437 out of 468 interviewed grade 7 to 11 students from Antipolo City National Science and Technology High School (ACNSTHS) would like to conduct Miting de Avance (MDA) for the Supreme Secondary Learner Government (SSLG) 2025 elections succeeding absence of the pre-voting program this year, having the 93.4% interviewed learners preferred inclusion of MDA in the election timeline.

In the recently conducted face-to-face survey of the official English Publication of ACNSTHS, Pendulum Chronicle, 437 learners answered yes for the commencement of MDA, 29 said no, and 2 abstained, having 468 interviewed AnScian out of 549 grade 7 to 11 population.

Moreover, Junior High School (JHS) student Ashlee Sotero shared that she preferred to have an MDA prior to voting proper so that the aspirants could further elaborate on their proposals and plans for the next school year. She stated that the face-to-face campaigns are just an informal advertisement of each candidate, and she opted for a professional way of addressing their plans.

“Would be rather disappointing as the election will feel rushed and not that brought through, as students are still deciding on who to vote given limited information,” she said when asked regarding her opinion on not conducting an MDA.

MDA Cancelation

In line with Article I of the Learner Government Election and Appointment Code (LGEAC), the Commission on Elections and Appointments (COMEA) of the campus should take charge of the election management, however, James Letolio Jr., the school’s COMEA Head said that the MDA will not proceed before the upcoming SSLG elections.

According to Letolio, the said event will not push through due to the unavailability of the area to be used.

“One of the major issues or concern kung bakit di natuloy ay [iyong] availability noong area, which is iyong covered court na gagamitin ng Cabading Elementary School ng morning. We cannot conduct the said activity ng afternoon because it will affect naman the actual election process so baka madelay, tayo maging cause of delay,” the COMEA head stated.

COMEA, SSLG’s viewpoint

Meanwhile, the COMEA adviser also expressed his concern over the matter, noting that the activity will further inform the student community on who to vote not just according to popularity, but on the skills of the candidate.

“Ang dami nang pagkakataon na miting de avance really changed the students' perspective on who and how they will cast their votes. Kasi pag campaign, kung sino yung catchy, sino yung fun, iyon yung nananalo. But then, with their [not just the delivery] but their voice, they could convince the student body na maniwala sa kanilang platforms kasi again, hindi naman ito popularity lang, it's more of service,” Letolio noted.

Moreover, Gabriel Cuenco, the Learner Government COMEA (LG COMEA) head also conveyed his disappointment, highlighting the MDA as an opportunity for the candidates to present their platform and stand to the campus community.

“Kasi hindi sapat ang room to room campaign, iba pa rin kapag nasa harap ka ng buong Ansci community. Mahalaga ang boto ng mga AnSci student kaya dapat nilang mas maintindihan ang mga platapormang ipatutupad ng mga tatakbo,” Cuenco stated.

In a separate statement, Andrea Penano, the SSLG president, said that the shortened timeline allocated for the whole school year and the student government election has also greatly affected the implementation of the activity.

Moreover, she added that, “Provided na both me and the COMEA have been communicating this ever since bumaba ang memo for elections yet hindi pa din napayagan, ibigsabihin limited na din ang teachers and hindi na maipipilit na bawasan further ang class hours even for the important activities for the election.”

On SHS perspective

Senior High School (SHS) students expressed their stand on conducting an MDA prior to the voting day to be held on February 21, sharing the beneficial impact of the program in helping the learners vote for the right aspirants.

Sabrina Alfaro, a Grade 12 student of ACNSTHS expressed that MDA is a medium for the students to get to know their candidates properly.

“Given the fact na gustong gusto ng school authorities natin for AnScians to have this courage to step up and run as leaders, hindi ba ang ironic na kung kailan we have numerous candidates ay doon hindi i-coconduct ang miting de avance? Taking my thoughts into consideration, alam naman nating hindi enough ang pangangampanya ng mga nais tumakbo.” she added.

Moreover, according to Grade 11 student Allen Claros, the absence of MDA could affect the decision of the AnSci community on the upcoming SSLG elections, highlighting that the candidates were not given the opportunity to advocate for their own platforms considering that the room-to-room campaign was only for a short period.

“I do strongly believe that not proceeding with MDA will affect my own vote, as well as the vote of most of the AnSci community. Most of us will not be able to make the most appropriate choices tomorrow because the campaign period was not enough of a test to evaluate each of the aspirants,” he added, stressing that the campaign period was not enough.