Feb. 11, 2015, 12:13 a.m. – THE PRESIDENT of the Arts
and Letters Student Council (ABSC) said the council was doing everything to
regain the trust of the students after the loss of P50,000 in funds last
October.
“Gagawin namin ang lahat ng aming makakaya para maibalik ang
tiwala niyo, pero kung hindi niyo po susubukan na magtiwala ulit, walang kwenta
‘yung pagsubok namin na ibalik ‘ulit ‘yung tiwala,” ABSC President Marie Jann
Lazo said in a dialogue titled “Speak Up: Face-to-Face with the Student Council
and the Administration” held Tuesday.
Lazo added that the officers were willing to shell out money
to replace the missing funds.
ABSC Vice President for Internal Affairs Jan Dominic Castro
said the council would also accept any disciplinary action.
“The council is willing to accept sanctions to be provided,
if and only if the SWDB finds any of the officers or any of its board committee
[members] guilty,” Castro said.
Last Nov. 22, ABSC reported that about P50,000 cash, which
was supposed to be used for activities like the Athena Cup, NGO fair, and the
general staff assembly, was stolen from the student council’s office on Oct.
23.
Students inside the office when the alleged theft occurred
were Lazo, Treasurer Julienne Avila, Chief of Staff Emmanuel Arre, and board
committee members Patricia Umali, Jancis Valera and Richard Umali.
ABSC and the Students’ Welfare Development Board (SWDB) are
still investigating the alleged theft and have yet to conduct a hearing.
Artlets Assistant Dean Narcisa Tabirara said the hearing was
delayed due to the papal visit last January.
“We will try to hold it next week. Don’t think that we are
not doing anything. As soon as the matter came to our attention we also
consulted legal personalities,” she said.
Tabirara added that the missing funds should not be the sole
basis for evaluating the performance of the ABSC.
“The matter of the loss funds is certainly there. It
continues to haunt us [but] I really think it should not deter us from moving
on with our activities,” she said. A. F. Merez
