KAISA - Nagkakaisang Iskolar Para sa Pamantasan at Sambayanan

Nagkakaisang Iskolar para sa Pamantasan at Sambayanan KAISA UP
Established	05 May 2005
Category	Alliance
Founding Chairperson	Emil Benjamin B. Tapnio
Incumbent Chairperson	Ramon Jericho C. Santos
Faculty Adviser	Prof. Maria Victoria Raquiza
Location	Quezon City, Philippines
Website	Official Website of KAISA UP
Facebook	KAISA UP on Facebook
Twitter	KAISA UP on Twitter
Contact	mail@kaisaup.com

KAISA - Nagkakaisang Iskolar para sa Pamantasan at Sambayanan (United Scholars for the University and the Nation), better known as KAISA UP, is a progressive political party and dynamic student formation that envisions itself as an agent of social change through competent student leadership, proactive political action and effective social involvement. Through campaigns, services and various activities, KAISA aims to promote and protect the rights and welfare of the students, and to provide them fresh and relevant avenues for participation in the community.

KAISA believes in the timeless ideal of the UP student as scholar-activist. As scholars, UP students must fulfill their academic commitments and excel in their respective disciplines. As activists, UP students must use their academic excellence in a social context, by using their skills, talents and knowledge to advance democracy and bring about social change.

In addition, KAISA affirms both the pluralism of ideas in democratic discourse and the power of decisive action. KAISA wants neither to be bogged down by endless debate and academic speculation nor to be boxed by narrow ideologies and rigid paradigms. KAISA also affirms the idea of collective decision and concerted action. KAISA pursues a multisectoral approach to raise awareness and inculcate in its members heightened social consciousness and a deeper sense of social responsibility.

Formed on May 5, 2005, it is the newest university-wide party in UP Diliman and is the current minority party in the University Student Council (USC).

History

KAISA - Nagkakaisang Iskolar para sa Pamantasan at Sambayanan was formed in the summer of 2005 by students from activist organizations Sanlakas Youth (SY) and the Samahang Demokratiko ng Kabataan; fraternities Alpha Phi Beta and Upsilon Sigma Phi; and a number of college-based student organizations and parties. KAISA's establishment sounded “a call to principled leadership, to struggle for the holistic emancipation of students toward greater social consciousness and responsibility” within the University of the Philippines Diliman.

During that time, a political crisis was looming in the Philippines as a result of the Hello Garci Scandal, among other controversies under the Arroyo administration. Kaisa, as a member of the oppositionist coalition Laban ng Masa (Fight of the Masses), joined the call for the ouster of former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and the establishment of a “transitional revolutionary government”.

Inside UP Diliman, KAISA, along with several student organizations nationwide, campaigned against the 300 percent tuition increase in UP in 2007 and reaffirmed the call for greater state subsidy for the Philippines' national university. The tuition increase, however, was approved by the UP Board of Regents.

Furthermore, KAISA slammed the Philippine military in the disappearance of missing UP students Karen Empeno and Sherlyn Cadapan. The party also campaigned against the Draft Student Code of Conduct, which, in their view, is a hindrance to the students' right to an organization.

Currently, KAISA is active in the “Six Will Fix” campaign of youth and student alliance Youth Against Debt, which calls for the allocation of six percent of the country's gross national product on education. KAISA UP, has recently joined the joined the Students for Environmental and Economic Democracy, a youth-based environmental alliance campaigning for climate justice.

Principles

KAISA UP, thoroughout its existence, has aligned itself with progressive organizations and coalitions, some of which are part of the Philippine left movement. KAISA UP members brand themselves as Iskolar-Aktibista (scholar activists) and its orientation is centered in these following principles:

• Political Awareness and Political Involvement

We strive to actively engage society in a dynamic discourse, to educate the students on the issues and concerns that matter most to them, to encourage them to take action. Our struggle is to go beyond asking what must be done, to actually doing what can be done.

• Academic Excellence with Social Relevance

Academic excellence, to be of service to the students and to society, must be socially relevant. We aim to use our education for the greater good of our fellow students, the University, the nation and society as a whole.

• Inclusive Activism

We seek to balance free discourse on one hand, and decisive action on another, such that principles and positions are open to deliberation and reflection, and the practice of decisive action will not be constrained. We are activists because we espouse a proactive stance on relevant issues and concerns, but we are also inclusive because we seek not to include only our fellow proponents, but to appeal to the society at large, to rally others to our call.

• Responsive Leadership toward Student Empowerment

It is imperative that student leaders prioritize the empowerment of their constituents, by promoting and safeguarding their rights, welfare, and interests. Attention toward issues of broader import should not be prejudiced against local concerns. We aim to help create an atmosphere conducive to learning, progress and political maturity.

• Social Progress with Social Justice

As students of the University of the Philippines, we bear a social responsibility to our country and fellow members in society. Any collective thrust in order to be meaningful should be grounded in the continuing struggle for a free and just society, and it should speak on behalf of the weak, marginalized and oppressed.

University Student Council Campaign

For six years, KAISA UP has been the minority party in the USC. However, its most successful University Student Council campaign was in 2009, when Sanlakas Youth member and 2006 USC councilor Titus Tan won as USC chair via a landslide victory of 4905 votes-- the highest number of votes ever to be given to a USC Chairperson candidate. Along with Tan, ten other KAISA UP candidates won with three councilors and seven college representatives.

Member Organizations

• KAISA Mass Organization (KAISA Mo!)
• Leaders for Excellence, Action, and Development-College of Home Economics (LEAD-CHE)
• MagKaisa College of Social Sciences and Philosophy (MKCSSP)
• Phi Delta Alpha Sorority (PDA)
• Practice of Administrative Leadership and Service-National College of Public Administration and Governance (PALS-NCPAG)
• Sanlakas Youth (SY-UPD)
• Student Action Towards Responsive Leadership in Tourism-Asian Institute of Tourism (START-AIT)
• UP Paralegal Society (UP ParalegalS)

Leadership

The incumbent chair of KAISA UP is Ramon Jericho Santos, a student from the College of Home Economics and former President of Leaders for Excellence, Action, and Development-College of Home Economics (LEAD-CHE).

Former Chairpersons

• Titus C.K. Tan (2010-2011)
• Laura May Antoinette Clemente (2009-2010)
• Stephanie L. Tan (2008-2009)
• Abdel Jamal R. Disangcopan (2007-2008)
• Jason Edward San Juan (2006-2007)
• Emil Benjamin B. Tapnio (2005-2006)

External Links

• Official Website of KAISA UP. (Accessed on 2 June 2011)
• KAISA UP on Facebook. (Accessed on 2 June 2011)
• KAISA UP on Twitter. (Accessed on 10 August 2011)
• 3 parties divide USC in election of firsts. Tinig ng Plaridel. (Accessed on 2 June 2011)
• Kaisa UP. Wikipilipinas.org. (Accessed on 23 October 2011)

Contact

• Email: mail@kaisaup.com