Blue Coffee

LIBERTAS INAESTIMABILIS RES EST February 7, 2014 To the Ateneo Student Body and its Leaders: The Sanggunian ng Mga Paaralang Loyola, our student council, has been all too many times called irrelevant. There is, among its constituents, an undeniable deficit of confidence in the Sanggunian. It appears to some of us that the body exists only for its own sake and of those who run it. We are called upon to elect those who will run the Sanggunian. Despite the supposed irrelevance of the organization, we ought to consider the benefits of having a student council, or at least the harm in not having one. Student representation is a necessity. That the Sanggunian has been mobilizing programs in disaster response and social awareness ought to be sufficient reason to justify its existence. Nevertheless, the Sanggunian cannot remain in its rather disadvantaged state forever. A crisis of confidence in an organization is the unmistakable symptom of ills within the system that ought to be corrected. One also has to inquire as to why, despite its efforts to reach out to its constituency, many still deem the Sanggunian irrelevant. It is not this writers purpose to ask Sanggunian existential questions. This letter instead aims to expound on the commonsensical. First, the Sanggunian operates using funds generated from student fees. That being so, any financial indiscretion is a betrayal of the student bodys trust. Any amount of fiscal waste should be taken as offensive to its constituents. Any form of excessive spending should be reduced, if it could not be eliminated altogether. We are for instance, against its planning seminars. While we recognize the importance of planning, we could not understand why it is necessary to spend for planning activities, when supposedly, people elected and appointed to their positions have at least some idea of what their visions for their units and organizations are. We could not understand why it is necessary for the Sanggunian to conduct planning seminars when it could organize formal planning meetings, or could at least require its officers and appointees to submit their plans for deliberation. Planning seminars being held outside the Sanggunians regular sessions raises suspicion that the events are little more than excursions or recreation for the officers. The failure of this writer to understand the necessity for planning seminars may be due to any of the following reasons: this writers ignorance of the Sanggunians complex operations (a language only understood perhaps by the insider caste), this writers particular aversion to elected officials receiving free items and benefits, or that planning seminars are less of a necessity and more of a caprice. I suspect the last among the three is the most plausible. It is also my desire to caution the Sanggunian against overreaching. Seeking relevance among its constituents makes the Sanggunian especially prone to overreaching. We are particularly against the Sanggunian unilaterally performing certain functions that are already within the core competencies of other school organizations. Instead, we ask that the Sanggunian support the existing programs and projects of __________________________________________________________________ kapengbughaw@gmail.com kapengbughaw.blogspot.com

organizations. We ask this of the Sanggunian, in the spirit of subsidiarity and solidarity. It must avoid any unsolicited interference in the affairs of the organizations, and must make sure as well that it does not hinder the organizations from performing their functions. It is also my design to suggest that the Sanggunian explore the possibility of reducing its size. I would like to suggest that it form a task force that would recommend ways to reduce financial wastage. For instance, I am particularly unconvinced that the Sanggunian has to maintain a Department of Student Leadership and Development, as well as a Department of Research and Statistics, when it could request such organizations as the Ateneo Code and A-Stat to perform the competencies of the said departments. It could assign coordinators for certain functions, liaisons to the organizations. But by all means the Sanggunian should avoid creating and maintaining units whose functions could otherwise be performed by other student organizations. Outsourcing has been a proven means of cutting costs without reducing efficiency. The Sanggunian should outsource services whenever possible. This practice would not only save the Sanggunian money. It would also support the causes of other student organizations that will perform the services. This proposition echoes the earlier call for subsidiarity. The Sanggunian is not obliged to follow the more particular propositions. But it is my strong conviction that establishing a task force empowered to investigate financial and logistical wastage and recommend urgent reforms is not a mere option but a necessity. All these prescriptions are of a fiscal nature. Without doubt, fiscal responsibility is not optional. It is obligatory, a natural duty arising from the fact that the Sanggunian has been entrusted with powers by the student body. It is nonetheless necessary to argue for other reforms that will complement the institution of certain fiscal remedies. For example, the advantages of instituting such offices as that of an Ombudsman and for Budget Management ought to be discussed. In light of recent events such as the failure of elections and the impeachment proceedings, it should also be in the Sanggunians best interest to explore the possibility of instituting structural and constitutional reforms. These matters, I shall endeavour to write about in succeeding letters. I should mention that this letter is the second of a series of letters to be written by me and my friends, comrades in the cause of pushing for reforms within and for the Sanggunian. I sincerely wish the Sanggunian all the best, and I express my desire that the student body and the Sanggunian may clearly see that the intention to write this letter arises out of a genuine sympathy for the many officials and followers of the Sanggunian who seek to promote the interests of the student body and of the nation down the hill. I remain, Sincerely yours, CHRISTIAN I. DY I- AB Economics Honors

Blue Coffee is an informal group of Ateneans who seek to promote the cause of solidarity, subsidiarity, liberty, and fiscal responsibility.