The UST Central Student Council (CSC) aims to ratify the CSC Constitution in December and complete the Magna Carta for Students by January 2026.
CSC President Annie Agon said the CSC, together with the Central Board, has been reviewing the 2003 CSC Constitution and drafting amendments.
“Patuloy pa rin po ang pag-aayos at pagre-revise ng UST Constitution upang maging progresibo, inklusibo, at responsable ang pamamahala,” Agon said during her speech in the annual State of the Council Address, tiled “Veritas.”
The CSC has listed five major points of revision in the 2003 CSC constitution, namely, tenure and vacancies, elections and oath-taking ceremonies, special elections, the powers and responsibilities of elected officers, and candidate qualifications.
Following the constitutional revision, the CSC will proceed to finishing the Magna Carta for Students, a “comprehensive policy presenting the rights and welfare of a Thomasian,” in January 2026.
“Layunin nitong masiguro ang kapakanan ng estudyante, academic freedom, at aktibong partisipasyon sa pamamahala sa loob ng Unibersidad,” she said.
A draft of the Magna Carta was first submitted in 2004 during the term of former rector Fr. Ernesto Arceo, O.P., but the approval was upended by his resignation.
A version was submitted to the Office of the Vice Rector for Academic Affairs in 2016 but was returned to CSC for revisions.
Points of revision
The CSC has three bodies: the Executive Board, composed of elected officers; the Central Board, composed of the presidents of local or college-level student councils and serves as a legislative body; and the Judiciary Board, composed of five ex-officio members.
In the event of a vacancy in the Executive Board, the draft charter proposes that a special election will be held, at a maximum of two elections per year.
In the event that the positions of president and vice president become vacant, the Central Board will elect replacements for both positions among its members. If the vice presidency is vacant, the Central Board officers shall elect one of them as vice president.
Agon said amendments dealing with vacancies in other CSC positions were still being drafted.
The revised charter proposes that special elections be held in the third week of May.
In the event of a second special election, the Executive Board must submit a shortlist of two eligible candidates to the Central Commission on Elections. These candidates will have the opportunity to make their case for election.
Coordinators, directors, and staff of the CSC are eligible to be shortlisted, while executive coordinators, executive associates, directors, co-directors, and associates are eligible for local student council positions.
The declining number of students interested in council posts, which had resulted in vacancies and the holding of special elections, was considered in the drafting of the revised constitution, Agon said.
“Mahirap na nagkakaroon ng vacant positions si CSC man [o] LSC (local student council), dahil mas nadagdagdagan ng trabaho at mas nahihirapan tayo na paano nga ba tayo magpapasulpot ng tatakbo,” Agon told the Varsitarian.
“Isa ‘yan sa pinoproblema, may tatakbo ba? Paano nga ba natin maso-solusyonan yung vacant positions?” she added.
The revised charter will also contain additional roles for CSC officers, which were not indicated in the 2003 Constitution.
According to the draft new charter, the president shall serve as the spokesperson and representative of the CSC during meetings with the UST administration, while the vice president shall serve as the ex-officio speaker of the Central Board.
The treasurer shall attend budget consultations and is responsible for handling sponsorships, monetary benefits, and disbursements, while the auditor will manage all assets and spearhead transparency initiatives.
The CSC is also aiming to revise academic qualifications and add extracurricular qualifications for candidates running for the student council.
The 2003 constitution only included residency and academic qualifications. Under the existing charter, candidates must be enrolled with at least 15 units, with continuous residency of at least seven months, a general weighted average of at least 2.50 or its equivalent and 2.75 or its equivalent for the Faculty of Civil Law and Faculty of Medicine and Surgery, and no failed or dropped subjects in the semester before the elections.
CSC Secretary Nashville Mauricio said they were looking into plugging loopholes to ensure that the constitution would be useful in the long run.
“Hopefully, it will be a Constitution that will serve for many years to come, just like the current Constitution that we have,” he told the Varsitarian. With reports from Amador Denzel M. Teston and Luis Angelo N. Palma
