THE SANGGUNIAN Central Assembly (CA) passed a resolution on the processing of sexual harassment cases during the CA meeting on February 8.
School of Social Sciences (SOSS) Representative Christian Dy authored “A Resolution Declaring the Student Government’s Policy on the Processing of Sexual Harassment Cases Referred to the Sanggunian.” Sanggunian President Carmela Vinzon is set to sign the resolution.
The resolution read, “In cases where there is a conflict between students’ rights and administrative procedures, the Sanggunian shall in all cases favor students’ rights.” In effect, extending all possible forms of assistance to the complainant will always “supersede considerations of veracity.”
It follows a joint memorandum issued by the representatives of SOSS, School of Humanities, and School of Science and Engineering after an incident involving students from the University of Sto. Tomas erupted in social media.
Succeeding measures
In a Facebook post, Dy said that the anti-sexual harassment legislation will not stop with the issuance of the joint memorandum and the passage of the resolution.
Dy has already filed a resolution forming the Office of the Solicitor General. The office will act as the legal aid office of the Sanggunian and will also provide administrative advice to sexual harassment victims in the Loyola Schools.
Moreover, the final step indicated in Dy’s post is to “develop processes of school administration and local government.”
Because the completion of this step cannot be guaranteed within his term, Dy encouraged the student body to elect a “worthy successor” who will be able to carry it out.
According to the Ateneo Commission on Elections, the Sanggunian General Elections are set on March 27 to 31. Filing of candidacy will begin on February 20.
CA Resolutions
The CA has also passed four more resolutions after the resolution to conduct public hearings for sectoral representation in aid of legislation and the resolution creating the Constitutional Commission.
Resolution No. 3 s. of 2016-2017 is entitled “A Resolution Creating a Technical Working Group on Registration Procedures in the Loyola Schools.” In effect, the group will handle reports, inquiries, and legislative propositions regarding concerns on registration procedures.
Resolution No. 4 s. of 2016-2017: “A Resolution Calling for the Posting of Nutritional Information by the Office for Food Safety and Quality Assurance” requires food service providers in Gonzaga to indicate nutritional information.
Resolution No. 5 s. of 2016-2017 or “A Resolution to Conduct Curriculum Reviews of Each Course in the Ateneo de Manila University” aims to consult stakeholders on their recommendations on the curricula. The Curriculum Review Team will then coordinate with the departments and the administration.
Resolution No. 6 s. of 2016-2017: “A Resolution Calling on the Administration of the Loyola Schools to Release Fiscal Statements to the Student Body” proposes that the disclosed budget and tuition fee increases should be detailed exhaustively and released a week before the yearly Magtanong sa VP at Mga Dekano.
These resolutions have already been approved by Vinzon.
In an interview with The GUIDON, Sanggunian Vice President Koko Quilatan expressed his optimism that the CA will churn out “even better legislation” in the future.
“I hope that the student body holds us accountable to our promises. We hope for more collaboration with the rest of the student body. If there are any concerns or any other initiatives that they’d like to work with us on, we can actually help address them on the level of policy, on the level of representation,” he said.
“The CA is really here for the student body,” he added.
According to Article VII, Section 1.1 of the 2016 Constitution, the CA is composed of the Vice President, School Representatives, Sectoral Representatives, the Council of Organizations of the Ateneo Representative, the Ateneo Resident Students Association Representative, and appointed Committee Heads from the Course Representatives. The Vice President chairs the assembly.
