By Cyrus A. Natividad
Every vote counts – Centralians line to cast their ballots.
Central Philippine University Republic (CPUR), known as the oldest student government in the Philippines is so close to my mind after official results came out with names of winning candidates in the recent CPU Student Republic Elections 2017.
Centralians gather at the precinct booths located at the Promenade Park to exercise their right of sufferage.
Here are the newly elected ‘national government officials’ of the CPUR SY 2017-2018.
President – Jan Christian “Yan yan” I. Espanola
Vice President – Sidrik L. Gotico
Senators
1. Sainthia Joy D. Sorilla
2. Aila Rose F. Asuelo
3. Bryan C. Robles
4. Charles Arthel R. Rey
5. Clem Marnel R. Burgos
6. Andrew C. Perez
7. Leslie Jeanne L. Landoy
8. Gio Paolo B. Sorilla
More elaborate modern campaign materials are used by the candidates now – a far cry from what we have during our time. Group streamers and consolidated tarpaulins usually hanged by party slates – in designated areas are less expensive than personally financed campaign materials around the campus.
And as with real political campaigns in our country, the social media is more effective than anything else. The one who got more friends on Facebook should have gained more votes; FB Shares must have sponsored the campaigns more than we could have imagined. These are my personal observations during the past election period of the CPUR.
A sea of red (Koalisyon) and green (Reform) filled the CPU Promenade Park as Centralian cheer for their respective student parties.
The indulgence of recollecting bits and pieces of history during lunch and coffee breaks- a few days ago was also a must (thanks to our involvement in the CPUR until now). We talked about how young student leaders during those days – can be future leaders, or leaders of today. Those were the days when debates and campus politics in CPU got the better of students forming their own political parties; framing up their own agenda for governance.
We love to recall the activities- the campaign period, the commitments to change- not only on campus freedom, but on the peoples’ sentiment for national democracy; the restoration of student governments around the country in 1981. Then President Ferdinand E. Marcos suspended the operation of all student organizations in the Philippines when he declared Martial Law in 1972.
Almost at the same time when a parliamentary form of government was forming in Manila, students lost no time in getting ready to restore campus government for the studentry. Thus, at Central Philippine University the CPU Republic (after a long period of hibernation)was reborn. Rallies for change and restoration of democracy continued to drumbeat in downtown Iloilo and public plazas.
Preconceived stalwarts of the United Students’ Party(USP), the Alliance of Democratic Students (ADS), and the Partido Nang Mag-aaral at Sambayanan (PANGMASA) immediately went to select students to be their official candidates in the foreseen CPUR elections very soon. It did not take long for the students at Central to organize ‘political parties’, and have their party platforms, media interviews and buntings of party candidates.
The first President of the newly restored CPUR was Gerardo Sonalan of our PANGMASA PARTY. In this year, the Central Echo was reborn as one of our colleague in the Senate, CPUR Senator Vitini Edhard Idemne pushed for it. In 1983, another PANGMASA candidate won the CPUR Presidency – Gualberto Cataluña, Jr.
Later, ADS and PANGMASA Party coalesced and became ‘Koalisyon ng Demokratikong Mag-aaral Para sa Sambayanan (now simply called ‘Koalisyon’). Mr. Manuel “Mawe” de la Fuente who is now a pastor in New Jersey, USA, was the standard bearer and became President of CPUR in 1984.
Without social media during those times, we can only have the so called ‘Radyo Puwak’ to promote our candidates and share party platforms. Glee Clubs and fraternities were supporting casts in their own rights. Intead of tarpaulins (that are not yet available), sack cloths or flour sacks and newspapers were used to print slogans and list of candidates.
It pays that passenger jeepneys are marked with the name CPU on all sides, so that we also provided the drivers with CPU stickers with our party name on it.
It is worth noting that the CPU Republic which has gone through the dark days of Martial Law has found the light of day – when democracy set in (or so it seemed). But the CPUR of today, nonetheless are blessed with countless possibilities of effectively relating and putting out their campaigns on social media and internet platforms; cellphones and other gadgets in the campus – and even to the world!
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