THE SANGGUNIAN announced that the Ateneo Resident Students Association (ARSA) and Ateneo Sports Club Sector (ASCS) will be on an indefinite hiatus due to “difficulties posed by this pandemic.” According to the October 8 memo, the two sectors will not be participating in Central Assembly (CA) sessions until further notice.
According to Sanggunian Vice President and CA Chairperson TJ Alcantara, while the hiatuses impact the CA, University dormers and student-athletes can still be represented through their respective Schools and other sectors they belong in.
Notably, the Sanggunian established the Committee for Sectoral Reform on March 22 to ensure that the various Sanggunian sectors are properly represented in the Loyola Schools (LS). However, Alcantara said the committee did not push through because of time constraints.
Reasons behind the hiatus
Former ARSA Director and Finance Officer Emerson Mananquil and former ASCS member Dynniel Morales both said that they experienced difficulties in adapting to the online setting and replicating bonds they once had through physical infrastructures. However, Mananquil mentioned that he did not anticipate a hiatus until ARSA Comelec raised the issue because ARSA members were planning to conduct online elections and launch future projects.
Last May, ARSA Comelec postponed ARSA’s General Elections until the majority of its members had returned to the Ateneo Residence Halls (ARH). According to ARSA Comelec Chief Commissioner Haesyl Khu, this decision is based on Article 1 of the ARSA Constitution where a resident student and eligible voter is defined to be one “presently residing in the areas under the jurisdiction of the ARH.”
Similarly, ASCS Interim Representative Anthony Luna said that ASCS experienced difficulties in disseminating information and conducting elections due to the unresponsiveness of the different sports clubs. He said that the sports club members are inactive because they want to focus solely on their academics in the meantime, given that they cannot play sports on-site.
With plans for the resumption of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) season next year, Luna revealed that the Ateneo Varsity Sports Sector is currently looking for ambassadors to support the emerging sector.
Luna and Alcantara also mentioned the emerging Varsity sector has been consulting with ASCSto ultimately gain formal recognition in the CA and be ready for the UAAP.
Looking forward to the future
Notably, the 2019 Constitution for Undergraduate students acknowledged the need for official representatives for ARSA, while the 2019 Sectoral Referendum formally recognized ASCS as a sector.
Former ASCS Representative Jerard Afable said that ASCS’s accreditation helped the sector lobby for their budget in the CA. The budget requests are often allotted for sports equipment, facility rentals, and transportation. However, he noted how “daunting” the bureaucratic process is in becoming a sector due to the paperwork, procedural items, and the vote needed from the student body.
In line with this, Alcantara said the newly-established Sectoral Affairs Division under the Office of the Vice President is charged with coordinating sectoral concerns and engagements.
According to Alcantara and Sectoral Affairs Division Head Anton Burog, the Sanggunian reconvened the remaining sectors—which are the League of Independent Organizations and Scholars sector—to write the Sectoral Reform Bill. Alcantara and Burog also mentioned that they plan for this bill to be more comprehensive and inclusionary of emerging sectors, such as the varsity and transferee sectors.
“We’re trying to have more people join the Central Assembly through sectoral accreditation. [U]ntil then, they can’t have a formal seat because they have to be voted in,” Burog said.
Plans for representation
Moving forward, Morales hopes that ASCS will be more than what it was pictured two years ago once it’s more stable in the near future. For this, Luna said that he and the rest of ASCS’s transition team have started looking for the next representatives who are willing to build up the sector and be advocates for sports.
Khu also expects that ARSA will get back on its feet again once on-site classes resume. She also mentioned that temporary volunteers or appointees will be elected until a General Election can be conducted in February 2022.
In terms of sectoral representation in the CA, Alcantara said to expect the Sectoral Reform Bill to be completed by January or February 2022. “Our hopes in the future is that, when these sectors are empowered to really stand on their own, their voices could be heard more and louder, they wouldn’t really need to depend always on the Sanggu,” he added.
