The first meeting of the Convention of Leaders (COLE) was last October 11, 2012, at 6 pm in the evening. The convention was attended by the various stakeholders in the University, and where pertinent University concerns were discussed along with updates regarding student services and Student Government (USG) projects.
Constitutional amendments, revisions and the planned Canlubang transfer
First topic included amendments to the USG Constitution. These were initially addressed and deliberated upon by the Legislative Assembly (LA). However, Frances Vista of the Rules and Policies (RnP) Committee, under the LA, admits that the planned transfer of select colleges to Canlubang doesn’t make their work easy. Once transfer takes place, there may be two USGs to cater to the Taft and Canlubang Campus. This leads to a lot of necessary amendments.
The RnP Committee also announced that revision of the rules and guidelines for the appointment of Chief Magistrate were addressed to avoid future difficulties.
STRAW (Students Rights and Welfare) Committee Representative, Lance Garcia states that STRAW will focus on institutionalizing the FIX (Facility Inspection and Expansion Project) program which aims for the improvement of University equipment and facilities.
According to Garcia, STRAW’s future projects include improved security guidelines in cooperation with Aglipay. Revisions to the Student’s Bill of Rights will also be implemented in coordination with the SDPO, Garcia adds.
Updates regarding the Committee on Nation Affairs, centered on the release of manifestos on the Establishment of the National Cancer Institute, the Animal Welfare Bill, the Reproductive Health Bill, and the Cybercrime Law.
According to Committee Chairperson Paolo Guico, the committee has yet to come up with a manifesto regarding the Sin Tax Bill. He also imparted the committee’s attempt to intensify student participation and the dissemination of manifestos.
Judiciary overhaul
Chief Magistrate Miguel Adriano emphasized the Judiciary’s need to bureaucratize and create ad hoc offices to improve the overall performance of the branch. He shares that the latter will also set up ad hoc offiices, as well as a Judiciary core that will be similar to the EXECOM (Executive Committee) in making effective Judiciary functions.
The establishment of the new office of the Ombudsman was made in order to address the previous difficulty of the disorganized system in processing complaints, as well as standardizing court proceedings.
Adriano shares that the Judiciary still lacks publicity and mentions that the branch still needs to make its presence known to the student body.
Student Concerns, student services
Discussion is underway regarding the finalized locations for the planned installation of new CCTV cameras in the University, according to representatives from the Office of the Secretary. It was said that the cameras will be placed in the areas of Enrique Razon Sports Complex and Andrew Hall.
Part of the discussion is the Campus Renewal Plan’s treatment for the concessionaires, as all canteens will be renovated within the next school year. Robert Hechanova, Vice President for Internal Affairs, states that to improve upon the canteen hygiene standards, canteen inspection will become more frequent and rigorous, and hand sanitizer dispensers will be available in the canteen area by the end of the term.
Following complaints of mosquito infestations in specific areas in DLSU, Hechanova assures that dengue prevention is a priority. He explains that they are currently intensifying efforts to develop methods of combating mosquito reproduction and increasing the quantity of bug zappers.
Other issues, i.e. campus security, enrollment and adjustment procedures, curriculum issues, and OCCA company relations will be clarified in an Academic Assembly meeting on October 19.
Carlo Innocencio, Executive Treasurer, shares that his office is endeavoring to institutionalize the Lasallan Scholarship Program (LSP) through the LA. Through institutionalization, he says, “we are assured that the program will continue and accept 21 scholars every year.”
The Office of the Treasurer will also be exploring and implementing other modes of tuition payment to cater to student needs.
Meanwhile, the Internal Management of Finances of USG has recently created a Procurement Committee which will be in charge of safeguarding the finances of the
USG through the establishment of benchmark prices for needed materials.
In explaining the effort on the part of the USG to respond to the recent problems experienced by the ITS (Information and Technology Services) office, USG President Jana Cabuhat states that the MyLaSalle (MLS) system will be overhauled to operate under a new software, Oracle. She also said that the University will be procuring new servers to properly accommodate the student population.
Test-driving of the new servers and software will take place on the third term while full operational capacity is expected next academic year, depending on the results.
The Multisectoral Committee on Student Fees (MSCSF), citing the recently approved CHED Memorandum No. 3, which concerns policies, guidelines and procedures governing increases in tuition and other school fees, will make an effort to minimize the increase in tuition and certain miscellaneous and special fees.
