IN LIGHT of the Sanggunian General Elections this coming September, the Sanggunian Transition Government (TransGov) has been making the necessary adjustments in order for the new Constitution to take full effect.

Through the efforts of the Constitutional Convention (ConCon), the new Constitution was approved by majority of the Loyola Schools community through a plebiscite during the second semester of SY 2015-2016.

The consecutive failures of elections in recent years triggered the need for an amendment of the Constitution. One of the most notable amendments in the current Constitution is the abolition of the quota requirement, widely criticized as the cause of election failure.

Few but not lacking

Prior to the ratification of the new Constitution, the quota requirement caused a number of offices in the Sanggunian to remain vacant. However, according to Department of Secretariat Chairperson Railey Montalan, this did not hold the Sanggunian back in fulfilling its responsibilities.

“What we said when we got inaugurated was that we’ll just brave this one last year, because we were really hoping that the [Constitution] would pass. Thankfully, it did, and so we were successful in that aspect — of braving through the sheer problems of not having any people, and a lot of people [still] relying on us,” he said.

Despite this, Sanggunian Coordinator Carmela Vinzon remains satisfied with the work the ConCon has done since the quota requirement in elections will no longer be observed.

“I really think that [the abolishment of quota] will really help Sanggu function fully. At least we were able to remove that obstacle. It’s just a matter of us being able to maximize the new amended constitution,” she said.

Under renovation

Since the establishment of the TransGov, officials have ramped up efforts in anticipation of the elections and the succeeding administration.

Montalan said that they are currently working on information systems and engagement programs for the next elections.

“We’ve been preparing, for example, in [the Department of Secretariat], file management systems, knowledge management systems, and fixing protocols with our Code of Internal Procedures. We’re also preparing for the transitioning of files and documents for the next Sanggunian,” he said.

In addition, Montalan said that they also planned to have programs to bring the Sanggunian to the fore in the Ateneo community through seminars and a State of the Sanggunian Address.

“We’re planning to have a State of the Sanggunian Address. We’re planning to have a massive social media reach to introduce new people, especially the freshmen, to the Sanggunian,” he said.

Meanwhile, Vinzon said that they are training the representatives to become more “legislative,” as opposed to “executive.” Vinzon added that they are working to improve their public relations to increase transparency.

“One of our biggest goals as TransGov is to improve the [public relations] in order to let people know what’s happening in Sanggu,” she said.

Overall, Department of Communications Chairperson Cieryl Sardool said that these efforts as will help them gauge their experimentations with how the next administration should handle their governance.

“By the time that the next administration comes in, we may already tell them that this is what works, and this is what doesn’t, from the months that we were working as TransGov,” she said.

A new Sanggu

In the last school year, the most active arm of the Sanggunian was the Ateneo Task Force, which engaged the Loyola Schools community with regards to the 2016 National Elections. This year, Montalan said that the Commission on Socio-political Affairs (CSPA) will occupy that position in engaging Ateneans.

“I think that [CSPA] will be one of our more visible and active arms, especially with the happenings now. Given that, I think we’ll be more proactive in launching more initiatives and advocacies, such as when we launched and spearheaded the Martial Law talks, and the Libingan ng mga Bayani movements,” he said.

Meanwhile, Sardool believes that the Department of Communications will be the most active arm due to its ability to relay transparency to the community.

“The Department of Communications handles the face of Sanggu. When I assess that one of the main problems of Sanggu is how it’s presented to the students and how the students perceive it, my department has a big responsibility on that. We make sure everyone knows what we’re doing,” she said.

Come the next administration, Vinzon said that the new officers will be more prepared, especially when it comes to awareness of their responsibilities.

“I expect the Sanggunian to be more self-aware, to actually know what they need to do, and to function in the best way possible. I expect them to make the most out of what the TransGov has been preparing for them, foundations-wise. I expect the next Sanggunian to know its role within the university,” she said.

Moreover, Montalan said that the Sanggunian exists not as a separate institution, but as a representative sector that roots directly from them.

“I want to say to the Ateneo students that the Sanggunian is here, and not just as an institution. I would want sana that the Atenean students realize that the Sanggunian is them. We defend their rights, we forward their concerns, we take up their initatives and forward them to the national scene. We’re their voice eh, and that is what I would want to foresee in our students,” he said.