SKM prexy Brillante addresses council issues

UPDATE [as of July 6, 10:52 PM]: Noriko Wade Alsisto, Councilor for Athletes’ Welfare and Sports Development, has retracted their resignation from the SKM, Sunday night, July 6. Alsisto's Facebook post mentioned that the reasons cited, including inconsistency and micromanagement within the student council, refer to the councilors who also recently submitted a resignation letter.

The councilor also believes that stepping down from office would not be an effective solution to addressing concerns surrounding the setbacks of PUP Rainbow Fest 2025. Moreover, Alsisto emphasized their commitment to support PUP athletes as they face challenges in the University.

PUP Sentral na Konseho ng Mag-aaral (SKM) President Tiffany Faith Brillante addresses the issues surrounding the council, including the PUP Rainbow Fest 2025, councilors’ resignations, and the blocking of the PUP Freedom Wall page, on Saturday night, July 5.

On PUP Rainbow Fest 2025, Brillante revealed that the organizers and department heads immediately conducted an assessment within the day, followed by a clarificatory and reconciliation meeting on June 29. This was held to acknowledge and address performers’ concerns regarding setlist reductions and the cancellation of some performances.

Antipara expressing dismay on Facebook over the canceled performance on June 24

This is after the bands of Antipara and Iskolarium’s performances were canceled during the event, while the set time of group Six Degrees was deducted from 15 minutes to just five. The artists aired their dismay and disappointment online with the turnout of the event.  

Meanwhile, the PUP SKM Executive Board will convene on July 6 to deliberate on the recent resignations of councilors Noriko Wade Alsisto, Reynalyn Layones, and Shaine Ocampo.

Excerpts from Alsisto (first screenshot) and Ocampo’s resignation letters

In their resignation letter, the councilors cited issues of micromanagement within the council, unprofessionalism and inconsistency of the members, concerns regarding SKM’s events, as well as personal and academic reasons.

Brillante stated that the matter will be formally referred to the Legal and Parliamentary Ethics Committee to clarify further the grounds for the resignations per the 2013 PUP Student Council Constitution and the current Internal Rules and Regulations of the PUP SKM. 

Lastly, Brillante confirmed the suspicions that the PUP Sta. Mesa Freedom Wall (PUPFW) had been blocked by the official Facebook page of SKM, which was initially noticed by some students after the PUPFW published a submission critical of the council. 

Series of critical submissions toward the SKM and PUPFW statement on the council’s blocking

PUPFW later clarified the matter, suggesting that the block may be due to the influx of criticisms and submissions by anonymous scholars in the PUPFW towards the current state of the student political affairs inside the institution. Brillante denies that any executive officer had purposely authorized the action, and said an investigation is ongoing to identify which officers had access to the page.

She notes that each issue is currently being investigated and assures the public that deliberations and findings will be disclosed for transparency and accountability.

Article: Tim Lozano

With reports from John Lloyd Pablico