THE SANGGUNIAN concretized its plans for an organizational restructuring this second semester in a meeting with its Top 54 officers on October 21.
The changes agreed upon by the officers included redefining the Sanggunian’s vision and establishing a committee-based working system.
According to School of Social Sciences (SOSS) Secretary-Treasurer Mikee Defensor, the meeting was meant to solidify the direction that Sanggunian is heading for this year.
“The changes to be made this year will be the main base or thrust of the Sanggunian in the coming years,” she said.
Defensor added that the first semester was a research phase and that the Top 54 meeting was meant to create concrete plans and goals to be implemented this second semester.
School of Sciences and Engineering 2nd Year Executive Officer Ma. Carmela Vinzon said that the Sanggunian’s objective this year is to lay the foundation for an eventual “full restructuring.”
The top 54 meeting was held on the third and last day of the Office of Student Activities (OSA)-organized Student Leaders’ Evaluation Seminar (Evsem) with OSA Director Chris Castillo and the Council of Organizations of the Ateneo.
The first two days of the Evsem were allotted for team-building workshops, with the last day saved for separate meetings for the two groups.
Vision
Sanggunian Secretary-General Polo Martinez said that the plan to redefine the student government’s vision stems from the need to restructure roles and rebrand the student government.
Committee system
The meeting was also an avenue for the launch of six new Sanggunian committees: Constitutional Review, Financial Transparency, Advocacies, Student Rights, Basic Services and Public Relations.
Vinzon explained that while the Sanggunian already has auxiliary and standing committees in place, the new committees will tackle the key priority areas that the officers determined.
According to Martinez, work is equally delegated and operations are centralized through the committee system.
As transcribed in the minutes, Sanggunian Vice President Ryan Yu explained that the committees will serve as an ad hoc solution to facilitate the process of constitutional review.
He added that the committees will also be a contingency system in case some Sanggunian positions are vacant next school year.
The implementation of the committee system provoked varied responses from the attendees.
According to the minutes, Defensor said that the committee system proposal would be too redundant, arguing that the system would only add more layers to the bureaucracy.
Moreover, SOSS 3rd Year Central Board (CB) Representative Alexandra Mai Reasonda said that the constitutional review should be prioritized.
Martinez explained that the CB took a top-down approach to facilitating the discussion, while at the same time, ensuring that there was sufficient consensus building.
“I do not think that there was any completely adverse opinion toward the committee system. There were perhaps very pertinent questions raised but none left unanswered and everyone eventually agreed to the committee system,” he said.
Martinez stated that the committees will be composed of members from different Sanggunian branches such as the CB, School Boards and departments.
Future implications
Defensor said that the Sanggunian has already set a general timetable for the plans and projects of the different committees for the second semester.
“Given that [not much work was done in the first semester], the Sanggunian is more pressured to really work in the second semester, since almost everything will be done in the remaining—more or less—four months of the school year,” she said.
Moreover, Vinzon declared that the student body can expect more focus and a more streamlined process on the Sanggunian’s part.
“It would not be a 360 degree turn because one semester is not enough to solve all the problems piled up from the past years, but we are definitely taking the biggest step we can to make this semester a good one for the Sanggunian,” she stated.
Martinez said that there will be more meetings and logistical planning during this semester.
“[The series of meetings] are in preparation for the constitutional amendment and overall rebranding. Moreover, the [Top 54] meeting was meant to issue the directive of the Sanggunian in the coming semester and the coming years,” he explained.
Martinez also noted that if everything proceeds according to plan, there should be no reason for the Sanggunian to not be able to fulfill its objectives.
“Again, the committee system will be institutionalized to facilitate the restructuring. It may seem way complicated and esoteric on paper, but it actually will help make the process way simpler and concise,” he added.
You SANGGU officers are just wasting student funds, which can be better used for more productive purposes. Instead, you run for your resumes, without actually serving. and proof of that is your lack of any project in the first semester. pathetic