The Legislative Assembly (LA) met in a session last November 29 at the University Student Government (USG) Session Hall to deliberate on topics including the release of a statement on recent fiascos surrounding the 30th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games, the appointment of new Vice Chairs for the Commission on Audit (COA), and the placement of water dispensers in the sixth floor of Enrique M. Razon Sports Center.
SEA games transparency
As controversies erupted around the SEA Games, a resolution was drawn up by the LA’s National Affairs Committee to release a statement that will put forward the stance of the USG. The country’s hosting of the Games became embroiled in a succession of complications ranging from the displacement of indigenous peoples, budgeting, unfinished facilities, and a myriad of complaints from national sports teams amid poor accommodations.
Authored by 11 LA representatives, the statement expressed the USG’s support of a formal investigation on the budget allocation and transactions directed by Philippine SEA Games Organizational Committee Chair and House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano, demanding that “transactions and efforts done for the benefit of the event must be made public.”
The statement additionally detailed that the LA will aid in lobbying for complete transparency and accountability in Congress, along with a position paper to be released by the Assembly, to address “the lapses in the overall execution of the event” and its effects on the Philippine economy and government long after the conclusion of the Games.
The resolution was approved unanimously by members of the Assembly.
Vice Chairs for COA
The LA subsequently addressed the needs of the reestablished COA, in particular, the formal appointment of new Vice Chairs. COA officers Sherleen Chua and Ian Dela Cruz were appointed/nominated for the positions of Vice Chair for Administration and Vice Chair for Auditing, respectively.
Chua, who served as Vice Chair of Administration Officer in Charge, explained her proposed platforms for COA. Adding more branches under her position aside from the current Finance and Documentations, including a branch for Publicity to raise student awareness on the duties of COA and a Human Resources branch will take charge of addressing the organization’s continuity by training first hand aspirants for COA’s Vice Chair positions are some of her proposed platforms.
Majority Floor Leader and FAST2018 LA Representative, Maegan Ragudo, inquired on the status of the implementation thus far. Chua explained that the primary issue faced by the body is the lack of knowledge by government units on finance and documentation processes. “So far yung mga Government Units naman nag-cocomply pero marami sa kanila na incomplete pa rin kasi di nga nila alam na may COA pala. So marami di naka-submit nung mga supporting documents,” she explained.
(Government Units are able to comply. Some still submit incomplete supporting documents because they are not aware that COA [can help them].)
Dela Cruz also laid out his platform centering on ensuring succession within the organization by creating an Adviser Team tasked to pick candidates who are viable to serve as successors to Chairpersons and Commissioners in the future. He also stressed the strengthening of the internal structure of the COA to test the ability of COA members to conduct audits “fairly and with quality.”
With a unanimous vote by LA representatives, Chua and Dela Cruz were formally appointed to their respective positions.
Razon water dispensers
With regards to the welfare of athletes and members of the Culture and Arts Office, the LA looked into a resolution calling for the installation of two water dispensers at the sixth floor of the Enrique M. Razon Sports Center. Originally, the resolution called for water fountains instead of dispensers but was called off after consultation with the Mechanical and Electrical Works Office revealed that the available circuitry was incompatible.
Former FOCUS2018 LA Representative, Nikhil Santwani, shared that this initiative was supposed to be passed last year but was withheld due to the activity ban. For this year, USG Executive Treasurer Kevin Wu was authorized to act as the custodian for funding the operation, with a proposed allocation of P30,000 for two water dispensers and six gallons of water per week.
The resolution was approved unanimously by the LA members present.
