ALL EYES followed the Sanggunian’s interim government as the Loyola Schools community transitioned into an online setup for the academic year. In a previous interview with The GUIDON, Interim Sanggunian President Jb Bejarin made his goals clear: Increase engagement with the student body and strengthen the Sanggunian’s internal structure. Concerns regarding the latter have lingered for years, setting forth the notion of a system overhaul.
To establish interior reforms, the Sanggunian is introducing a new Code of Internal Procedures (CIP)—an initiative Bejarin proposed during his term as the Sanggunian Vice President for AY 2019-2020. After further development by the Sanggunian’s current Central Assembly, the document is now in effect and pending public release as of writing.
Introducing improvements
Sanggunian Interim Vice President Kat Moreno states that one of the student government’s prevailing problems is the offices’ inability to work independently. “Before…the great challenge was [that] units work in silos, which shouldnt be the case,” says Bejarin, explaining that units should work complementary with one another. Using the Commission on Anti-Sexual Misconduct and Violence (CASMV) as an example, Bejarin explains that members may find it difficult to balance internal operations while handling sexual harassment cases.
Furthermore, Moreno notes the commissioners’ difficulties in executing projects due to the “added bureaucracy” from the previous years. Bejarin cites the Department of Students Rights, which was removed since its sole function was to coordinate projects between the commissions and the OP. In the new configuration, the units can report directly to the president in lieu of passing through a middleman.
The CIP enacts changes in the Sanggunian’s structure through unit reconfigurations. Comparing the current structure with its antecedent, the Office of the Executive Secretary and the Office of the Solicitor General have been removed. Meanwhile, the Commission on Socio-Political Formation, the Commission of Ateneans for Indigenous People, and the Office of the Buklod Ambassador were moved from the Department of External Affairs (DEA) to the Office of the President (OP). According to DEA Chairperson Jerard Afable, the DEA is now a support unit of the advocacy commissions instead of its coordinating unit.
Considering the new codes
Beyond structural changes, the CIP also defines expectations for every Sanggunian member. Moreno states that the changes in the CIP include a streamlined Sanggunian application process and clarified member roles. In addition, Bejarin stresses that the CIP now highlights expectations from members, as well as their respective rights and responsibilities.
Moreno further reiterates the addition of clearer accountability clauses in the CIP, acknowledging the confusion and miscommunication that new members may have experienced in the previous years. According to her, the CIP now prescribes departmental manuals that detail the objectives of Sanggunian units. Bejarin says that these manuals will be written by respective unit heads and will await the Office of the Vice President’s approval before publication.
Afable agrees that these manuals provided the department with a certain workflow to guide them in serving more efficiently. “We underwent [an] institutional identity crisis so at least for DEA, we finally had a manual that stipulated: ‘What are our constitutional mandates?’ [and] ‘how can we execute these mandates?” he says.
Afable agrees that these manuals provided the department with a certain workflow to guide them in serving more efficiently. “We underwent [an] institutional identity crisis so at least for DEA, we finally had a manual that stipulated: ‘What are our constitutional mandates?’, [and] ‘how can we execute these mandates?” he says.
Calculated risks
The new changes in the Sanggunian entail new risks and challenges in balancing independence and collaboration. Ateneo CODE Research, Training, and Development Head Trisha Reyes mentions that ensuring the collaborative aspect of autonomy may be a challenge given the added communication layers. “I think it’s the alignment among all of them that becomes incredibly crucial once they allow that collaborative autonomy to happen in practice,” she says.
To set community-wide collaboration in motion, Moreno says that the Sanggunian will place emphasis on the course representatives’ roles this year to better speak for the different courses in policymaking.
Ateneo CODE Coordinating Head Jordan Jacinto addresses further concerns that this may only still add to the bureaucracy: He notes that course representatives must balance goal alignments with the Sanggunian and the representation of their respective courses since they are still external liaisons.
With this, it is important to remember that the CIP may alter the Sanggunian’s course for years to come. “This is [the] foundation for the future of Sanggu, and [wherever] else we can take the student body,” says Bejarin, who counts on these types of changes to sustainably serve Atenean batches from now on.
