CONSTITUTION OF THE STUDENT COUNCIL

ALLIANCE OF THE PHILIPPINES

ARTICLE I
NATURE OF THE ORGANIZATION

Section 1. The organization shall be known as the Student Council Alliance of the
Philippines (SCAP).

Section 2. The SCAP shall be a national alliance composed of student councils,

student council officers, student organizations, and student political
parties. Its primary function shall be to provide venues for forging unities
among the various student councils and student council officers towards
the end of advancing the welfare, aspirations and rights of the Filipino
students.

ARTICLE II
DECLARATION OF PRINCIPLES

Section 1. The SCAP recognizes the importance of free discussion and the interplay of
different ideas in the pursuit of its aims. It recognizes and upholds the freedom
of its members to adhere to and promote various ideas, beliefs and
ideologies founded on the principle of mutual respect.

Section 2. The SCAP firmly adheres to the principle of democratic participation and
consultation in all its activities and endeavors. It commits itself to uphold the
right of each member be consulted and heard on any matter that is of
concern to the Alliance.

Section 3. The SCAP commits itself to actively strive for progressive and positive change
within the society in which it exists.

Section 4. The SCAP calls for unity, solidarity and true comradeship, not just among its
member student councils, but among all student councils in the Philippines. In
doing so, it recognizes that solidarity must allow for differences, and that the
right of the minority should always be respected.

Section 5. The SCAP devotes itself to creating venues and providing opportunities for the
promotion of student empowerment and for the development of student
leadership. It recognizes the role of a student body to self-governance and
self-determination; the right of students to access adequate means for free
speech and expression.
Section 6. The SCAP recognizes the relevance and urgency of environmental issues, and
commits itself to the promotion of care and respect for the natural
environment through various methods of consciousness raising and
education, advocacy, and mass action.

Section 7. The SCAP commits itself to strive for the attainment of true equality of status
and opportunities among the various genders, based on mutual
consideration and respect, as well as recognizing each individual's
uniqueness and humanity.

Section 8. The SCAP upholds the principles of solidarity while developing a global
outlook and an international perspective, with regards to various issues
confronting the Philippine society and the world.

ARTICLE III
STRUCTURE AND ORGANIZATION
Section 1. The SCAP shall be composed of three (3) main organizational structures, (1)
the National Congress, (2) the Regional Assemblies, and (3) the Chapter.

Section 2. The National Congress shall be composed of members of

the alliance.

Section 3. There shall be four (4) Regional Assemblies, one for each geo-political region,
namely, (1) the National Capital Region, (2) Luzon, (3) Visayas, and (4)
Mindanao. Each Regional Assembly shall be composed of the alliance
members based in each region.

Section 4. The Chapter shall be the basic unit of the alliance. Each chapter shall be
composed of not less than three Student Councils with at least one Central or
University Student Council.

ARTICLE IV
THE NATIONAL CONGRESS
Section 1. The National Congress shall be the highest policy making body of the
alliance. It shall convene on the date set in the previous congress.

Section 2. The National Congress shall have the following powers

and functions:

a.) Determine policy and approve the General Program of Action

for the entire alliance.

b.) Elect the members of the National Executive Board (NEB).

c.) Adopt and amend by-laws for the alliance consistent with this
constitution.
d.) Adopt resolutions and determine positions of the alliance
consistent with this constitution.

e.) Act as appellate body for decisions rendered by the Regional

Assemblies.
 f.) Adopt and amend the constitution of the alliance.

Section 3. A simple majority of alliance members shall constitute the necessary quorum
for the National Congress to transact business, unless otherwise provided in
this constitution.

ARTICLE V
THE REGIONAL ASSEMBLY
Section 1. The Regional Assembly shall, subject to the control and supervision of the
National Congress, be the highest policy making body for each respective
region. It shall be convened at least once a month on the date set in the
previous assembly or on the date specified in by the Regional by laws.

Section 2. Each Regional Assembly shall have the following powers

and functions:

a.) Determine policy and approve the General Program of Action for their
region, subject to the control and supervision of the National
Congress;
b.) Adopt and amend Regional by Laws consistent with this constitution and the
bylaws of the alliance;
c.) Adopt resolutions and determine regional positions on specific issues
consistent with the General Policies set by the National Congress.
d.) Accept applications for membership and approve the same, subject to
review by the National Congress.
e.) Ensure that the Chapters based in its region are kept abreast of alliance
policies, positions and programs.

Section 3. A simple majority of alliance members based in the region shall constitute the
necessary quorum for the Regional Assembly to transact business, unless
otherwise provided in this constitution.

ARTICLE VI
CHAPTERS
Section 1. The Chapter shall be the basic unit of the alliance. It shall be composed of
council, student organizations, student political parties or individual members.
They shall be convened regularly at such dates, as their internal rules shall
provide.

Section 2. The Chapter shall have the following powers and functions:

a.) Adopt and amend its own by-laws or internal rules consistent with this
constitution, the by-laws of the alliance, and their respective regional by
-laws.
b.) Adopt resolutions and determine regional positions on specific issues
consistent with the general policies set of the alliance and the respective
regional assembly.
c.) Adopt resolutions and determine regional positions on specific issues
consistent with the general policies set by the National Congress.
 d.) Accept applications for membership and approve the same, subject to
review by the National Congress.
e.) Ensure that the members based in its region are kept abreast of alliance
policies, positions and programs.

Section 3. A simple majority of alliance members based in the chapter shall constitute
the necessary quorum for the chapter to transact business, unless otherwise
provided in this constitution.

ARTICLE VII
THE NATIONAL EXECUTIVE BOARD
Section 1. The National Executive Board (NEB) shall be responsible for implementing the
policies and programs of the alliance set by the National Congress. It shall
meet regularly, at least once every quarter of the calendar year, on the date
set in the by-laws of the alliance.

In between sessions of the Nation Congress, the NEB shall have the policy
making powers, the exercise of which is to be reviewed by the National
Congress in its regular session, or upon petition of any Regional Assembly,
during the special session of the National Congress.

Section 2. The NEB shall be composed of the following officers:

a.) The Chairperson

b.) Four (4) Vice Chairpersons, one for each geo-political

region

c.) The Secretary General

d.) The Finance Officer

e.) Four (4) Members-at-Large

f.) Regional Secretaries-General

g.) Regional Finance Officers

Section 3. All officers of the NEB are to be elected during the regular session of the
Congress, except for the four (4) Vice-Chairpersons, regional secretaries-
general and regional finance officers. who will be elected only by the
members based on their corresponding regions. The officers shall serve for
two (2) years or until their successors have been elected.

Section 4. No person may be elected unless he is a member of the alliance and present
in the electing Congress, has a proven track record of service to the alliance,
a member of the alliance for at least one year, and must be able to present a
concrete general program of action for the alliance when deemed needed
by the Congress.

The Vice-Chairpersons shall also be required to be a resident of the

appropriate region.

Section 5. The Chairperson shall have the following powers and functions:
 a.) Preside over meetings of the NEB and the National Congress.

b.) Act as spokesperson of the alliance.

c.) Exercise general supervision over the members of the NEB.

d.) Create ad-hoc committees and taskforces, subject to the approval of a majority
vote of all the members of the NEB,

e.) Perform other duties as the National Congress, alliance or the regional
by-laws may provide.

Section 6. The Vice-Chairperson shall have the following powers and functions:

a.) Preside over meetings of his respective regional assembly;

b.) Elect from among themselves a temporary National Chairperson in the event of
the latter's death, incapacity, and removal from office or resignation.

c.) Perform such other duties as the National Congress, alliance or regional by-
laws may provide.

Section 7. The Secretary General shall have the following powers and functions:
a.) Act as the head of the National Secretariat.

b.) Supervise the day-to-day activities of the alliance;

c.) Be responsible for the custody of the records, minutes of the meetings, and
other documents relevant to the alliance;
d.) Perform such other duties as the National Congress or the
Alliance by-laws may provide

Section 8. The Finance Officer shall have the following powers and functions:

a.) Be responsible for the custody and safekeeping of the alliance

funds;
b.) Propose, implement and supervise fund generating activities for the
Alliance;
c.) Submit a report on the status of the Alliance fund once every year, or upon
the request of the NEB or the National Congress.
d.) Perform such other duties as the National Congress, Alliance or regional by
-laws may provide.

Section 9. The Members-at-large shall have the following powers and functions:

a.) Organize, formulate and implement programs for the members of the
Alliance.
b.) Perform such other duties as the National Congress, Alliance or regional by
-laws may provide.
Section 10. The Regional Secretaries General
a.
Section 11. The Regional Finance Officers shall
a. Be responsible for the safekeeping of the regional cluster funds

ARTICLE VIII
THE NATIONAL SECRETARIAT
Section 1. The National Secretariat shall be responsible for carrying out and
implementing the policies and programs of the Alliance on a day-to-day
basis.

Section 2. The National Secretariat shall be composed of the Secretary General as the
head, and a staff comprised of Alliance members who have volunteered for
such duty.

Section 3. The National Secretariat shall be governed by the Constitution and the
Alliance by-laws. It shall, however, be free to formulate its own internal rules of
procedure consistent with the rules and policies of the alliance.

Section 4. The National Secretariat shall be governed by the Constitution and the
Alliance by-laws. It shall likewise ensure that all Chapters and Regional
Assemblies are apprised of the latest actions and resolutions undertaken by
the National Executive Board.

Section 5. The by-laws of the alliance may provide for reasonable allowances and
honoraria to defer the expenses of Secretariat volunteers.

ARTICLE IX
MEMBERSHIP

Section 1. There are two (2) types of membership in the alliance, (1) individual
membership and (2) organizational membership.

Section 2. Individual members are either:

a.) Former officers of a member student council who choose to remain active in
the alliance after term of office.

b.) Incumbent officers belonging to a non-member student council, including

those who choose to remain active in the alliance after their term of office.

Section 3. Organizational membership pertains to central student councils, federated

student councils, local student councils, student organizations, student
political parties, or advocacy-based national alliances who join the Alliance.
Section 4. Renewal of membership includes the affirmation of support for the principles
and constitution of the alliance, at the regular session of the National
Congress.

Section 5. Membership may be revoked by two-thirds (2/3) vote of all alliance members
on the following grounds:

a.) Violation of the constitution; or

 b). Disloyalty to the alliance

c) Commission of acts inimical to the interest

of the alliance.
d). Gross misconduct

Section 6. All technical matters regarding

membership and will be handled primarily by
the by-laws.

ARTICLE X
ELECTIONS
Section 1. Elections for the NEB shall be held during the regular session of the National
Congress.

Section 2. Every member of the Alliance, whether individual or organization, shall have
the right to vote in the election.
Federated student formations and advocacy-based national alliances or
formation to five (5) votes.
Central/University/Supreme student councils have the right to four (4)
votes
Local councils to two (3) votes
Student organization/s to two (2) votes
Student political party/s to two (2) votes
Individual member/s from one school with one (1) vote.

This same allocation of votes shall apply to all elections whether for the
purpose of electing NEB officers or not.

Section 3. To be elected, a candidate must receive the majority of valid votes cast in
the election. In the event that no candidate attains such majority, a re-
election will be conducted.

In case where there are more than two (2) candidates and none of them
receives the required majority, a run-off-election between the two (2)
candidates will be conducted.

Abstain votes will be considered for purposes of determining the number of

valid votes and the required majority.

Section 4. Any member may nominate any person as a candidate for any position,
provided that the nominee meets the qualifications for such position.

Section 5. The NEB, in the event of vacancies, may call for special elections. Such will be
considered as a special session of the National Congress.

Section 6. An Electoral Tribunal composed of one (1) representative from each Regional
Assembly and the National Secretariat shall supervise the elections.

Such Tribunal shall elect a Chairperson from its members to preside over
meetings. The tribunal may establish its own procedural rules for the election
consistent with the constitution and the alliance by-laws.

ARTICLE XI
IMPEACHMENT OF OFFICERS
Section 1. Any officer of the NEB or any other officer elected pursuant to this
constitution, regional or chapter by-laws may be impeached on any of the
following grounds.

a.) Violation of the Constitution

b.) Disloyalty to the alliance
c.) Commission of acts inimical to the interest of the alliance.
d.) Gross dereliction of duty
e.) Gross misconduct

Section 2. The impeachment proceeding should be initiated through a petition to the

officers electing body, stating his name and position, the grounds for
impeachment, and specific witnesses or other evidence supporting the
existence of such grounds.

The body concerned shall furnish the officer in question with a copy of the
petition within five (5) days of receiving such petition. Within twenty (20) days
from the receipt of the petition, the body shall call a special meeting for the
purpose of deciding the impeachment.

Section 3. The impeachment is effective immediately after a two-thirds (2/3) vote of all
members of the body, which elected the officer.

Section 4. No vote of impeachment shall be taken before the petitioner and the officer
concerned shall have spoken to the electing body and presented their
respective evidence and arguments.

Section 5. In the event of an impeachment, the body shall immediately elect a

successor to the impeached officer.

Section 6. No officer undergoing an impeachment proceeding shall be allowed to

resign.

Section 7. The alliance, regional or chapter by-laws may provide for mechanisms of
discipline for officers whose penalty is less than impeachment, provided they
are consistent with the constitution and do not deprive the right of the officer
to due process.

ARTICLE XII
ADOPTION AND AMENDMENTS

Section 1. This Constitution shall become effective immediately after the ratification by
the majority vote in the first SCAP Congress.

Section 2. This Constitution may be amended by a vote of two-thirds (2/3) of all

members of the alliance during a regular or special session of the National
Congress.

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This constitution is adopted during the 10th National
Congress, October 21-23, 2016