.

𝙏𝙧𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙖𝙘𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙩𝙖𝙗𝙞𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙮

The concerns raised by ComSoc members do not, on their own, establish that the election was manipulated or that the announced result was invalid.

But with questions surrounding the counting of votes, voter verification, recounts, candidate qualification, and the absence of an official tally, the issue now goes beyond who won the presidency.

It also raises questions about trust and confidence in the electoral process.

The ComSoc CBL requires election procedures to uphold fairness, transparency, and integrity. For an organization with more or less 1,000 members, the credibility of its election also depends on whether its members can understand and verify how their votes were counted.

The former Computing Society officers who conducted and supervised the September 3 election now face questions under their Constitutions and By-laws.

𝙃𝙤𝙬 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙖𝙙𝙙𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙘𝙚𝙙𝙪𝙧𝙖𝙡 𝙜𝙖𝙥𝙨 𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙛𝙞𝙚𝙙 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙙𝙚𝙢𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙛𝙖𝙞𝙧𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙨, 𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙨𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙮, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙜𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙮; 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙖𝙧𝙙𝙨 𝙧𝙚𝙦𝙪𝙞𝙧𝙚𝙙 𝙗𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙞𝙧 𝙤𝙬𝙣 𝘾𝘽𝙇?

For the students who participated, the question is not only who was declared winner, but whether they can continue to place their trust and confidence in the process that produced that result.

As of publication, 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘍𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬𝘦𝘳 has yet to receive the official tally from the Computing Society Election Committee.

The publication will post an update regarding this report should ComSoc provide the requested records.

Happening now | UPS Harapan 2026 resumes

UPS Harapan 2026 officially resumed at 1:55 p.m., with the introduction of the running candidates. Discussions on electoral procedures and other election-related issues is expected to be brought to the table before the election proper happens.

𝗜𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗲𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗽 𝘂𝗽 𝗶𝗻 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗱𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗛𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗽𝗮𝗻 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲

Jopet Vincent Medalla, an instructor from the Bachelor of Public Administration program and an advocate of student leadership, expressed his frustration during the Harapan 2026 program today, challenging students to take greater responsibility in addressing issues within their organization.

Medalla questioned students who, according to him, were raising concerns about the organization without taking the initiative to run for leadership positions.

“Diri na kamo magsaralaan kay intiro man kamo may sala. Wara nag-take san challenge. Hain an moral ascendancy niyo? Niyan susurukuton niyo an leaders niyo?”

He further expressed disappointment over what he described as the lack of students willing to “take the challenge” of leadership.

“Ngisog ako kay public ad kamo. You don’t know how disappointing last week was. May nag-take san challenge? Mga listuon palan kamo, nakay diri niyo maayos an organisasyon?”

Medalla also emphasized the responsibility of leaders to develop and inspire succeeding generations of leaders.

“Diba dapat good leaders produce more good leaders? Nakay wara kamo naproduce na leaders? Nakay puro kamo listuon niyan? ‘Dapat sugad sini, dapat sugad suon?’”

He then urged students who believe that the organization needs change to participate directly in the electoral process rather than limit themselves to criticism.

“DAPAT NAGKARANDIDATO KAMO para maayos niyo an organisasyon. Mao yuon an tama.”

Prior to these remarks, Medalla has expresses his frustration multiple times during his Bachelor of Public Administration classes.

Medalla’s remarks centered on the idea that leadership entails not only identifying problems but also having the willingness to assume responsibility and take part in addressing them.