Ateneo de Davao University

2014 Constitution of the

SAMAHAN NG MGA MAG-AARAL NG AGHAM PAMPULITIKA NG ATENEO
(SAMAPULA)

A Constitution of the Political Science Organization of

Ateneo de Davao University

PREAMBLE
We, the Political Science students of Ateneo de Davao University, School of Arts and
Sciences, Social Sciences Cluster, with the aid of the Almighty God in order to express our
inherent rights and political consciousness to establish a just and active student organization
that shall promote, protect and preserve the solidarity, welfare and aspirations of the students
and other sectors of society, do ordain and promulgate this constitution.

ARTICLE I
GENERAL PROVISION
Section 1. The organization of the AB Political Science students of Ateneo de Davao University
shall be officially known as the Samahan ng mga Mag-aaral ng AghamPampulitika
ng Ateneo or SAMAPULA.
Section 2. This Constitution shall be known as the 2014 SAMAPULA Constitution.
Section 3.

The elected officials of the SAMAPULA shall be known as the Executive

Committee (EXECOM).

ARTICLE II
DECLARATION OF PRINCIPLES AND OBJECTIVES
The SAMAPULA shall at all times strive to:
Section 1.

Revitalize political interests within the student body alongside a proper orientation
of key and basic political concepts and ideas.
a. Develop critical awareness and involvement in socio-political and economic
issues and other institutional consciousness within and outside the campus;
b. Advocate reforms/changes within the educational system to conform the
appropriate and beneficial needs of the students of Ateneo de Davao
University;

c. Serve as an instrument that can formulate, express and actualize the plans
and aspirations of the members;
d. Provide an avenue for free discussion in matters of interest and welfare of the
whole studentry of the Ateneo de Davao University; and
e. Develop a sense of service and responsibility among the studentry.
Section 2.

Protect and promulgate the Magna Carta of Students Rights, Responsibilities and
Welfare of the bona fide undergraduate students of Ateneo de Davao University.

Section 3.

Provide measures that are geared towards insuring a well-rounded intellectual and
spiritual development for every student.

Section 4.

Uphold and value the human dignity and the gender equality of every student and
teacher in Ateneo de Davao University to promote harmonious relationship among
peers within and outside the campus.

Section 5.

Recognize, coordinate, and support SAMAHAN activities and advocacies.

Section 6.

Any activity by the SAMAPULA shall not supersede this constitution.

ARTICLE III
MEMBERSHIP
Section 1.Second , Third and Fourth year students of Ateneo de Davao University, major in AB
Political Science upon completing an application for organization membership and
full payment of the registration fee shall be members of the SAMAPULA.
Section 2.

First year students shall be invited to selected activities of the SAMAPULA and
shall only be limited as observers unless otherwise provided by the University
Student Handbook or Rules and Regulations.

Section 3.

A club member who wishes to withdraw his/her membership must submit a formal
letter addressed to the club president stating his/her intent and reason(s) for
withdrawing his/her club membership. Such letter must bear the signature of the
club moderator, upon which a copy must be submitted to the latter.

Section 4. Disciplinary Cases

a. Any member who has disciplinary cases shall be required to submit a formal
written notice to the class president regarding his/her disciplinary case.
b. The class President shall forward the said notice to the club President who
shall execute the formal suspension.
c. He/she shall be required to submit a formal written notice to the class
President regarding the dismissal of his/her disciplinary case.
d. The class President shall forward the said notice to the club President and
shall execute the formal reinstatement of the member.
e. The membership will not be reinstated unless completion of the requirement.
Section 5.

Every member is required to pay a membership fee and thereafter a monthly due
which will be fixed by the Executive Committee (EXECOM).

ARTICLE IV
BILL OF RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES
Section 1.

The provisions stated below shall fully establish individually and collectively the
members views on issues of organizational policy and matters of general interest
to the members of this organization. Every member has the right to:
a. Public redress and grievances;
b. Establish and issue regular updates regarding the SAMAPULA and other
news coverage pertaining to school affairs and other relevant social issues;
c. Invite and hear credible persons in convocations and assemblies organized
in connection with the affairs of the organization;
d. Be clearly informed of the regulations and policies which directly or indirectly
affect them and to be informed through proper channels of any change
which will be effective only after public notifications;

e. Be clearly informed of functions, purposes and compositions of existing

organizational bodies and other organizational bodies to be created in the
future that may be directly or indirectly affect them as a student;
f.

Be informed and be protected from prejudice or capricious academic

evaluation;

g. Know the resolution, decision and activities of the governing bodies

established by this Constitution through the procedures as stipulated in
Article XIII;
h. Be advised in writing of any charge that may lead to any disciplinary
sanction against him/her and to have sufficient time to seek and maintain
counsel as well as to prepare his/her case, the right to trial where there is
equal student voting representation and the right to due process; and
i.

Recall their representative from office for any violation of the Constitution in
accordance to Article X.

Section 2.

It is the responsibility of every member to:

a. Exercise his/her rights as citizen of the Philippines as provided for in the
Philippine Constitution without impairing his/her status as a student of the
University;
b. Respect policies, rules and regulations provided that these do not transgress
the laws of the land, University statutes and students rights as mentioned in
this Constitution and that of the SAMAHAN Constitution;
c.

Safeguard and promote the academic and political rights among his/her
fellow members;

c. Recognize and exercise his/her moral responsibilities to himself/herself, to

his/her fellow members;
d. Maintain academic standards set by the Social Sciences Cluster and the
Political Science and History Program;

e. Sustain the clubs activities by paying the monthly dues as agreed upon by
the EXECOM; and
f.

Exercise his/her rights and responsibilities as a member of SAMAHAN.

ARTICLE V
SAMAPULA EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
Section 1. The SAMAPULA Executive Committee (EXECOM) is the elected officers of the
SAMAPULA organization which shall be composed of the President, the Internal
Vice President, the External Vice President, the Secretary-General, the Deputy
Secretary-General, the Treasurer, the Auditor, the Student Relations Coordinator
and the Year Level Representatives.
Section 2. The EXECOM shall be the implementing body of the plans, policies and resolutions
of the SAMAPULA organization.

ARTICLE V
POWERS AND DUTIES OF THE SAMAPULA EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
Section 1.

The President is the Chief Executive officer of the SAMAPULA organization. The
powers and duties of the President are:
a. The President shall execute all policies and resolutions of the organization;
b. Unless otherwise specified, the President shall be the presiding officer of
any meeting of the organization;
c. The President shall have the power to call special or general meetings when
deemed necessary;
d. The President shall be the official spokesperson of the organization;
e. The President shall have the supervision over all the activities of the
organization;
f.

The President shall have the power to create and abolish ad hoc committees
if necessary with the approval of the EXECOM;

g. The President, together with the Treasurer, shall be signatories of the bank
account of the organization;
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h. The President shall have the power to create and/or plan the activities of the
organization with the approval of the club coordinator; and
i.

The President shall have the power to formalize the suspension and
reinstatement of the member with disciplinary cases as stated in Article III
Section 4.

Section 2.

The Internal Vice President, next to the President, holds the power regarding the
internal affairs of the club. The powers and duties of the Internal Vice President
are:
a. The Internal Vice President shall supervise and coordinate the internal
affairs of the SAMAPULA under the direction of the President; and
b. The Internal Vice President shall assume the responsibilities of the President
in matters concerning internal affairs in the absence of or at the direction of
the President.

Section 3.

The External Vice President, next to the President, holds the power regarding the
external affairs of the club. The powers and duties of the External Vice President
are:
a. The External Vice President shall supervise and coordinate the external
affairs of the SAMAPULA under the direction of the President;
b. The External Vice President shall assume the responsibility of the President
in the matters concerning external affairs in the absence of or at the direction
of the President;
c. The External Vice President shall take charge of all activities external in
nature and must coordinate with the reliable persons outside the campus for
the facilitation of any external affairs;
d. The External Vice President shall be responsible in coordinating with other
organizations within the campus;
e. The External Vice President shall be the official representative of the
SAMAPULA organization to the Social Sciences Student Executive Council
(SS-SEC); and
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f.

The External Vice President shall conduct fund raising schemes to help
finance the programs of the organization.

Section 4.

The Secretary-General shall be the principal administrative officer of the

SAMAPULA. The powers and duties of the Secretary-General are:
a. The Secretary-General shall be the official custodian of all papers and
records of the SAMAPULA;
b. The Secretary-General shall make the notices of meetings of the
SAMAPULA and shall be forwarded to the Students Relations Coordinator
for dissemination; and
c. The Secretary-General shall prepare the written agenda of the meeting of
the SAMAPULA.

Section 5.

The Deputy Secretary-General shall assume the position next to the SecretaryGeneral. The powers and duties of the Deputy Secretary-General are:
a. The Deputy Secretary-General shall be the immediate substitute in the
absence of the Secretary-General. Hence, it would be his/her duty to
perform the task inherent to the Secretary-General; and
b. The Deputy Secretary-General shall take charge on checking the
attendance of the members during assemblies.

Section 6.

The Treasurer shall be responsible to all financial duties of the club. The powers
and duties Treasurer are:
a. The Treasurer shall keep and record all cash inflows and cash outflows of
the organization;
b. The Treasurer shall open a bank account for the organization with the
approval of the President;
c. The Treasurer shall provide monthly reports regarding the expenses of the
club which will be forwarded to the Auditor for evaluation;
d. The Treasurer shall present the financial report during the clubs General
Assembly after the evaluation;
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e. In cases of emergency, the Treasurer shall present special financial reports;

and
f.
Section 7.

The Treasurer shall perform any responsibility delegated by the President.

The Auditor shall be responsible for the evaluation of the clubs expenses. The
powers and duties of the Auditor are:
a. The Auditor shall check and review the financial reports submitted to him/her
by the Treasurer;
b. The Auditor shall inform the club President regarding the financial status of
the club through financial reports provided by the Treasurer; and
c. The Auditor shall perform any responsibility delegated to him/her by the
President.

Section 8.

The Student Relations Coordinator shall take charge of the information

dissemination, student relations and academic functions of the club. The powers
and duties of the Student Relations Coordinator are:
a. The Student Relations Coordinator shall inform the members of the club
regarding the meetings and assemblies;
b. The Student Relations Coordinator shall take charge of the updates and
press releases;
c. The Student Relations Coordinator shall be the head of the affairs
concerning academics; and
d. The Student Relations Coordinator shall be the head of the Publication
Committee.

Section 9.

The Year Level Representatives shall represent their respective year levels. The
powers and duties of the Year Level Representative are:
a. The Year Level Representatives shall be the respective Class Presidents of
their respective year levels; and

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b. The Year Level Representatives shall be the Chairpersons of their

respective year levels.
c. In case there will be more than one (1) section in each year level, each
section shall have a different Year Level Representative as stipulated in
Article VI of this Constitution.

ARTICLE VI
CLASS OFFICERS AND CLASS ELECTIONS
Section 1.

Second, Third, and Fourth year Political Science students shall elect a set of class
officers which shall include a President, a Vice President, a Secretary and a
Treasurer.

Section 2.

In case there will be more than one (1) section in each year level, each section
shall have a different set of Class Officers who shall be responsible on their
respected sections only.

Section 3.

The election of Class Officers shall be held at the beginning of the school year
which shall be supervised by the EXECOM.

ARTICLE VII
GENERAL ASSEMBLY
Section 1.

The General Assembly is a gathering composed of the EXECOM and all the
members of the SAMAPULA.

Section 2.

The General Assembly shall meet at least once a month and the date shall be fixed
by the EXECOM during free hour periods.

Section 3.

The General Assembly shall reach a quorum of at least

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ARTICLE VIII
SAMAPULA TRIBUNAL
Section 1.

The SAMAPULA Tribunal, as an autonomous body from the EXECOM, shall be the
principal judicial body of the SAMAPULA organization.

Section 2.

The judicial powers vested to the SAMAPULA Tribunal are:

a. To interpret the SAMAPULA Constitution;
b. To settle internal disputes of the SAMAPULA; and
c. To review impeachment cases as specified in Article X.

Section 3.

The SAMAPULA Tribunal shall be composed of nine (9) members which is

proportional to the number of the elected officers of the EXECOM.

Section 4.

The members of the SAMAPULA Tribunal shall be appointed by the EXECOM.

Section 5.

The members of the SAMAPULA Tribunal shall be known as Magistrates and

shall elect a Chief Magistrate who shall be the head of the tribunal.

Section 6.

The Magistrates of the SAMAPULA Tribunal shall serve a term of two years.

Section 5.

In case a Magistrate shall run for SAMAPULA office, he/she shall submit a
resignation letter to the highest elected official present.

ARTICLE IX
SAMAPULA COMMISSION ON ELECTIONS
Section 1.

The created Commission on Elections (COMELEC) of the EXECOM shall

determine the date of the SAMAPULA elections.

Section 2.

The SAMAPULA COMELEC is empowered to make the rules for the elections and
plebiscites and the like.

Section 3.

The SAMAPULA COMELEC shall be composed of five (5) members who shall be
appointed by the President with the concurrence of the members of the EXECOM.

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Section 4.

The members of the SAMAPULA COMELEC are prohibited from running in any
position of the organization.

Section 5.

The members of the SAMAPULA COMELEC shall have the right to vote.

Section 4.

The members of the SAMAPULA COMELEC shall elect a COMELEC Chairperson

who shall be the head of the COMELEC.

ARTICLE X
SAMAPULA ELECTIONS
Section 1.

The election of incoming SAMAPULA officers shall be conducted before the end of
the second semester as required by the Office of Student Affairs (OSA).

Section 2.

The SAMAPULA COMELEC shall be the presiding officer of the election process of
the SAMAPULA.

Section 3.

In case of a tie, the COMELEC Chairperson shall decide the winner through the
agreed process of the members of the SAMAPULA COMELEC.

Section 5.

Each SAMAPULA member shall have one vote.

Section 6.

Incase of the EXECOM positions, the seats shall be filled according to the
qualifications set forth by the Constitution.
a. The President, the Secretary-General and the Student Relations Coordinator
shall be an incoming 4th Year Political Science student;
b. The Internal Vice President, the External Vice President and the Deputy
Secretary General shall be an incoming 3rd Year Political Science student;
c. The Treasurer and the Auditor shall be open to all incoming 3 rd year and 4th
year students;
d. The Class Presidents of every section shall automatically be the Year Level
Representatives to the EXECOM;

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e. All candidates must have a QPI of at least 2.5 or its equivalent grade as
provided by the University Student Handbook with no failing grade(s) from
the previous year;
f.

All candidates must not have any history of disciplinary cases.

Section 7.

Each office shall serve a one (1) year term.

Section 8.

Any interested member of the SAMAPULA shall file a certificate of candidacy to the
SAMAPULA COMELEC five (5) to ten (10) days before the regular election.

Section 9.

Regular election shall be held before the end of the second semester.

ARTICLE X
IMPEACHMENT
Section 1.

Any member of the EXECOM may be impeached on the following grounds:

a. Any willful and gross violation of the Constitution and laws of SAMAPULA;
b. Gross neglect of duty which includes:
1. Habitual negligence of assigned task/duties;
c. Any violation of the policies and regulations found in the University Student
Handbook.
d. Malversation of funds;
e. Three (3) consecutive unexcused absences from the regular meetings of the
EXECOM. Excused absences however may be accorded by the following
format:
1. A formal letter must be submitted 24 hours before the regular or
prescribed meeting of the EXECOM to the Presiding Officer. It must
be dully approved by the Presiding Officer;
2. In case of emergency, the Presiding Officer shall upon discretion
consider validity of the absence provided that the absentee shall
inform the Presiding Officer and submit a formal letter within three (3)
f.

days after his/her absence.

Any other forms of misconduct which undermined the integrity of the
SAMAPULA.
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Section 2.

The Impeachment Procedure shall be tried by the SAMAPULA TRIBUNAL.

Section 3.

Any member shall be given at least seven (7) days of notice of the impeachment
hearing from the time he/she receives the formal written charge. He/she shall be
afforded an opportunity to be heard in the impeachment proceedings.
a. A 2/3 vote of the voting members of the EXECOM shall be sufficient to
impeach any of its members;
b. A 2/3 vote of the members present in the General Assembly who constitute a
quorum shall be sufficient to impeach any of its members;
c. The respondents shall have no right to vote on any of the impeachment
proceedings.

Section 4.

The Chief Magistrate shall be the Presiding Officer in all impeachment

proceedings.
ARTICLE XI
VACANCIES

Section 1.

Any vacancy in the Office of the President shall be filled by the Internal Vice
President.

Section 2.

The vacancies in any position except the Office of the President shall be filled
through an appointment by the SAMAPULA President.

ARTICLE XII
RESIGNATION AND LEAVE OF ABSENCE
Section 1.

Any officer of the Executive Committee who desires to resign or take a leave of
absence must submit a formal letter that must contain the reason/s for his/her
resignation or leave of absence addressed to the EXECOM one (1) week before
the time he/she desires to vacate his/her position.

Section 2.

The resignation or leave of absence shall be approved by the EXECOM.

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Section 3.

All powers and functions, paper and documents of the officer who has validly
resigned or taken a leave of absence shall be turned over temporarily to the
specific committees or instrumentality where the officer belonged until the position
left vacant shall have been filled or reoccupied.

ARTICLE XIII
AMENDMENTS OR REVISIONS
Section 1.

Any proposal to change this Constitution shall be made through a 2/3 vote of the
EXECOM.

Section 2.

Amendments to this Constitution may also be proposed by at least 20% of the

members of the SAMAPULA.

Section 3.

No amendment or revisions for this Constitution shall be valid unless it is ratified by

a vote of at least 50% plus 1 of the entire SAMAPULA membership.

Section 4.

No amendment or revisions shall be made for this Constitution at least one

academic year from ratification.

SECTION XIV
TRANSITORY PROVISION
Section 1.

The incumbent officers of the SAMAPULA shall continue to exercise their powers
until the next set of officers shall assume office on April 1 of the next school year as
stipulated in this Constitution.

Section 2.

All policies and resolutions inconsistent with this Constitution shall be void.
a. All other Constitutions of the SAMAPULA are hereby repealed.

Section 3.

This Constitution shall become effective upon ratification in a plebiscite by 50%

plus 1 of the entire SAMAPULA membership.

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