I just read the latest blog of JC Masajo in www.akosijcmasajo.wordpress.com. I agree with most parts of his write up but I would like to give justice to Villasenor. You see that difference between this writer and Masajo is that I did not come from a political party or even lead one before. Whenever JC Masajo reacts on Council stuff, it will always be labeled as mere politicking and biased views.

Crappy means useless. To say that Villasenor is useless is a false statement. If the premise would be based on administration, then Cachero is but a fart in the wind that is Villasenor. I strongly disagree with JC Masajo’s statement that Villasenor is crappy. We have to give the guy a credit. You guys may have differences but you both have the highest respect for each other. I interviewed last year’s CSC president and he is a no nonesense guy. What you see is what you get.

So, let’s try to compare both leaders in this respect. Villasenor was a student council president way back in his elementary and high school days before coming to UST. He was a recepient of several Academic and extra-curricular citations like IHMC Service Award, Ten Outstanding Students of Makati, Academic and Technical honors, etc. He has credentials and experience to be in office. He even served as Chairperson and President of Union of Catholic Student Councils of the Philippines for two consecutive years. A first for UST. In fact, Masajo even helped in his first election. On the far side of the ocean, we have here a soccer player from LSGH. He entered UST as a yellow jacket through his brother’s network who served as USTYJ president for two years. He became a Head Cheerleader of the UST Yellow Jackets, and a consistent class president. During Villasenor’s administration, he served as CSC Auditor.

You see, it will be a great deal of injustice to compare Villasenor with Cachero and label him as crappy. UST Administration would agree that last year’s president was a genuine one in terms of being for the students. It will be hard to find another one but he did not do it single handedly. He had a good VP, Secretary, Treasurer, and PRO then. All were performing. Probably this was because of a good leadership that was in play. What we have now in the CSC Office are figure heads. I am not a Villasenor supporter nor a Cachero hate squad member. I am just being objective here. Villasenor is not Cachero (Crappy) and Cachero will never be Villasenor (not in this lifetime).

JC Masajo, you inspired me into blogging. Please do not tarnish your objectivity with bias and unfair statements. I just noticed in your blog the tab for CSC Auditor of 2009. Right now, you are the best person for that position. You just have to be INDEPENDENT of AKLAS or ALLIANCE, LAKAS, or any political party. People might not appreciate your unfair statements and all. If we will always claim that no person will ever be good enough then, you are showing a great deal of political immaturity. Just remain JC Masajo. Learn to give credit when its due. Again, Cachero is not Villasenor. He will never measure up to the likes of Villasenor, Almeda, Maneja, Valdeavilla, etc.

I agree with you! Cachero, wake up!

Peace.

It is a well-settled jurisprudence that there is no issue anymore on the matter of “initiation” and “filing.” What happened in the House Justice committee was a show of the Palace’s muscle in a body that was supposedly to be independent. The claimed “pay-off” which took place in a hotel was beside the point. The determination of the complaint’s sufficiency in substance should have passed the House Justice committee. What the Vice-Chairman  so gallantly defended was a defense which should have been done if and when the President gets her day in court.

Since 2004 and up to now, these Impeachment series is a masterpiece. It was beautifully crafted. It was a show of statesmanship of our elected representatives. Truly, when money is involved everything changes. But if the price of their integrity is 500,000php, then every person who will have the same attribute would be for sale. House for SALE! I would want to buy a legislation for me, please.

Last Sunday, I visited the website of the Varsitarian and availed of their feedback mechanism. I asked them why is it that they seldom report on issues like Student Rights, etc. I was surprised that the editor-in-chief himself, Anthony Divinagracia replied and here it is…

Who:

A member of the current CSC Executive Board who served in a local council last year. Rumor has it that this officer came from a local party which broke away with the coalition and elders were surprised that this person was even in the line up. Such officer performs well in academics and many are now saying that this person should’ve focused on that aspect because a very big disappointment this person is. In fact, an embarrassment.

What:

Grade conscious fellow + high grades = absence from CSC work. This person can be the next winner of Project Run-way, short from Project run away from work. This person since summer never headed a project of the CSC. All that this person did was OJT and study. In fact, if you ask anyone who occupies this CSC EB position, many would reply, “Sino nga ba?” Clue: this person’s position was crucial to the CSC presidency over the last two years.

Where:

This officer, if such person can be attributed with such honor, studies in a building near the powerhouse.  

When:

Every day since summer. 

Who-What-Where-When: An officer who is absent will never be able to serve well. Shame! This person, I heard plans to file for Quezon Leadership award in the local college. Ambition can be this person’s dedication but many will agree that tolerance only breeds mediocrity. Bakit ito hinahayaan ng ibang officer/s?  or siguro kasi halos parehas silang lahat kaya mukhang ok lang? We deserve better!

In 2011, the University will be celebrating its 400th year. As far as I can remember way back my UST High School days, Student Rights and Welfare has been the topic of CSC candidates’ speeches. At first, it was originally called Magna Carta. Nothing was achieved. Just deliberations and all. During the term of last year’s CSC President Reyner Villasenor, they changed it to Students’ Code and in fact was very successful in securing the comments and thoughts of high level UST officials like the Rector, Vice Rectors, Deans, etc. It was a huge step since the campaign was started during the presidency of Atty. JV Almeda. Last year, the CSC was able to empower Thomasians by having a responsive and successful STRAW campaign. We had a CSC Executive Board and Central Board dedicated and serious of passing the Students’ Code. It takes a great leader to unite the CSC and Local councils and even SOCC behind Student Rights.

There was a giant leap for Student Rights last year, this year even a baby step was never taken. The CSC candidates last year- the CSC Executive Board members today had an 8-point Agenda. Probably, they got the idea from my fellow Artlet, the indefatigible Reyner Villasenor’s 7-point agenda. Madaling gayahin pero mahirap gawin. Last year’s CSC had a 7-point agenda and they delivered it..pretty well! That is the reason why the officers now were elected because they succeed from a batch of dedicated leaders both in the EB and CB. Of their 8-point agenda, not even half was realized last semester. Since summer and up to now, the current CSC  only have 4 projects and not all were successful. The big question now is, what happened? The CSC President now talked about Student Rights passionately during their campaign days, he was even part of the Villasenor Administration last year. So was his show of dedication just a rallying point? 

All the efforts last year were lost and put to waste by this batch of CSC EB and CB. No hard feelings. Let us be realistic here and truthful. We might know these set of officers completely but we must not tolerate incompetence and mediocrity. We deserve better.

There are two central councils in the University of Santo Tomas, they are the Student Organizations Coordinating Council – the umbrella organization of all the student organizations in the entire university and the Central Student Council – the highest student governing body in the university.

SOCC is older than CSC. I happen to know the first CSC President and he is Judge Philip Aguinaldo, a professor of Law at UST. Many say that SOCC is better because it is rid of Politics while CSC has been dominated since time immemorial by partisan politics – AKLAS for most of it, and lately by LAKAS. These two councils have produced leaders in different fields like Atty. Arlen Maneja, Dr. Walter Jalgalado, Architect Michael Uy, and more.

This time, let us look at two of the best leaders SOCC and CSC produced and they are Atty. Arlen Maneja and Archt. Michael Uy. Atty. Maneja is a world-renowned debater and moot-court champion. She finished her AB Legal Management with latin honors from UST-AB and took up Law in UST and graduated with the highest of honors. She topped the Bar examinations and been practicing and teaching Law ever since. She served as CSC President. Michael Uy on the other hand, graduated Cum Laude from UST-Architecture. He was Central President of Rotaract UST and President of the UST SOCC. He was bestowed the honor of being one of the Ten Outstanding Students of the Philippines. He left for Italy on a Scholarship for a Master’s degree.

Knowing the lives of these people makes me proud to be a Thomasian. They served their fellow Thomasians well during their stint as chief executives of the two central councils. They lived up to their promises and remained faithful to their duties and responsibilities. Question is, can we say the same with the kind of leaders we have in those two central councils today?

Lately, the Mr. Sipag at Tiyaga Peso Billionaire, Manuel Villar  resigned after seeing a resolution for his ouster which was signed by a significant number of his fellow senators. It was the best move for a graceful exit. Who replaced him? The Tax Law expert, former Marcos’ Defense Minister, and veteran politician, Juan Ponce Enrile (Father of Port Irene). He used to be a stalwart of the opposition but later was identified with the Arroyo Administration after the appointment of his wife as Ambassador Extraodinary and Plenipotentiary to the Holy See.

These are the new leaders of the Senate, Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, Senate President Pro-Tempore Jinggoy Estrada, Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri, and Senate Minority Leader Joker Arroyo. Starting December, we only have more or less 15 months before the 2010 Elections. The question now is how will these changes affect the up and coming elections or do we still have one? We cannot afford a hasty change in our form of government not at the expense of the people’s sovereignty.

The Senate must be rid of ambitious politicians. We all must be very vigilant.

I am the Kings’ servant but God’s first. I embody the ideals of a great critical thinker. I have been in and out of  the campus arena of politics. I have a lot to say and I enjoy free discussions. Sharing my thoughts give me this certain feeling of fulfillment, of peace. There are a lot of bloggers out there. What makes this blog unique is that it is intended for Thomasians but other readers are more than welcome to join the discussions. I believe that we cannot hit two targets with one bullet that is why I choose to start with the very community which I am a part of…UST. If we can change certain aspects of Student Politics in UST, we are investing in realizing better leaders for the country.

My belief? I share, therefore I am. Sharing is grounded on the idea that there exists another. This is the principle of co-existence. Before, I am just an avid reader of other people’s blog. Now, after fellow Artlets’ encouragements, I choose to differ. I will write and share to the world what I know and support every person’s write to information.. CAUTION: You might be surprised of the “things” we will be discussing in this blog. Opposition or critique expels mediocrity. Let us awaken the sleeping giant, that is the Thomasian voters. Stop! Let us talk..I’m here to start it off, to listen…

To those who would want to contact me, here is my email, godsfirstkingsecond@yahoo.com. I operate under the pen name, Sir Thomas More. My identity is irrelevant. I am but a branch in God’s vineyard. Peace.