CENTRAL Student Council (CSC) President Robert Gonzales has filed a two-month leave of absence to manage personal academic and health matters.
Gonzales announced on social media on Dec. 1 that he would take a break from council duties from December 2020 to January 2021. CSC Executive Secretary Krizia Bricio will be in charge of the council throughout Gonzales’s absence.
“It’s been a rollercoaster ride for the past few months. [I will be] taking this short break for a while as I tend to these priorities,” Gonzales wrote, citing his upcoming written revalida, a qualifying examination for graduation in the Faculty of Medicine and Surgery, and his “deteriorating” physical and mental health as reasons for the leave.
“[It] is never wrong to prioritize [oneself over duties and responsibilities] when you need to. Knowing how to draw the line between genuinely serving your constituents and taking your moments of self-care will define how you are as a student-leader,” Gonzales told the Varsitarian.
It was the first time Gonzales filed a leave of absence from his duties in the student council since he assumed the presidency in 2019.
His term was supposed to expire at the end of the previous semester. But it was extended as this year’s central and local student council elections were postponed because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
