DISCLAIMER: TomasinoWeb remains a non-partisan media organization that does not campaign for any candidate.

(Editor’s note: A previous edition of this story contained a typo error about Coronel's affiliation with the UST Political Science Forum as vice chairman. The correct name of the position is Assistant Committee Head for the University Wide and Advocacies Committee. The writer also added the candidate’s response from the TAGISAN last April 5, 2025, on the issue of his leadership during the AB Month 2024. Joseph Coronel said P20,000 was only collected for the event due to the “sponsors who backed out from the AB month.”)

Third-year political science major Joseph Coronel plans to strengthen transparency among local student councils as he wishes to become an auditor in the UST Central Student Council (CSC).

As the CSC election approaches, Coronel aims to win the support of Thomasians with his stances on University concerns, platforms, and a three-point agenda as a candidate for auditor.

For a “braver” CSC

With his ten years of experience as a student leader and as a student who majors in political science, Coronel claims that he can offer fresh ideas and challenge the status quo by being “brave, bold, and better” at serving the Thomasian community.

“I believe siguro na-[i]-instill na rin sa akin yung personality ng isang political science student na hindi makuntento sa kung ano lang yung nandyan, but to always change the status quo and to always be brave, bold and better in service,” Coronel said.

The candidate for the auditor post has been an active student leader at the University since 2022, starting as a policy staff member in the policy affairs committee of the Artlets Student Council (ABSC) during his freshman year. He later became an administrative staff member under the office of the CSC president while serving as the Assistant Committee Head for the University-Wide and Advocacies Committee of the UST Political Science Forum. Eventually, in his sophomore year, he was elected Artlets Student Council auditor.

During his term in the ABSC, he supervised the sponsorship committee and initially projected P56,000 in sponsorship for the celebration of AB month in 2024. However, only P20,000 was collected, a shortfall he inadequately explained to the administration before filing his leave of absence and eventually leaving his position without finishing the auditing report.

Coronel clarified the “discrepancy” was due to the “sponsors who backed out from the AB month.”

“Kapag nakaramdam ng slight change, ‘di lang slight, kundi massive change, that can really derail your entire event, malaki ang possibility na sila mismo ay magbackout from the contract, and that’s what happened” he said during the TAGISAN on April 5, 2025.

TomasinoWeb reached out to the president of ABSC 2024 TJ Santiago to confirm the "discrepancy."

Santiago, along with the other officers, confirmed that some of the sponsors backed out. However, they also noted that "the situation was a little more intricate."

"We think that the glaring issue here was that these sponsors had made monetary pledges, which were factored into the budgets for some events within AB Month," the former Artlets Student Council president said.

"When these deals fell through, we had no choice but to revise the budget proposals, which led to delays in the submission of necessary documents. So, it’s a combination of sponsors backing out and the difficulty of the committee in securing replacement deals that caused the ‘discrepancy," he added.

Coronel also clarified his leave of absence and said it was not abrupt.

“I am proud of the men and women who served from me and the Office of the Auditor, and I was confident to my executive coordinator that they would handle the office without me,” he said.

TomasinoWeb also asked Santiago about Coronel's leave of absence during their term and he said the latter "addressed the issue to some extent, but not fully."

"After AB Month concluded, we were allocated the entire month of April to complete the auditing report, as mandated by our Faculty Secretary. However, Jolo resigned on April 19, 2024 (midway of the submission of documents), leaving much of the auditing work incomplete," Santiago said.

"The remaining members of the Executive Board and relevant committees took it upon themselves to fill in the gaps, finalize the audits, and submit the necessary reports before our term ended. In this sense, not everything was sorted out when he resigned," he added.

Like previous CSC candidates, Coronel aims to bring a “braver” CSC as part of his three-point agenda, but with a refined approach by empowering students in governance.

“Kailangan transformative ka, kailangan hindi ka nakukuntento sa kung anong meron ka, but always strive for the best and the better…In the sense na meron kang nababago sa society mo, hindi yung uupo ka lang dito kasi wala lang,” he said.

In pursuit of enhancing Thomasians’ overall quality of university life, Coronel believes that his background in policy-making sets him apart from previous candidates who ran for the auditor position.

“Since some of my platforms ay medyo policy-based, I think we have the receipts na talagang nasabi natin na nagawa na natin ito dati, kaya na nating gawin. Nagawa na natin sa lokal, mas paigtingin natin sa central,” the junior political science major said.

He also shared that his proposed ABSC Transparency Act, which did not pass the board of majors during his time as an ABSC auditor, is one of the policies he plans to revise and institutionalize in the CSC once elected.

On issues in UST

Coronel affirmed that he stands with the UST Faculty Union after it declared deadlock on the 2021-2026 collective bargaining agreement (CBA), which the Department of Labor and Employment's (DOLE) National Conciliation and Mediation Board intervened to settle the union and UST management's labor disputes.

“Kailangan sa development ay nag-iinvest ang mga employer. The UST administration [should invest] sa development and sa pagbibigay ng tamang compensation at benepisyo sa mga manggagawa ng UST,” he said, emphasizing that he is “one” with the advocacy of USTFU in demanding what is right and just.

Coronel also believes that the administration shouldn’t intervene in the editorial autonomy of student publications.

“Kaya nga student publication ang tawag, it should be student led and organized, so hindi ako naniniwala na dapat may control o kahit pa may say ang administration sa mga pinupublish [nila],” the political science junior said.

In February 2024, the university received backlash after forcibly taking down the viral 7/11 photo containing two College of Information and Computing Sciences (CICS) students entering the convenience store, eventually resulting in TomasinoWeb’s hiatus.

“If the student publication says no, if [they] decide to release this, so be it. Wala dapat control o wala dapat kamay ang UST administration when it comes to that,” he added.

As part of his platform, Coronel also plans to develop a gender development committee that would handle the SOGIE concerns of the students. However, given the conservative nature of the University, he admits that it would be challenging.

He said that he would take the rational route on this issue using respect and proper policy backing, especially within the CSC, to support the committee in the future.

However, the University has no clear policy in the student handbook regarding the LGBTQIA+ community, except the prohibition of crossdressing unless it is for an authorized or legitimate purpose such as a play.

Controversial Campaign

Among all the aspiring CSC members, Coronel is the lone candidate with a separate Facebook page meant for campaigning despite running unopposed.

The page, renamed “Jolo Coronel” from “Jolo Coronel for UST CSC Auditor,” ran sponsored posts. Posts on the online discussion board Reddit called him a “red flag” and said he exhibited “trapo vibes” over this tactic.

Coronel said he is not a stranger to “trapo” allegations. “Sa lahat ng nagiging campaigns ko noon, I am among the candidates who are not scared of treading the lines of what is expected and what is not expected of you,” he said.

While what he did is not against any UST Central Commission on Elections rules, some still find paying for an online advertisement unnecessary as his primary audience is only the Thomasian community.

“I believe it's just something new that's why ganito pa mag-react ang mga Tomasino,” he said.

After the elections, Coronel also plans to release a transparency report regarding his campaign spending.

Redefining student leadership

Aligned with his three-point agenda, Coronel aims to instill his prioritized platforms of “Kongreso Tomasino” and “Thomasian Transparency Act” in the CSC’s system, which centers on enhancing inclusive governance, student participation, and transparency.

Coronel explained that in the Thomasian Transparency Act, policies will be drafted with safeguards for the projects and initiatives of the local student council to ensure transparency and accountability.

“Sa Thomasian Transparency Act, merong indicated na mandated ang town hall meetings sa mga local student councils kasama ang Central Student Council. Naniniwala ako na dapat ang konseho ang lumalapit sa mga estudyante and not the other way around,” he added.

In the proposed policy, Coronel said there would be a time frame of 20 days for the CSC, while the local student councils have 15 days to respond or draft policies to resolve the issues raised by the student body. After the given time frame, both student councils should release a progress report on the issue.

Apart from this, he also seeks to redefine student leadership by providing public services for Thomasians through free printing services limited to 15 pages per student per week. There will be an assets management committee that will oversee the digital database of students.

If elected as auditor, Coronel aspires to leave a lasting legacy in the CSC and student body through the outcomes and sustainability of his projects.

“Sa akin ang gusto ko makita pagkatapos ng term ko is not my face or not my name slapped around everything in CSC, but rather the results of what we did and kung ano yung future implications ng nagawa natin,” he said.