Having honed experience in the Legislative Assembly (LA), Santugon sa Tawag ng Panahon’s (Santugon) Brenn Takata, a chief of staff, and Alyansang Tapat sa Lasallista’s (Tapat) Huey Marudo, a former National Affairs Committee chairperson, promise to bring more career opportunities to Lasallians and defend students from persistent red-tagging as they vie for the Vice President for External Affairs seat.
The LaSallian: What traits and experiences make you fit for the position? On the other hand, what do you admit are your weaknesses?
Takata: I show [a] consistent track record in my experiences and commitments in the USG (University Student Government), CSO (Council of Student Organizations), and other DLSU organizations. And, also, I am credible for the job for external opportunities I have interned in different companies…for national affairs, I have been part of the DLSU Legislative Assembly as a chief of staff and also for advocacies—it’s very close to my heart of all the projects that we have for the student body that have been consulted and ready to go.
Marudo: As for me naman, I think I am [the] best fit for the job because I have compassion. My advocacies from the very beginning were focused on socio-civic community involvement. I’m very much working on a lot of projects and policies that work on external affairs, in particular, I was a former national chairperson of the DLSU Legislative Assembly when I was [a] batch legislator. Additionally, I worked on a lot of external programs during my time as Sanggunian Kabataan so we created a lot of study spaces for students…we also provided a lot of community engagement through literacy services as well as community business-building for different sectors…with regards to external opportunities, or external partnerships, I have also worked externally with different levels of local government like the local government unit of Batangas as well as a partylist in Batangas in particular.
The LaSallian: I’d like to go back to the second half of the question. What do you admit are your weaknesses?
Takata: I admit that [one of] my weaknesses is that…it’s hard for me to say ‘no.’ For example, for this year, I wanted to focus on internships, but being the chief of staff for the DLSU Legislative Assembly opened so much…that we were able to talk to different student sectors, different problems of the students. It made me passionate [about] run[ning] as the next vice president for external affairs.
Marudo: As for me, I think I should have stated this as a strength, but I think up to some point, it can also be a weakness. I’m very much consultative, and I like details—a lot of details—before venturing into a project immediately. So I make sure to take my time scrutinizing every angle possible and ask more of each of the people in the office, in order to fully ensure that the policies that we are going to pursue are all encompassing for students and that it’s very much well-polished. Due to the time deadlines and constraints that we have, it’s something that I should work on. In addition, since I was a former batch legislator, I do have to agree that I did not do a lot of projects in my frosh year. However, that was the reason why I focused on doing finance work. In particular, that is why I became a finance executive for a CSO organization within the University right now in order to… familiarize [myself] with all the processes and documents that we need to do for the projects.
The LaSallian: What obstacles do you see within the University that could hamper your performance as VPEA, and how will you go about this?
Marudo: I do have to think that some of the obstacles that could hamper it are, for example, the logistics in particular. I do have to admit that even with the big budget that is given to our office. At times, we have to plan it out to ensure the feasibility of the projects. Another thing with [regard] to policies or stances with the statements that we want to make. There’s also subject to time constraints with other external organizations, to which there are windows that we may not be able to pursue because there are also windows that are only allowed by the admin or the University itself, due to our calendar as well. And then lastly, I do think that another problem that we could have [is] the current extreme weather conditions right now. So if ever that we do plan to set up a lot of projects on the external side, we need to ensure that our students’ safety also comes first because of the extreme heat and, now, because of the extreme rains that are occurring.
Takata: For us, the main problem that we would be facing if ever elected is our relationship with the offices here in DLSU. So, for example, we have seen in the DLSU Legislative Assembly that we have talked to student activists, and they were filed offenses against [them] when they were protesting in one of the events last year. And, through this, we want to talk to these offices more to amplify their voice and actually actualize our projects. For example, we would have a project that would involve having a P2P (point-to-point) northbound. This would include different consultations with offices, and also, we have a project that would involve internships and also other external opportunities for the Lasallian body, and this would also involve a lot of meetings with the admin offices. But our advantage of the four other EB (Executive Board) candidates who are incumbents and also [me as] part of the chief of staff of the DLSU Legislative Assembly, we already have working relationships with these offices and we are foreseeing that this would be a smoother run for us if ever elected and if ever we would be given the chance to actualize our plans and specific plans of action for the Lasallian body.
The LaSallian: Can you discuss the incumbent OVPEA’s performance? What projects do you seek out to continue and what projects do you seek improvement?
Takata: Actually, [the Office of the] Vice President for External Affairs has done a good job in terms of having stances in national affairs and also amplifying the Lasallians’ voice in terms of issues outside of the DLSU, but one project that I would discontinue under the Office of the Vice President of External Affairs are job visits. So job visits [were] done since Macie Tarnate and Arvin Ajesta, and…these projects would already be under the college presidents. Under “Beyond Limits, Together,” or our slate under Santugon, what we would be doing or improving here is that we would be having job immersions or micro-internships for Lasallians. This would involve two to three weeks of partnering of students [with] reputable companies, and they would be given introductory tasks… This could [then] be used as real-life credentials, something that is more tangible than job visits since you can get [a] more tangible feel of the company culture and also because you get to experience real-life work outside of DLSU.
Marudo: As for me, I do think that the [Office of the] Vice President of External Affairs has done a good job in voicing out our stances and concerns, not just as an organization that focuses within, but also the external and national participation that we have as students. I would like to, actually, expand instead of discontinue the job visits that we have by actually providing our students with Lasallian-owned corporations–owned by [alumni]…so, in particular, I want to focus on providing our DLSU students just the opportunity to intern but also the opportunity to be [paid] for their internships. So, for this, the Lasallian Alumni Association, we have talked with them. We have seen the feasibility of working [not] just with them as corporations but also [with] the other businesses that the Student Success Center has already gotten memorandum of agreements with. And then, we are looking forward to providing more supports to the student businesses that we have so that they can not only market within the bazaars that are currently ongoing under the OVPEA; we can also provide them with the avenues for the pop-up markets for example so that they can strengthen their market research, market share, and ultimately get them to grow to levels of SMSEs (small and medium-sized enterprises) or at least where they can stand on their own two feet as businesses.
The LaSallian: Ahead of the 2025 Midterm Elections, the OVPEA was often involved in organizing events on sociopolitical awareness. Should OVPEA continue to be active in national politics? Why or why not?
Marudo: Yes, the OVPEA should continue to be active on national politics because DLSU is our training ground on what we will do in the real world, and in the real world, everything that the national politics does, it also affects us as people, not just as students. So it is better that within our current system of education, we are familiarized with how we can participate as people, we are familiarized with how we can use lobbying certain policies that we believe are helpful for us as students, and we are more critical of the leaders that we have going on in the future so that every policy and projects that are given to us as Filipinos are continually developed and progressive for what we want to fight for and for what we want to see in the Philippines. Because at the end of the day, we are not just fighting for ourselves as Lasallians—we are also fighting for the future of other students and other children…which is why one of the platforms that I want to pursue is to provide modular [lessons] as well as seminars to students in particular who want to be involved in Philippine policy. We want to provide them with opportunities to learn how to research…how to write, and how to…lobby the policies that they have in mind…then in particular, we are going to talk to external organizations like the NUSP (National Union of Students of the Philippines) up to the levels of Congress, or even the Senate, in order to propagate the policies that we are thinking of while also continuously working on said policies.
Takata: Yes, national affairs is one of the issues that would structure the Office of the Vice President of External Affairs under our vision. It will be one of the strongest pillars that would structure the office. So we have a specific plan of action named “La Salle Eye,” which will involve being more firm in stances against national issues that we have and amplify the voice of the Lasallian. We will be having digestible information, talks with different sectors…like protestors. We will be strengthening our campaign against red-tagging and also more involvement in terms of timely national issues. We, …as the project head of the Filipino Youth Summit 2023…also had different policy workshops and different talks with different sectors, and we will continue that under the Office of the Vice President of External Affairs under Santugon–if ever it will be a “derecho.” So, national affairs is a never-ending issue. It doesn’t stop in elections—it is a continuous process, especially with our social-political climate. It is a must for us to be vocal and for us to be firm as Lasallians.
The LaSallian: This year, the OVPEA spearheaded and joined projects that champion various advocacies, from inviting Halal food vendors to the campus to remembering Philippine history. If you were to become VPEA, what advocacies would you prioritize?
Takata: My passion project for the University is for sustainability, so we have consulted with the University Sustainability Office, and the University produces 1,100 kilograms of trash every day, and also our waste segregation rate is at 62.29 percent. So we can see that two out of three Lasallians…don’t know…where to throw a specific trash into the trash bins that we have, so we have “Green Space” which involves a campaign of residuals to electricity and also scraps to fertilizer. Through this, we would be helping to power communities and also to protect coastal areas [from] flooding. So, not only [do] we solve our sustainability problem and also our environmental problem here in the University, we can also help other communities by having impactful outcomes and also having a stand with this. And together with a vision of the University having zero percent of trash ending up in landfills, we could also lessen our carbon footprint and lessen also the excess carbon that we have around the University and also in these areas that we will be helping.
Marudo: As for me, the advocacy that I really want to focus on is helping [uplift] the working students within the University. I stated in my MDA (miting de avance) speech, I am actually a working student myself. I work online and I provide a lot of—a bit of—financial systems in regards to that [regard]. But, in particular, I want to help our working students by providing them with the opportunities that they are hoping for, because in my consultations with the sector, they stated that they actually are intrigued by the opportunities that they can receive within the University. They see the emails that there’s opportunities for study exchange programs…abroad…or different competitions that they can go to different parts of the Philippines in order to represent the University. But the thing is, the extracurricular fees are not covered by the University—they’re gonna have to cover it themselves—and that already is a burden to them as students, which deters them from actually engaging. So with regards to this, we want to reform the GLOCAL (GLOCAL Advancement Program)…in order for working students, rather [than being] able to pursue avenues for being able to be part of these external opportunities or events. We hope to cover their fees…transportation or a few of their food fees for those competitions or events that they are going to work on, and we’re going to provide them with better systems for their enlistment. Actually, one of the ideas that we are working on in collaboration with the USG President Kailu Baradas, he’s working on…creating preenlistment privileges for our working students so that…they are also able to fix their schedules accordingly to their work schedules as well and so ‘di sila nahihirapan to…adjust with regards to it.
The LaSallian: The USG condemned the widespread red-tagging of student activists and organizations after recruitment materials from far-left groups were found around campus. How can OVPEA continue to protect student advocacies and expression in light of widespread redtagging?
Marudo: We don’t condone any sort of violence, that is one… We will continue to provide avenues for recognition for unrecognized or unofficial groups. I think, in particular, the reason why these students as well are having to resort to these kinds of troubles [is] because they believe that they are not as represented as other sectors—that they are not as consulted… In one of our platforms or advocacies, we’re working on a “Sectoral Advocacy,” in which we will focus on focus group discussions, town halls, and consultations with these sectors—reaching out to them so that we may understand what they also want to see, not just within University processes but also for our national participation. [This is] so that we can be more collaborative and bridge their suggestions, ideas, or comments to [the] admin when it comes to consultation of our platforms and implementation proper.
Takata: This is actually an issue that is very close to our party’s plans. One of the policies under the legislative agenda that we have is to clarify what are the definitions of redtagging, what are the definitions of activism, and also what are the definitions of anything involved in terms of voicing out our concerns, whether it is national, international, or [on the] University [level]. So, we want to fortify this under all the batch legislators and the incumbent chief legislator, our USG President Zach Quimbao, we want to continue the conversation because we already had working conversations with student activists, particularly…Anakbayan VC, and we want to continue that and…provide help, not just supporting but being with them. Before we filed for leave of absence,…we already worked on the revision of the student handbook and if ever it’s not passed this term, we would be continuing together with Zach Quimbao and also the batch legislators to really talk with the administration to have concrete actions regarding these issues. It’s very sad…the University is not yet that open with voicing our concerns and we want to change that and we are firm with that.
The LaSallian: A number of nonaccredited organizations, such as SPARK and Anakbayan Vito Cruz, have been making rounds recruiting Lasallians and operating on campus. Membership in nonaccredited organizations is not permitted by the student handbook. With this, do you plan to address concerns that surround these nonaccredited organizations?
Takata: Yes, very much. Since they are not accredited, we can help them have a platform here at DLSU. We are very, very welcoming of them, and we actually want to give them the platform to also voice out their concerns, voice out their issues. As your next Executive Board, we will work on having talks with them and also having a connection with the administration to help them—to give them the space that they rightfully deserve.
Marudo: Yes, as well. These unofficial groups are having a hard time with regards to voicing out their opinions and concerns, which is why they may resort to…the current situation. I do think that what they are asking for is genuine collaboration and participation, because the previous administrations, as I have seen, have had conversations but did not have the follow-through with them. They did not have the concrete actions that they want[ed] to occur. For us, we want to help voice out their opinions, their concerns, and their matters with the admin through consultations with the different offices. We want to have a unified stance on how we are going about… national participation and how we can get students more involved in the advocacy that we want to fight for. As we pronounce in Alyansang Tapat sa Lasallista, we are pro-people, pro-student—united left in how we go about it. The only way that we are going to be able to pursue a just and free society is by actually having conversations, having consultations—providing them with the opportunity to speak out as well to the admin if they so wish, and then looking at the possible avenues of what we can do so that they may also be able to pursue their activities within the University, while still following the rules that are set forth by our admin.
The LaSallian: Another set of unofficial yet unsanctioned student organizations within the Lasallian community are fraternities, which have been found by The LaSallian to engage in violent acts. Should DLSU have a tougher stance against their culture?
Marudo: Once again, we do not condone any form of violence, whether it be physical, emotional, or mental. With regards to this, I do think that the admin should also provide more avenues to have conversations with students [about] why these types of violence or organizational activities that occur within these fraternities…[noting] especially the recent conversations happening with these fraternities… I hope that we can provide better opportunities for collaboration or friendship within DLSU so that they also do not have to resort to having to go to organizations where they need to undergo [a] certain set of activities just so they can be accepted within. Rather, we hope to foster a safer environment within DLSU, and we want to ensure that all the resources and all the needs of our students are met through the services that not just the USG will provide, but just also what the admin could provide.
Takata: Yes, and we are against any form of violence, and we want to talk to these groups, especially those that are still not known…together with the administration. We agree that there should be a firmer stance from the administration, especially if there are acts that are occurring that promulgates violence. As the next Executive Board, we also want to [make] efforts to talk to these groups and ensure that all Lasallians are taken care of and that there are no illegal acts in these groups. Maybe we could retain their vision—because all organizations have their vision and also have their benefits—but if ever, we can consult with them, if we could change something in the system. For example, if it’s an issue in academics, we could fortify their stance, and we could talk with the administration on how we could move forward with this. One of the pillars of Santugon ng Tawag sa Panahon is being consultative and that is what we aim to do if ever elected in all the issues, especially on violence.
The LaSallian: What student government do you envision for the incoming administration, and how can the OVPEA contribute to your envisioned idea?
Takata: Our vision for the University is “Beyond Limits, Together.” It means seeing each and every one’s reality, whether it is small or it is big. And as the next vice president for external affairs, we want to make sure that in national issues, even small groups are taken care of and are amplified. More inclusive advocacies will be pushed in the office, like…environmental, indigenous students, international students, and other sectors, especially we have a project that would have a safer transportation [system] for those living northbound. For external opportunities, we will focus on those that want to jumpstart their career. We just want to give you the experience–we want to give you everything that you need. We have “Animo Launchpad” to put focus on jumpstarting 124s’, 123s’, and even 122s’, [wherein] if they don’t have any experience, we can give that to you. If you don’t know how to start your resume, we can give that to you. Because as the vision states: “Beyond Limits, Together.” We will break the limits of external opportunities. We will break the limits of having unknown advocacies, and we will break the limits regarding the barriers of the administrations and of the students. We will break the limits regarding the socio-political issues in the local aspect and in the international aspect, and we will bring that into the everyday discourse of Lasallians. And that’s the vision of the Office of the Vice President of External Affairs under our vision, “Beyond Limits, Together.”
Marudo: For our vision, we aim to bring change that matters…not just change within the system…the University…[nor] externally, but also change that actually allows us to be more collaborative, to be more consultative, and to be not performative in what we do. We want to ensure that the voice of our Lasallians are heard. We want to ensure that our USG is very much collaborative, unlike what the trend has been [where it is] every office for themselves. We want it so that our executive board works with one another in order to pursue the policies that the USG wants to pursue and not [just what a] specific office wants to pursue. And as vice president for external affairs, I am to focus on being helpful to my president and do my part as an external representative to the councils that needs meetings, projects that needs to be created or pursued, publicities and campaigns that we need to push through for our national participation and our community involvement with different sectors, [and] the consultations that we have for our fellow students through “Sectoral Advocacy.” [This way], we may be able to ask them…the different ideas that they have for advocacies and partner with NGOs (non-governmental organizations) who want to focus on the same advocacies, so we can be on the different parts of the country to bring help to the different sectors, to bring help to our indigenous peoples, to bring help to our working students, to bring help to…the youth sector…
We also want…our students to be more involved in national participation…so that if we actually make statements or situations, students are able to voice out their opinions so that it’s more collaborative and democratic… We want to provide student businesses with the opportunity to grow, start from their feet to registration with DTI (Department of Trade and Industry) and then continue onwards to the services that we have, like capital funding in collaboration with the different admin offices that we have, or kaya naman services for their marketing research… [There is] also potential for…all our students to have avenues for external opportunities, be it curricular or extracurricular.
We want to ensure na [with]…everything that we do, there’s always a follow-through afterwards. After [a] project has been done, it will also be consulted to ensure that we can be better moving forward, that we can create platforms or policies that are impacting our students to see if the projects should be recalibrated in the future, or if more students are actually clamoring for it, and we should strengthen it more. That’s the USG that we want to pursue. Furthermore, as vice president for external affairs, I want to be collaborative with everyone. I want to provide them with the avenues that they need for external affairs so that they can pursue their roles as well. But I also reserve my right to criticize my fellow EBs (Executive Board) [members] or elected to ensure that we are actually functioning as a system that works for the students, with the students, and by the students.
With interviews from Gershon De La Cruz.
This interview was edited for length and clarity.
