TARLAC CITY, Tarlac — Embattled Tarlac State University Alumni Association, Inc. (TSUAAI) President Reynaldo Catacutan succumbed to mounting pressure and finally called for association elections, bringing an end to a prolonged leadership deadlock.
Hours after a blistering open letter surfaced online demanding accountability, the TSUAAI leadership officially announced that the long-delayed alumni elections will take place on December 19, 2026.
Catacutan, a former five-term mayor of Capas, drew fierce backlash for clinging to his post long after his second consecutive three-year term officially concluded in October 2025.
Critics and an alumni coalition led by professors Lydia dela Cruz and Daisy Medrano repeatedly challenged a controversial board resolution that extended his tenure under the guise of overseeing the completion of the 2nd floor of the TSU Alumni Center.
The controversy boiled over as concerned alumni and public accountability advocates revealed the moral and legal failures of the overstaying administration. Pointing out that authority in any representative institution is merely held in trust, critics blasted the leadership for transforming a democratic mandate into an unauthorized usurpation.
No single ballot was cast and no general assembly was convened when October 2025 passed, leaving the alumni body without representation while Catacutan maintained control over association funds, administered oaths to new graduates, and retained his seat as the Alumni Regent on the TSU Board of Regents.
The op-ed chastised the board for treating a routine holdover provision as a fortress against democratic suffrage rather than a temporary bridge to prevent organizational paralysis. Despite formal demands filed on March 13, 18, and 23 by members backed by more than a hundred signatures — and appeals directed to Board Secretary Atty. Karen Cayetano-Tinoyan and the CHED — the administration met the constituents with a “stonewall of silence”.
The extension violated Article VI, Section 21 and Article VII, Section 26 of the TSUAAI Constitution and By-Laws, as well as Republic Act 11695, which mandates that an Alumni Regent’s tenure must remain coterminous with their alumni association term. Confronted with the imminent threat of impeachment proceedings under Article XV, Section 74 for gross abuse of authority, alongside prospective legal actions before the Securities and Exchange Commission, the embattled administration finally yielded.
With the release of the official calendar, the association has invited passionate alumni to file their candidacies and reclaim their stake in the university’s governance.
