THE SANGGUNIAN addressed questions surrounding concerns such as the emerging organizations’ need for logistical and financial assistance at the Magtanong sa Sanggu on March 6.

The public consultation with the Central Assembly was held in MVP 200 with a panel consisting of Sanggunian Vice President Koko Quilatan, School of Social Science Representative Christian Dy, School of Humanities Representative Ferdy Acosta and School of Science and Engineering Representative Neicy Pilarca.

Funding and partnerships

The CA has legislated that the surplus from last year and this year will be used to aid students and organizations.

“We have legislated to have the Sanggu’s previous surplus from last year [will] go to student aid and assistance to organizations [and] another that provides an allocation for the surplus of Sanggu this year to go to the aid of accredited organizations and other considerations for next year,” Dy said.
Quilatan explained that this subsidy system will be flexible to any organization that may need financial assistance.

Events that may seek the use of the subsidy will be grouped thematically and be placed under the most relevant school.

Emerging orgs and accreditation

There has recently been dissatisfaction among emerging orgs with regards to how the Office for Student Activities (OSA) has been handling and processing each respective organizations’ needs.
Dy explained that during a meeting with OSA, they were able to discuss the Office’s plans regarding accreditation for next year.

“OSA is planning on reforming everything. There are plans to blur the boundaries between accredited and emerging organizations. The meaning of accreditation itself will be changed,” Dy said.

Difficulty in recruiting members was brought up as one of the primary concerns of emerging orgs and Quilatan assured that the incoming Sanggunian will be ready to help address the difficulty.
“The Sanggunian can help in aiding the emerging orgs for recruitment. I’m fairly sure the next Sanggunian will be open [to this],” he said.

Another concern raised was the need for a representative for emerging orgs. Dy, however, explained that doing so might be difficult because there is a lack of commonality between these orgs.

“One of the main hindrances for independent orgs to gain a seat in the CA is that they don’t have anything in common except that they aren’t accredited,” he said. In place of a representative, Dy explained that the CA is currently looking into alternative means such as having a secretariat team to handle the matter. Dy assured that the Sanggunian will be “vigilant with the process and continue to be more open to discussion on this.”