21/07/2026
๐ฆ๐๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐ผ๐ป ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ๐น๐น๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ ๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฑ๐ฒ ๐๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ฒ ๐ฆ๐๐๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐๐น๐ฒ๐ฐ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐น ๐ฃ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐๐
21 July 2026
The University of the Cordilleras Speech and Debate Society (UC SPADES) expresses its deep concern over the cancellation of the Miting de Avance on July 20, the continuation of this year's student elections despite its absence, and other issues surrounding the electoral process.
UC SPADES was invited by the UC Student COMELEC to serve as an official partner for the Fast Talk Segment of the Miting de Avance. Our role was to provide candidates with a platform to articulate their principles, positions, and proposed actions on issues affecting the student body. As an organization constitutionally committed to non-partisanship, we accepted this responsibility in good faith and in service of an informed electorate.
While UC SPADES neither administers elections nor exercises authority over the conduct or scheduling of the electoral process, we believe that every candidate deserves a fair opportunity to communicate their platform and that every student deserves sufficient information upon which to base their vote.
Following the cancellation of the Miting de Avance, UC SPADES suggested several alternatives, including rescheduling the event and conducting it online. However, given the constraints of the electoral calendar, the only practicable option became a written mechanism, a Stance Summary, through which candidates could respond to the issues originally prepared for the Fast Talk Segment.
Accordingly, UC SPADES proposed a written response mechanism to preserve the context and nuance of candidates' positions following the Miting de Avance's cancellation. While UC SPADES was responsible for providing the questions and proposed mechanics, implementation remained under the discretion of the University Student COMELEC.
Candidates were initially limited to binary responses despite the mechanics provided by UC SPADES allowing for nuance. Although reservations were later permitted, opportunities to fully contextualize candidates' positions remained limited. Likewise, despite our designation as an official partner, UC SPADES was not consulted regarding the concerns subsequently raised by candidates.
Had UC SPADES been consulted and given the opportunity to review the publication material, we would have recommended the inclusion of clarifications and addenda to ensure that candidates' positions were represented fairly and accurately through caption.
Since then, UC SPADES has received concerns regarding the adequacy of the platforms made available to candidates. We recognize these concerns as legitimate. The Stance Summary was never intended to serve as a complete representation of a candidate's political philosophy, platform, or vision for student leadership.
๐๐ป ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ฏ๐๐ฒ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐ฎ ๐ ๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฑ๐ฒ ๐๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ถ๐๐ต๐ผ๐๐ ๐ฎ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐บ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ต๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ถ๐๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐น๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ป๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐๐ฒ, ๐๐๐๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐น๐ฒ๐ณ๐ ๐๐ถ๐๐ต ๐ณ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ผ๐ฝ๐ฝ๐ผ๐ฟ๐๐๐ป๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ผ ๐บ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ป๐ถ๐ป๐ด๐ณ๐๐น๐น๐ ๐ฎ๐๐๐ฒ๐๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ถ๐ป๐ฑ๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ฑ๐๐ฎ๐น๐ ๐๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ธ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฝ๐๐ฏ๐น๐ถ๐ฐ ๐ผ๐ณ๐ณ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฒ. ๐๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ, ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ถ๐๐๐๐ฒ ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐๐ ๐ถ๐ ๐ป๐ผ ๐น๐ผ๐ป๐ด๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ฎ๐ป ๐ฒ๐น๐ฒ๐ฐ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ป ๐ฏ๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐ฑ๐๐ฐ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ, ๐ฏ๐๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ถ๐ ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ป ๐ฏ๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐๐๐ณ๐ณ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐น๐ ๐ถ๐ป๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ๐บ๐ฒ๐ฑ.
An election is not merely the act of casting a ballot. It is a democratic exercise premised upon access to information, meaningful engagement, and the ability of voters to critically evaluate those who seek to represent them. When these conditions are materially diminished, it is not only the candidates who are affectedโit is the entire student body.
๐๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ป๐ด๐น๐, ๐จ๐ ๐ฆ๐ฃ๐๐๐๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐น๐น๐ ๐๐ฝ๐ผ๐ป ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐๐๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐ฏ๐ผ๐ฑ๐ ๐๐ผ ๐ฐ๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐น๐น๐ ๐ฒ๐
๐ฎ๐บ๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ ๐ฒ๐น๐ฒ๐ฐ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐น ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ผ ๐ฎ๐๐ธ ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ณ๐ณ๐ถ๐ฐ๐๐น๐ ๐ฏ๐๐ ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ ๐พ๐๐ฒ๐๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐: ๐ช๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐๐๐๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐๐ถ๐๐ต ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐พ๐๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐ผ๐ฝ๐ฝ๐ผ๐ฟ๐๐๐ป๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ผ ๐๐ป๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฝ๐น๐ฎ๐๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ๐บ๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ถ๐ฟ ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐? ๐ช๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ผ๐ณ๐ณ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฎ๐น ๐ฎ๐น๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ป๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐๐ฒ๐ ๐๐๐ณ๐ณ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐๐๐ฏ๐๐๐ถ๐๐๐๐ฒ๐ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ ๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฑ๐ฒ ๐๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ? ๐๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฑ๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ป๐๐ฝ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฐ๐, ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ผ๐๐ป๐๐ฎ๐ฏ๐ถ๐น๐ถ๐๐, ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ถ๐ป๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ๐บ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐บ๐ผ๐ฐ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ฐ ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐๐ถ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ป ๐บ๐ฒ๐?
These are not questions the student body should answer alone. We therefore call upon the UC Student COMELEC and the appropriate University offices to assess whether the standards of transparency, accountability, and informed democratic participation have been sufficiently met and, if not, to openly consider the appropriate course of action.
This is not an attempt to undermine the outcome of the elections, but an affirmation that democratic processes are strengthened when institutions welcome scrutiny and communities demand better answers. To candidates who have raised concerns, we encourage you to continue exercising your voice. Share your clarifications and the nuances of your positions. The student body deserves the opportunity to understand them fully.
๐ ๐ผ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฑ, ๐จ๐ ๐ฆ๐ฃ๐๐๐๐ฆ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐๐ณ๐๐น๐น๐ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ผ๐บ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฑ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐จ๐ ๐ฆ๐๐๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐๐ข๐ ๐๐๐๐:
1. Release an official statement regarding the cancellation of the Miting de Avance;
2. Provide candidates with official avenues to clarify, supplement, or expand upon their positions;
3. Ensure that official partners are meaningfully consulted on matters directly related to their participation and outputs; and
4. Conduct a thorough assessment, in coordination with the appropriate University offices, of whether the present electoral timeline continues to best serve the interests of an informed electorate.
UC SPADES has always believed that democracy is strengthened when difficult questions are asked and institutions welcome scrutiny. While our mandate remains to foster meaningful, non-partisan discourse, our commitment to the University community compels us to speak when voices risk going unheard.
We remain steadfast in our mission of amplifying voices. Not only those that are convenient, but especially those that deserve to be heard. Because in the end, the question is not simply who wins an election, but whether every student was given a fair opportunity to choose.
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