Commission on Elections

Ateneo de Davao University

E. Jacinto Street, 8016 Davao City adducomelec@gmail.com
From the Office of the COMELEC Chairperson Office of the 10, 2013 FebruaryEA Students Executive Committee xt ernal Vice President Memo 2013-05 To the Ateneo Community RE: Clarification on the case of Jemimah Dlonsods as Chair and host of the College Days Culminating Event

Greetings of Peace! It has been observed that most of the students have made conclusions without hearing the full details regarding the case. Last February 8, 2013, the Commission on Elections was called by the Office of Student Affairs regarding a letter sent by Ms. Luna Acosta on the subject of Ms. Dlonsod being the host for the College Days culminating activity. With this, the Office of Student Affairs also has informed the Commission that Ms. Dlonsod is also hosting the Blue Vote Launching and is also the Chairperson of the College Days Committee. First of all, the commission has already stated during the meeting of the candidates that there is no problem with the participation or even help during the College Days events given that it would not be abused since it also falls under the campaign period. Despite Blue Vote being an external event, it still falls upon campaign period, thus the commission opted to handle this accordingly. Exposure in the two events provides an uneven advantage against other candidates. Though the commission sees the good intent on the following tasks for the events,, the fact that the given exposure indirectly forms part of her campaign. This can be likened to the TV ads of politicians that have no intent of campaigning and are seen in the bad light by the public. This led to the decision of asking Ms. Dlonsod to be replaced. We can clearly see the clean intentions of Ms. Dlonsod, however, not everyone understands it in that manner. Second, the chairmanship of Ms. Dlonsod was not properly accounted for in her COC and was not given a proper LOA. During the meeting with the candidates, the commission had willingly permitted the candidates to continue to serve on the technicalities and on the background of their responsibilities provided that a Leave of Absence (LOA) has been filed. The commission has been considerate to enough to allow the limited exercise of powers for the

Commission on Elections - Ateneo de Davao University Lead by Choice, Lead by Example

Commission on Elections
Ateneo de Davao University
E. Jacinto Street, 8016 Davao City adducomelec@gmail.com
From the Office of the COMELEC Chairperson Office of the EA service despite the fact purpose of Students Executive Committee xt that the guidelines have strictly prohibited them from doing ernal Vice President

so. Below, the guidelines define the Leave of Absence as follows: Appearance in Office - the Leave of Absence (LOA) strictly means to be out of office for the mean time until elections. The LOA contains the name of the person that is in charge of the task/s and responsibilities to be carried. In the case of Ms. Dlonsod did not indicate nor inform the commission of this said responsibility. During the campaign period, all candidates are asked to temporarily leave all the responsibilities and tasks given to them in order to avoid any attempt in using it for the campaign. Though, Ms. Dlonsod had announced her leave as Chairperson, the Commission did not prohibit her from doing her respective tasks and most importantly be recognized in her efforts to organize this years college days. With this explanation, we hope that everything has been understood and the misleading posts that deface the complainant, the commission, and other entities involved would be removed. The decisions made by the commission should be respected as it strives to provide an equal campaign for all the candidates. Also, as agreed in a meeting held last February 9, 2013, an apology should be given to the complainant for publicly releasing misinformation of the case that has caused confusion to many. Moreover, we encourage the removal of all misleading posts regarding this issue. We hope for a clear understanding to all.

Sincerely,

(SGD) MR. JASON T. OCCIDENTAL Comelec Chairperson

Commission on Elections - Ateneo de Davao University Lead by Choice, Lead by Example