Independiente offers three-tiered platform for CIR

by Timothy Gerard Palugod

CIR Independiente presidential candidate Peter Corporal and vice presidential candidate Patricia Reyes | Photo by Kimberly Baluyot

High on the priority list of Partido Independiente is addressing the problem of a divided student body.

The College of International Relations (CIR) studentry is facing an issue of “outcasting” irregular students, and a roster of irregular students aspire to fix it.

“We offer something new, and that new idea that we offer is an inclusive CIR,” said Peter Corporal, a presidential candidate from the exclusively CIR political party Independiente.

The division existing in the CIR community causes an ineffective delivery of updated information on events, and irregular students are being left behind in student activities.

Vice-Presidential candidate Patricia Reyes explained that the previous student council failed in inclusivity when irregular students are not being approached and felt left out from events.

“We don’t want to just let the students know that we are united, we want to make them feel that they really belong by making sure that they will really participate in our events, to our inclusive and innovative platforms,” said Reyes.

Meanwhile, Corporal’s goal is to instill the value of family within CIR students, regardless of “what gender you have, and no matter what status of life you have.”

Independiente’s platform

Independiente’s platform is divided into three: Inclusivity, Ingenuity, and Legacy.

“Inclusivity” is a project to establish the CORE (Council of Representatives) coming from each Diplomacy and International Trade sections for a stronger information dissemination. This will also serve as an avenue for the students to express their sentiments that are relative to each block, allowing them to influence the student government.

Meanwhile, “Ingenuity” offers the I Hear You program, focusing on the production of monthly and semestral reports that are separate from the Student Activity Reports (SAR) submitted to the Student Affairs Office (SAO) every time councils and organizations have events. Monthly reports become tools for financial transparency of the college student council, and a feedback mechanism for the students to discuss the progress of the student government. On the other hand, the semestral report allows the CIR president to organize a State of the College Address (SOCA) to have a dialogue with the students and encourage them to participate in issues revolving in the college.

Finally, “Legacy” aims to publish the output of CIR students by bringing back the college’s e-newsletter, which Reyes believed will give students an opportunity to contribute in the field of international relations.

Despite featuring a lineup consisting mostly of irregular students, Corporal and Reyes are confident that Independiente is not at a disadvantage.

Reyes pointed out that accessibility is the aim of their three-tiered platform and explained that “since we have irregular students in our lineup — basically, they’ve experienced the feeling of being left behind — they’re the ones who are gonna connect more to the irregular students who are now the majority in the CIR community.”