IN A memorandum addressed to the Loyola Schools community on May 5, Sanggunian President Ia Marañon presented the newly appointed department secretaries under the Office of the President.
Prior to the appointments, Marañon invited the student body to attend public hearings and comment on the plans of the candidates from May 2 to 5.
“I opted to have public hearings because I wanted the students to be at least given the chance to participate in the matters of the Sanggunian. The work [that] my departments do in the Sanggunian doesn’t just involve [the] Sanggunian, but inevitably, the student body,” she said.
“I want my administration to set the benchmark for transparency and accountability–and these hearings are only the beginning,” Marañon added.
According to the Sanggunian President, the appointees were chosen because they have a “critical eye” on how departments should function. They also streamlined their plans with Marañon’s platform during the 2017 Sanggunian General Elections such as political education sessions for Internal Affairs, non-social media strategies for Communications, and inter-school council partnerships for External Affairs.
The following are the newly appointed department secretaries: Julio F. del Rosario for Communications, Ma. Elissa Lucia N. Salapantan for Internal Affairs, Datu Amir E. Wagas for External Affairs, Francisco E. Vista III for Administrative Affairs, Samantha Mae P. Que for Budget and Management, Doreen Allana Elena O. Manalang for Student Services and Welfare, and Wynona Tiara A. Alzate for Executive Secretary.
Moreover, Marañon reassured that the Sanggunian will be “less of a bureaucratic institution” that is obsessed with systems and efficiency.
“With this cabinet, we will aim to create and codify systems that work for the institution and the students it aims to serve. I am very confident that with these people on board, the focus is less on the set traditions of the past, but on the question of how we can serve better,” she said.
As of press time, the applications for the secretary positions of the Department of Student Rights and Welfare and the Department of Research and Development are still ongoing.
