SANGGUNIAN STAND FOR INTELLECTUAL INTEGRITY The Sanggunian ng mga Mag-aaral ng mga Paaralang Loyola ng Ateneo de Manila hereby

upholds and adopts the stand released by its officers from the School of Humanities School Board last August 25, 2012, and condemns the acts of plagiarism committed by Senator Vicente Sotto III and his staff in the writing of Sen. Sottos partly plagiarized privilege speech about House Bill 4244, the Reproductive Health Bill, and further condemn subsequent comments that such acts were somehow acceptable: We affirm that plagiarism is a crime not only against the plagiarized party, but also against the value of intellectual honesty. The practice of acknowledging when one uses work originated by someone else shows proper respect for the original creator and the work he or she originally invested. To do otherwise, therefore, puts forth the impression that one is claiming credit for the effort of someone else, which is deceitful both as regards the original creator as well as towards ones audience. We likewise condemn the subsequent claims by Sen. Sotto and his staff that [in] politics... we should give more leeway1. This is disrespectful not only to the original creators and to the Senate, but to the country as a whole. The repetitive language seen in laws is due in large part to their being governed by legal terminology, and cannot be used as a standard for speeches, which are not likewise restricted. Furthermore, if we continually challenge our students to respect other peoples rights to intellectual property and to observe intellectual honesty, how much more our politicians, who are called to represent, serve, and lead the country? Comments that brush plagiarism off as acceptable simply because it is common practice can both encourage such behavior as well as make a mockery of the effort put in by those who do properly acknowledge their sources. ...we recognize that these are more than matters of legality--of copyright law and violated sensitivity, as Sen. Sotto might say--but of respect for craft and effort, which must be observed regardless of legal loopholes. Ms. Pope is not just a blogger; she and those like her promote the spirit of open,

Cathy C. Yamsuan, Plagiarism common practice, OK in Senate, says Sottos aide, Inquirer News, http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/255890/plagiarism-common-practice-ok-in-senate-says-sottos-aide (accessed August 23, 2012).

public exchange and creative work, something which must be respected, not disparaged.2 In keeping with the Sanggunians value for academic excellence, and recognizing the Ateneos status as a university which does research and creative work, we echo the School of Humanities School Boards call for our constituents: 1) to stand with us in upholding academic integrity; 2) to be diligent in acknowledging sources for their own work, as they would want to likewise be acknowledged in turn; 3) to be vigilant in spotting and reporting cases of plagiarism, of their own and of others work; and 4) to call upon their own government officials and school administrators to strictly implement more effective policies regarding intellectual honesty so as to further protect the rights of content creators everywhere.3

School of Humanities School Board, School of Humanities Sanggunian Stand for Intellectual Integrity. http://www.scribd.com/doc/103881300/School-of-Humanities-Sanggunian-Stand-For-Intellectual-Integrity (accessed September 1, 2012) 3 Ibid