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Incumbent College Student Council – School of Computing (CSC-SoC) Governor Aerith Claude Catap has officially cast his bid to run as University Student Council (USC) President on February 2, 2026. Alongside him are CSC-SoC councilors Louise Justine Oraye and Dannah Mikaylah Sanchez, who filed their candidacies the succeeding day as CSC-SoC Governor and Vice Governor respectively. They are candidates for the 2026 HAUlalan elections under the flag of Sulung, a newly established student political party in Holy Angel University.

Catap, Oraye, and Sanchez ran during the previous year’s elections under the Sanliyab party. Their lineup was able to acquire all offices in the college student council, having no opposition party running against them at the time. Respectively, they currently serve as the CSC-SoC Governor, Councilor for Events Management, and Councilor for Community Extension Services until their term expires on May 31, 2026.

Catap: Governor to President-aspirant

Being the first to file their certificates of candidacies among HAUlalan candidates, Catap is joined by Leister Benedict Millama, current USC Director for Community Extension Services, as his running mate for the top executive offices in the University Student Government (USG).

As current CSC-SoC Governor, Catap said that it took him time to deliberate on his decision to run considering the difference of scope between the college and uniwide-level. “Now if in a college level, I listen to the needs and the experiences ng mga estudyante sa loob ng college ko, likewise applies to becoming a USC head, na instead of catering to just one college, you must make sure na nare-represent mo ng maayos yung mga estudyante in a uniwide level,” he argues. 

Recalling challenges during his start of the term as governor, he applies it as a possible recurring experience should he be elected USC President. He iterates, “The start of my term, medyo mangangapa pa ko, where should I find these sources? How can I find links to these people or to this part of the community? 
How would I be able to reach out to these certain offices, and so on. Pero, I believe naman, since nagstart din ako as CSC-SoC Governor, nangangapa rin ako, I would be able to adapt naman swiftly in my position as a USC President.”

Catap was motivated to run after a longstanding “status quo” within the USG, especially during elections. “One of the important factors of what pushed me to run for the presidency is I do not wish to settle for another HAUlalan that is passive. For many years now, actually for three or four years if not if I recall correctly, the [USC] presidency or even most of the student government spots remain uncontested. And as such, for me it creates unchecked power na walang opposition palagi ang present student government at mga aspiring student leaders,” he explains. Despite that, he says that disestablishing the status quo or challenging current student leaders is not their only goal. “We want to set a better standard for student leadership inside the university. That alone is our party philosophy, na we must remain in progressive, active and true to the masses, that we do not remain detached from what the students naturally feel.”

Oraye-Sanchez: Step up in the council

Meanwhile, Oraye and Sanchez, who are his fellow officers in the council, view their experiences as something to build on as they run again for higher positions in the same body. “To be honest, it took me a lot of time, me and Dannah, to discern kung hahabol ba talaga kami or will I give another shot for  CSC-SoC. But ayun, looking back at the achievements, fulfillment na nareceive namin, and the point to improve pa sa term namin ngayon, parang naging mas motivated kami knowing we have also the councilors we have in our slate na talagang maaasahan.” Oraye elaborates. “Though, we still consider that there are lapses naman and there are points to improve pa, but again, after all, we are bound to, you know, not to be perfect in some aspects kaya napag-isipan namin ni Dannah there’s so much more to give sa SoC.”

Along with that, she cites Catap’s leadership in the council as an encouragement and influence in their candidacy to succeed him. “Along with him, mina-make sure niya na lahat kami, we are giving our best in every event that we do by his guidance. Luckily, napu-pull off namin yong mga things na kailangan namin gawin. And dun kami namamangha sa kaniya kasi he’s not just thinking about himself and I think that’s one good trait as a leader,” she adds.

Having a complete slate with them, Oraye focuses on improving the services of the incumbent council and building on what had not been given. She explains, “I think the current CSC-SoC, alam namin na we will be continuing what we have started since most of the councilors are with Alpha Foxes and kami and Dannah, the current term. We really want to improve the events, yung mga things na hindi na-push through because of time constraints and other external aspects. So ang masasabi ko lang is I think sa batch namin if ever hopefully, na manalo lahat ng nasa slate namin, is we will be more representing the students in a way they can be part of something bigger than themselves.”

Sulung: An emerging party

As its founding chairperson, Catap also shared how Sulung came about in the aftermath of HAUlalan 2025. He shares his experience when he quit from his former party, Sanliyab, in November 2025. “As a CSC-SoC Governor [at the time], I first decided to resign sa Sanliyab party, and from there, parang ni-rant ko din yung mga nararamdaman ko tungkol sa party, mga kasama kong student leaders na nasa party rin which later moved to Sulung. And we share the same sentiments that, not to shed hate on our recent party, of course may natutunan pa rin naman kami, but we saw that Sanliyab was not fulfilling its duties well as a political party that engages with its student leaders and that engages with its students,” he explains.

While he credits the potential of every student in their talents to become student leaders, he argues that it was a necessity to create Sulung. Stating that it is not a direct successor to Sanliyab, he says, “Kasi, we felt under Sanliyab na we were active lang during HAUlalan, we felt na while, yes, may nakuha naman kami from trainings before the election, but after the election, that’s where a lot of uncertainties lie. Like, how do we maintain our values under the Sanliyab party?” This led them to establish the new party in December 2025. “It’s an intentional choice for us, kasi after all, mas mafe-feel namin na ma-align talaga namin yung values namin and we can become better students if we created a new political party instead,” he adds.

Oraye also shared her own experience, joining Catap in leaving Sanliyab and being part of the new political party. She says, “I decided to join Aerith with Sulung kasi I believe it could really better represent us in terms of the leadership that we want, which is to make the student at the center of our governance. I do think that Sanliyab contributed din sa foundation ng leadership or the way of leadership na meron kami now. But then, when it comes to alignments of values and visions, I think Sulung would be much better to represent us as me and the other members of the party.”

Prelude to HAUlalan 2026

In the days of the filing of the certificates of candidacies from February 2 to 4, 2026 to the USG Commission on Elections (COMELEC), aspirants in both the uniwide and college levels cast their bids for various elected offices in the student government. Candidates vary in origin, from the uniwide parties Sulung and Tindig, the SBA-exclusive Lualu, Sulagpo within SEd, and a number of independents. The final roll of candidates was released on February 14, where 104 candidates in total would contend in the student elections.

Catap and Millama face opposition from the Tindig party, led by their presidential and vice-presidential candidates Sophia Nicole Cuyugan and Jeo Patrick Susi, respectively incumbent CSC-SHTM vice governor and USC staff. On the other hand, the Oraye-Sanchez slate is only against a sole contender in the person of current CSC-SoC staff Yukinichi Oshima, a candidate for councilor also from the Tindig party. The publication had the opportunity to interview Oshima immediately after his filing, but could not publish any quotations as he refused to have it recorded. Additionally, current USG senator at-large Francisco Olpindo IV also cast his bid as SoC senator for the next term, running under the Sulung party. The Access Point has not yet acquired word from Olpindo on his availability to be interviewed.

Despite the show of opposition in the elections, both express their desire for a peaceful election and amicable relations among student leaders and the electorate. “Whatever the outcome of HAUlalan 2026, regardless kung manalo kami or hindi, one message remains clear. We hope that student leaders will remain principled and true to their values. Kahit anong partido, kahit anong kulay. At the end of the day, kung magkahalo man yung mae-elect, we hope that we do not ostracize or continue to oppose each other in seats inside the student government,” Catap says. Oraye adds further, “I want to encourage everyone to please be more serious or be more interested when it comes to this kind of matter, since yung student welfare. Everyone has their purpose, regardless of what party you are in as long as na alam niyo kung sino yung iboboto niyo in the next election.”

The campaign period for the candidates would last from February 16 to March 7, 2026. The actual elections for the USG offices would be held on March 9 to 11, 2026, paving the way for the new officeholders for the academic year 2026-2027.

by Clark Roque