Law Student Government Central Board Minutes of the Meeting Regular Meeting No. 12 2nd semester, A.Y.

2012-2013 21 November 2012, 7:30 pm ATTENDANCE: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. Benedict G. Nisperos, President Marie Louise N. Camino, Internals Vice President Julienne Marie A. Morada, Externals Vice President Anne Jaycelle C. Sacramento, Secretary Jose Antonio Rafael G. Santos, Treasurer Patrick Chris D. Carbonell, Public Relations Officer Ma. Christina S. Reyes, College Representative to the USC Diega D. Villanueva, Evening Representative Jelorie F. Gallego, Evening Representative Jian Paulo P. Boller, 4th Year Representative Rafael C. Juico, 4th Year Representative Gerard Emmanuel V. Tayao, 3rd Year Representative John Paul R. Rotap, 3rd Year Representative Hanna Keila H. Garcia, 2nd Year Representative Ranulfo J. Javelosa III, 2nd Year Representative Lazaro Kevin G. Pabiona, 1st Year Representative Carlo Augustine A. Roman, 1st Year Representative Present Present Present Present Present Present Absent Present Present Present Present Present Present Absent Present Absent Present

AGENDA: Urgent Matters 1. GASC 2. Call for volunteers 3. Regular Updates MEETING HIGHLIGHTS: The meeting was called to order at 7:30 PM at the LSG Room with Mr. Nisperos presiding over the meeting. The newly-elected Fourth Year Representative, Mr. Juico, was welcomed by the Central Board. After the warm welcome, the CB proceeded with the discussion of the agenda.

REGULAR UPDATES 1. First Year Representatives A meeting was held with the block presidents where they discussed the events for the remaining months of 2012. Courts of Law In the abovementioned meeting, it was agreed that the roster of players for their batch will be finalized by 22 November 2012. The batch also thought of selling batch shirts, the proceeds of which will be used for the Courts of Law. Since the time is not enough to have another batch activity for the design (e.g. contest, ask for volunteer, etc.) they decided to commission a designer for this project. Action/s to be taken: Commission a designer for the design of their batch shirt. Alay sa Personnel The tentative schedule for this event is on December 7. However, this schedule depends on the availability of the personnel within the college. It was also mentioned during the meeting that this event is usually held on the same day with Malcolm Madness. For the funding of the project, the batch decided to use their batch fund and batch shirt proceeds. The other CB members suggested that the batch get sponsors for this event. Registration and Delinquency Rules concerns During the registration, they noticed that the academic policies were not applied consistently. Thus, their batch requested for consistency in the application of academic policies. With regard to those who were affected by the delinquency rules, it was reported during the meeting that these students opted to leave the college rather than appealing their case to the College administration. 2. Second Year Representatives Malcolm Madness and Courts of Law A meeting will be scheduled this week to discuss their plans for Malcolm Madness and Courts of Law. Action/s to be taken: Schedule a meeting with the batch or block presidents. Registration and Delinquency Rules concerns Two (2) second year students were forced to leave the college due to the delinquency rules. One (1) of them appealed to the college while the other student who was affected by the three-strike rule opted to leave the college without appealing his/her case.

The Labor class of 2B under Prof. Battad was dissolved due to the low number of students. The students affected were moved to the class of Prof. Domingo Disini. 3. Third Year Representative Malcolm Madness and Courts of Law Teams for Courts of Law were already formed. All teams already have team captains except for Monopoly Deal and Dodge Ball. The over-all team captains for this event are the batch representatives, JP Rotap and Gerard Tayao. No plans for Malcolm Madness were reported by the batch representatives. Destinations / Career Fair The materials for this event were already sent by Mr. Beltran, former third year representative, to Mr. Tayao. However, Mr. Tayao has not yet reviewed these materials. Action/s to be taken: Review the sponsorship packages and send out letters-invitations starting next week, 26 November 2012. Forum No update yet. Registration and Delinquency rules concerns The batch had their midyear assessment last 16 November 2012 to discuss their registration and delinquency rules concerns. In the said assessment, the batch representatives clarified the applicability of the QPI rule on their batch. As expected by the batch representatives, there were quite a lot of questions regarding the applicability of the QPI. These questions were answered by the batch representatives during their assessment. With regard to those negatively affected by the delinquency rules, all third year students affected by the 3-strike rule were able to enroll this semester. The batch representatives noted that these students were affected by this rule because they got a 4 in one of their subjects. Thus, the College Secretary allowed them to enroll provided that they will be automatically dropped from the rolls if they fail to pass their removal exam. With regard to the registration, the College Secretary accused the students of forum shopping because they chose their professors for certain subjects instead of following the subjects in the curriculum. The batch representatives tried to explain to the College Secretary that this is the necessary consequence of the bidding system which was implemented a few years ago. However, it seemed that the latter did not appreciate the aforementioned explanation. Action/s to be taken:

Grade survey will be conducted by the third year batch representatives next week. Mr. Nisperos also asked the other batch representatives to conduct the same, following the survey format prepared by Mr. Rotap and Mr. Tayao. Deadline for the grade survey is next week, 28 November 2012 during the General Assembly of the Central Board. 4. Fourth Year Representative Graduation Committee Graduation Pictorial will be held on Friday, 23 November 2012 at the Student Lounge. Action/s to be taken: LSG pictorial is scheduled on Friday at 12:00nn. All CB members are required to wear white and/or black corporate attire. Advanced Bar Review Graduating students who wish to enroll in the Advanced Bar Review offered by the UP Law Center will only need to pay P3,500. However, this discount may be availed of only once. Hence, if a student decided to enroll in the Advanced Bar Review this November, he/she will not be able to avail of the discount if he/she decided to enroll again this summer. Action/s to be taken: Finalize the list of names of the students who wish to enroll in the Advanced Bar Review tomorrow, 24 November 2012. This list will be submitted the Dean. 5. Evening Representatives Registration and Delinquency rules concerns Three (3) evening students appealed to the College Secretary, but these were all denied. However, the College Secretary failed to explain why their appeals were denied. The College Secretary likewise failed to explain to the student why he/she was affected by the delinquency rules in the first place. Thus, for registration in coming semesters, it was requested that the College Secretary explain and give full details why a student is forced to leave the College. With regard to those returning to the College from Leave of Absence (LOA), two evening students filed an appeal for their readmission. One was granted while the other was not due to the application of delinquency rules. An informal assessment was conducted for 1F. Based on this assessment, a complaint was raised with regard to one of their subjects. The students said that the workload for this subject was too heavy, considering that the said subject is only 2 units. Problems also arose with regard to the opening of classes specifically for back subjects.

A class for Legal Profession was offered as back subject in response to the request of 2F. The subject was requested by the block in lieu of a 2-unit elective, which is part of their curriculum. Thus, it was made clear that the students of 2E agreed not to take an elective, which is part of the curriculum, only if a Legal Profession class is offered and made available to their block. Fourteen (14) students enrolled in the said class. However, only five (5) students were able to attend the first meeting. The professor talked with the College Secretary and asked that the subject be dissolved as there were only 5 students who attended the class. The College Secretary requested that the professor give the students another chance to attend the class. On the second day, only seven (7) students were able to attend the class. Again, the professor requested that the class be dissolved. The College Secretary agreed to dissolve the class without informing the students. The students were surprised when they were informed that the class was dissolved and were required, through text message from the staff of the College Secretary, to take another subject in lieu of the dissolved class. The text message was sent to the affected students last Monday, 19 November 2012. When the students tried to enroll in other subjects, the College Secretary refused their request. One of the batch representatives also requested if they can look for another professor to teach the subject. The College Secretary refused. Specifically, the College Secretary refused to let them enroll in Banking (3 units) and Medical Jurisprudence (allegedly for 3rd year students only) or look for another professor. The College Secretary likewise blamed the students for not attending the class. Ms. Gallego explained that they were informed by one of the staff of the OCS that the classroom is in Ambion, thats why they proceeded to the said classroom. However, it was later learned (after the class was dissolved) that the assigned room for Legal Profession was Room 200. A few minutes before 5:00 in the afternoon, the College Secretary eventually agreed to let the affected students enroll in Medical Jurisprudence. However, since there is no time left to process the Change Matriculation requirements, some of the students were not able to enroll in the said subject. Thus, they were effectively underloaded. Another problem arose with the scheduling of PRIL class. The schedule for PRIL back subject was only confirmed last Monday. Hence, there were, again, students who were forced to change their other classes to get the said subject. Courts of Law A meeting will be scheduled by the batch representatives for this event. The batch representatives likewise suggested that Quiz Bee be included in the list of games for Courts of Law. 6. Public Relations Officer Courts of Law Mr. Carbonell enumerated the games to be included in the Courts of Law, to wit: basketball, volleyball, DOTA, futsal, Monopoly Deal, and Dodgeball.

The Courts of Law will be held on December 2 and 9. For December 2, 2 courts will be used, the courts in Maginhawa and Xavierville 1. For December 9, the Courts of Law will be held in Maginhawa. Several concerns were raised by the CB members with regard to the use of 2 courts. First, the organizers might have a hard time monitoring the events. Second, the participants would have to go from one court to another to participate in different events. Third, having 2 separate courts will not allow the students to gather and enjoy the event together. Other considerations such as budget and exam dates were raised during the discussion. To solve this problem, there was a proposal to have the Courts of Law for 3 weekends. Bigger courts/venues such as Marikina Sports Center, Celeb Court, etc. were suggested. The CB voted which resulted in a tie, i.e. 8-8. Hence, the CB decided to discuss the matter next GA. In the meantime, Mr. Carbonell was asked by Mr. Nisperos to gather more information which would held the CB decide on this matter. Action/s to be taken: Prepare a list of possible venues for the Courts of Law and project the amount that will be incurred. 7. Treasurer Collectibles and Batch Fund distribution Mr. Santos collected the payables incurred during the registration and thereafter distributed the batch fund to the respective batch representatives. Based on the collection during the registration, only 600 students paid the LSG fee. LSG fee will still be collected from those students who were not able to pay during the registration. The list of students who have not paid will be finalized after the Office of the College Secretary finalizes the official list of enrolled students for this semester. Financial Statement The latest Financial Statement will be posted in the bulletin board and LSG website next week. Solicitations New solicitation letters will be distributed to CB members. Other matters Mr. Santos proposed that the CB buy a new printer for the LSG room. This proposal was accepted by the CB members. 8. Representative to USC Lantern Parade The design for the lantern was already submitted to the Dean for his approval.

The CB members were asked to collect empty highlighters, which will be used for the lantern. Volunteers are also needed for the preparation of the lantern. Action/s taken: Collect empty highlighters and prepare a list of volunteers by 02 December 2012. Belen / Stained glass No design yet. Shirt design for lantern parade Mr. Nisperos submitted a shirt design to the Dean. However, this has not yet been approved. New shirt design is needed. Action/s to be taken: Look for volunteer/s who can design the shirt for lantern parade. University Job Fair University Job Fair will be held in January 2013. However, the College need not participate in such event since it has a separate job fair (i.e. Destinations). 9. Secretary LSG Office hours Ms. Sacramento asked the CB members to finalize their schedule for the tambay hours. The CB members were reminded that the LSG Room should be open from 8:30am 6:00pm everyday. All CB members signed up but there are still vacant slots. Hence, adjustments will be made after the meeting. Action/s to be taken: Finalize the LSG shift and post the schedule inside the LSG room. Attendance concerns For the purpose of recording absences and tardiness, absence in LSG required events shall be considered an absence. Hence, the CB finalized the list of required events for this semester. List of required events: 1. Courts of Law Each CB is required to attend all weekends for at least half day. 2. Alay sa Personnel 3. Malcolm Madness 4. ACLO fair booth Tambay hours schedule shall be followed. 5. LSG Alumni Homecoming 6. Career Fair tambay hour rules 7. Student-Faculty Dialogue*

8. LSG Service Award/Turnover Student Lounge The Dean required the submission of design and time table for his approval. The design for the student lounge will be prepared by an Interior Design student from UP. However, said designer has not yet started the design. Actions to be taken: Ms. Reyes is asked to contact the ID student who will design the student lounge. Reimbursement For utilities expenses Student Directory Ms. Sacramento reminded the CB members whose laptops were used during the registration to send the student directories as soon as possible. Action/s to be taken: Consolidate the Student Directory. 10. External Vice-President LCC Meeting Ms. Castro, USC Vice-Chairperson, wants to have a meeting with the LSG to discuss the projects of LCC for the second semester. Action/s to be taken: A meeting with Ms. Castro will be scheduled on 05 December 2012. The LCC meeting will be the first agenda for the next GA. Sunken Garden Rehabilitation One of the projects of the LCC is the rehabilitation of the Sunken Garden. Specifically, the project aims to prevent the sinking of the sunken garden. LCC needs to raise funds for this project. Hence, the participation of all college student councils, including the LSG, is needed. The CB members agreed to participate in the said project. However, it was emphasized that participation of the LSG should be limited since we also have our own fund-raising activities. Hence, the CB resolved to participate in the said project by forwarding the LCC solicitation letters to UP Law Alumni Office, attached therewith a cover letter from the LSG. Maguindanao Massacre In commemoration of the third year anniversary of the Maguindanao massacre, Katarungan will design and disseminate posters calling for the end of violence. Katarungan is asking if they can include LSGs logo in the said poster. However, the CB decided to defer the decision until the poster has been finalized and presented to them.

Update on Cybercrime Law The content of the updates has already been finalized. However, there is a need to improve the format of the updates to make it more reader-friendly. Action/s to be taken: Mr. Juico is tasked to prepare an infographic on cybercrime law to be posted on facebook and yahoogroup. IHR Week No information yet. Action/s to be taken: This will be discussed in the next GA. 11. Internal Vice-President Registration and Delinquency Rules concerns Ms. Camino asked the batch representatives to send to her the consolidated academic delinquency cases of their respective batches for this academic year (first and second semester). With regard to registration concerns, Ms. Camino asked the batch representatives to consolidate and send the comments of the students. Action/s to be taken: Consolidate comments/report on delinquency rules and registration concerns. Grievance Procedure and Academic Policies Review The STRAW committee needs volunteers for the formulation/review of the grievance procedure and review of academic policies. Action/s to be taken: The batch representatives are tasked to look for volunteers for these activities/projects. Student-Faculty Dialogue It was mentioned that it would be better not to have the SFD this year since the Dean plans to form a committee which will focus on the review of the academic policies of the college. Also, it was pointed out that the only issue discussed during the SFD last year which was addressed by the College administration this year is the issue on slow internet connection. Moreover, the major concern of the students is the academic policies of the College will most probably be address by the formation of the Academic Policies Review Committee. Some of the batch representatives raised their concern that their batchmates want to have a dialogue with the Dean to directly address their concerns to the latter. However, Ms. Camino pointed out that the SFD is different from the Dialogue with the Dean and that the students will still have the Dialogue with the Dean. Actions to be taken:

The issue on whether or not to have the SFD this year will be discussed further after all the necessary information is gathered. 12. President Meeting with the Dean (20 November 2012) Mr. Nisperos had a meeting with the Dean last 20 November 2012. The following are the topics/issues discussed during the meeting: Exhibit of Mr. Louie Talents The Dean already approved the ground layout prepared by Mr. Talents. Advanced Bar Review The Dean approved the UP law student discount for the advanced bar review. The students may avail of the said program for on P3,500. Mr. Nisperos clarified that the said privilege was withdrawn last summer. As a result of such withdrawal, UP Law graduates who enrolled with the BRI paid the regular rate for the said program (P12,500 + P7,500). During the meeting, the Dean emphasized that the discount may be availed of only once. This means that if a student enrolled in the advanced bar review this November, they would need to pay the regular rate if they still wish to enroll for the regular bar review on March 2013. Action/s to be taken: See Fourth Year Representative update. Appeals Procedure The Dean specifically mentioned during the meeting to let the Appeals Committee decide. In addition, one of the CB members mentioned that the members of the Appeals Committee do not want the students to approach them individually to persuade them to decide in their favor. This method only aggravates the position of these students. Mr. Nisperos likewise clarified the participation of the LSG for this procedure. The LSG will lawyer for them during the Full Faculty Meeting. Any step to be undertaken prior to the appeal before the Full Faculty, the role of the LSG is merely advisory present to the students all the options available in handling their case, suggest/recommend the best option, facilitate their appeals, provide venue and/or means of communication to properly raise their appeals, etc. The LSG likewise needs to manage the expectations of these students by explaining the gravity of the situation and the effects of the options that wish to pursue. In view of the foregoing, all members of the CB, especially the batch representatives, must know the academic rules, all the available options, and every step in the appeals procedure in order to assist the students in their appeal. Two Hundred Thousand Pesos donated by Cong. Kho and Cong. Batocabe

The Dean advised Mr. Nisperos to submit a program for disbursement. The CB has already prepared this program which was submitted to Cong. Batocabe before the latter gave the check. Action/s to be taken: Ms. Villanueva is tasked to have the program of disbursement signed by Cong. Batocabe. Deadline is on Monday, 26 November 2012. Student Lounge The Dean asked Mr. Nisperos to submit the design and time table for the formers approval. Action/s to be taken: See Secretarys update. OPF Recognition The Dean mentioned that he is willing to revive the OPF recognition as a project of the LSG (to be coordinated with the College Secretary). However, the participation of the LSG and the College administration is not yet clear. Action/s to be taken: Clarify the participation of the LSG and delineate the tasks. Graduation The Dean asked the LSG, through Mr. Nisperos, to submit a short list of speakers for the said event. With regard to venue, one of the possible venues for the graduation is the UP Film Institute. However, other venues may still be considered. For the awards to be given during the graduation, the Dean manifested that he is not against the Deans Medal award. He just wants to have a distinction between the deans medalist and those who will graduate with latin honors (e.g. different medal). He is also amenable to give service awards and other excellence awards (PLJ, LSG Service Award, Best Intern, Best Paper, Mooter, etc.) Action/s to be taken: Follow up and finalize the venue, speakers, and awards that may be given for the 2013 graduation. Cyber caf at the fourth floor library A cyber caf will be opened at the fourth floor library this November. However, there is no concessionaire yet. The Dean said that computers will be provided in the said caf for the use of the students/customers. However, it was raised that computers are not really needed because most of the students have their own laptops. It was suggested that instead of buying new computers for the caf, it would be better if more electricity outlets will be made available to the students to charge their laptops, tablets, etc. Dialogue with the Dean

The Dean said that he is amenable to having a dialogue with the students this December. He also said that the College Secretary and Associate Dean should likewise be invited in the said dialogue. Action/s to be taken: Ms. Camino and Ms. Sacramento are tasked to prepare the structure of the flow of the dialogue. Batch representatives are also tasked to give a list of topics, after they have consulted with their batch, which will be discussed during the dialogue. Academic Rules Review Committee The Dean said that a committee will be formed to review the academic policies of the College. Mr. Nisperos reiterated the statement that the Dean gave to the CB members during the Courtesy Call last summer regarding the construction of the academic policies, i.e. the academic policies will be construed in favor of the students (whichever is beneficial to the student). However, the Dean clarified that what he will do is just to give the students the chance to appeal their case before the proper forum. He also mentioned that the rules should not be beneficial to the students as there is a need to weed out those students who do not deserve to stay in the College. An issue was raised because it was different from what was discussed during the Courtesy Call. Last summer, the Dean mentioned during the courtesy call that the cases of the students will be treated in a case-to-case basis. Hence, a student who did not meet the required QPI for the year but have a GWA above the required QPI may still be admitted to the College. Ms. Sacramento checked the minutes of meeting for the said meeting and based on the said minutes, the Dean actually mentioned that the application of new academic policy (i.e. QPI) will be treated in a case-to-case basis. Thereafter, it was resolved that if the Dean will push for its application, not taking into consideration the discussion that the CB had with him last summer, the CB will push for the prospective application of the QPI rule the rule will only apply to the first year students. It was also agreed upon that the review of the academic policies must be conducted at the end of the second semester and before the approval of the list of graduating students for AY 2012-2013. General Assembly of Student Councils (GASC) The GASC is scheduled on December 21 and 22, 2012. The list of attendees must be submitted on or before December 7, 2012. LSGs position amidst all the issues being faced by the students and the College LSG is committed to fight for and protect the rights of the students. OTHER MATTERS: Philippine Law Register (PLR) The PLR is asking if they can get a portion of the LSG fee to be used as PLR funds. However, Mr. Nisperos is not agreeable to the proposal/request primarily because it is against the

Constitution. The Constitution clearly provides that the entire P100 LSG fee will go to the LSG. Since PLR is not part of the LSG but is instead a separate and distinct organization, it cannot get a portion of the LSG fee. It was suggested that PLR be included in the ACLO so that they can set up its own booth during the ACLO fair where they can solicit, ask for volunteers, sell ad spaces, etc. With regard to release of official statements regarding certain issues, it was clarified that the PLR can issue its own official statements but under its own name. Lastly, the PLR is asking for the LSG Official Report which will be included in their December/ January issue. Action/s to be taken: Ms. Sacramento is tasked to prepare and submit the LSG Official Report before January 2013.

ADJOURNMENT There being no other matters to be discussed, the meeting was adjourned at 10:40 PM. Prepared by: Anne Jaycelle C. Sacramento, Secretary Noted by: Benedict G. Nisperos, President