Liyab, the vernacular for flame; the name for this party of four who are ablaze with the passion to serve Baliklaya as your Top 4 this coming school year. We’ve heard it all before— the spark that set a nation aflame, the one little candle that shines through the dark. Fires, just like great things, don’t start from nothing. It always takes that one small spark to start an inferno and in the process create heat and light, and Wowie Catabijan, Hans Santos, Arvy Uy and JC Young aim to do just that, four individuals aflame with the passion to serve YOU. We are four individuals aflame with the passion to serve you, but who have never been there to create names for ourselves. Truth be told, we'd rather stick to the gray shadows of the backstage and just smile fondly as Baliklaya receives recognition for her work, because it is our aim to create a name for the organization as a whole. Baliklaya's fire deserves to shine as effervescently as the bright orange hue representative of the inmates it aims to help, so this year, allow us to spark that fire for her. Four names. One fire. One blaze. Liyab.
Ruth Valorie “Wowie” Catabijan: President In the past 3 years of my college life, Baliklaya has been a great part of the whole package that college has presented before me. As I near my final year in college and in the organization, I want to step up and take things further with my participation in Baliklaya by running as your next Baliklaya President. My plans for the organization revolve around this particular phrase that has been going on my mind these past few days: “Work to empower the members and make the operations of the organization more sustainable. Think about accreditation later.” Baliklaya will be celebrating its 3rd year as an independent organization next school year. After going through 2 years on its own feet, there are still some concerns regarding its sustainability as an organization. These concerns are what I aim to address and overcome given a year of handling projects and a team of people dedicated to the cause of rehabilitating prisoners who want to make a difference in their lives while still inside prison. The following are the concrete actions I plan to carry out if elected as president for the coming school year: Professionalizing EB and ExeCom Meetings • Baliklaya has the disadvantage of not having an org room to conduct its meetings, interviews, etc. • Most of the time, EB meetings are held without having the complete set of officers deciding on matters and discussing projects • EB officers tend to get distracted easily when meetings are held in “not so private” venues • My proposed solution for this is to communicate to the officers the importance of taking on a more professional approach when conducting our regular meetings to effectively decide on matters and follow agenda • Also, with the help of the Logistics Director, I would like to reserve rooms/venues that will make meetings more private and encourage officers to go through agenda in a more systematic way Centralizing Information Dissemination • Baliklaya has numerous yahoo groups wherein all our information, updates and important documents pass through.
• Having these many accounts can get confusing at times with members and officers not knowing which accounts to use or turn to for necessary documents. • With the help of the Human Resources Department, the creation of a more centralized information dissemination system can help communication of important information flow more effectively Establish A Stronger Relationship With Selected Prison Communities • The Bureau of Corrections has been the partner of Baliklaya in all of its Bilibid‐based projects. • Problems still arise in carrying out these projects because of miscommunications between Baliklaya, BuCor and other personnel in Bilibid. • Long before the school year starts, I plan to hold a meeting with the Baliklaya officers and BuCor to straighten things out about the processes of hosting projects and events directly related to the inmates. This will be followed up by consultations and called for meetings with said officers in order to continue the evolving relationship between the two partners • Officers directly concerned with this action, aside from the President, are the VP for SCI, Logistics Director, Secretary‐General and the Executive Vice President. Investing On A Transport Vehicle or Scheme for Outofschool Projects • Transportation has always been a big problem thrown around in the organization • A big portion of our funds for one project go to the rental of jeepneys that sometimes pose problems for the members because of various reasons (ex. Breakdowns, expensive, uncomfortable) • Investing on a good transport vehicle or transport scheme can be good for the organization in the long run • This can help in reducing costs for the organization, increase efficiency in out‐of‐school projects by taking out the previous hassles brought to us by past transport problems • Officers directly involved in this project will be the VP for Fundraising and Treasurer Increasing The Number of Partner Prison Communities • One problem that Baliklaya faces with its prison‐based projects is the distance of the venue from Ateneo. • Many students are discouraged from joining such activities because of this especially Freshmen and Sophomore members who have very hectic schedules • Increasing the number of partner prison communities can aid in getting more members to join prison‐based activities and actually interact with the inmates if the venues for them were closer.
• This can also increase the no. of visits within the year that would give more options for members to join in. • Departments directly involved would be the Office of the President, Advocacy Department and the SCI Department Effective Project Management • The success of Baliklaya as an organization relies heavily on the success of its projects collectively • Effective project management should be carried out in order for the operations of the organization to flow smoothly through the help of the officers and its members • My proposal for this is to reevaluate the Project Management Seminar, Project Manager Kits and Selection Process for Project Managers and Core Team Members with the help of all the officers • Through this evaluation, we can revise these and find ways to make the preparation, execution and evaluation of projects more effective “Branding” Baliklaya • Baliklaya has long been associated with Ateneo Lex as its former flagship program • Coming from such a relationship with the other organization, Baliklaya still has issues about its independence and how it should be marketed to the Ateneo community • Building and clearly defining the identity of the organization is a big step in making Baliklaya’s operations closer to its goals. Having such an identity that members can identify with and address to can also be treated as a push for them towards concretizing their ideas for the improvement of the organization in supporting its cause • The “branding” of Baliklaya , which would be in line with its mission and vision, will be something that I want to discuss with and define through the help of all the EB members • The image or “branding” of Baliklaya is what I want to be carried out in the coming years to help future members and officers identify with the cause and operations of the organization With all of these in mind, I plan to work on forming a Baliklaya that can stand on its own feet as an independent organization that carries out sustainable operations in advocating our cause of and providing services in aiding inmates in their efforts to rehabilitation.
Hans Cedric Santos: Executive Vice President For the past few years, the big question with Baliklaya has always been: Who will carry on the work when the time comes? Sustainability, all questions in the past 2 years have pointed either directly or indirectly at that shadow issue. How do we make the freshmen and sophomores more active? How much do we break away from Ateneo LEX? How do we form our members to really feel the advocacy? How do we build a better (read: more consistent) working relationship with the Bureau of Corrections and New Bilibid Prison? How do we build a legacy for Baliklaya that will last beyond our time in the organization? There are so many questions with so many possible answers. To these questions, I humbly give a few of my answers to see where a vote for me can take Baliklaya in the coming year. Earlier preparation for projects under the guidance of the Executive Board Preparation for projects should be started two months at the latest before the planned execution. This will allow project managers to work on their projects at their own pace without having to rush preparations. The EB will begin meeting with the project team at this time to discuss their vision for their project, suggest courses of action and recommend members to pull into the project. As much as possible, the project team will be given leeway in handling their projects to develop their own leadership skills within the organization.
Easing in the membership into the advocacy New members, especially from the younger batches, should be eased into the advocacy by developing a series of projects that are more accessible avenues of entering the cause but have their own impact nonetheless. This would include Ateneo‐based projects that spread the advocacy and facilitated learning about the Philippine justice system and the context of the inmates. Contacts sharing among the departments Freely exchanging members among the departments would increase membership participation in the various projects of the organization as well as build a foundation of knowing the organization which will be useful in developing leadership among the members later on. As said earlier, these are only a few answers to the greater question of Sustainability that Baliklaya faces today. I admit I don’t have all the answers but that only makes me all the more dedicated to listening to your opinions and finding our answers together. Vote Hans Santos for Executive Vice President and together let’s build our legacy for the Baliklaya of the future.
Joanna Clarisse “JC” Young: Finance Officer Because time is money and money is something this office should know about, let’s cut straight to the chase and do away with niceties.
If elected as your Baliklaya Treasurer, this will be my PACT to you this SY 20112012. Proper Resource Generation and Allocation
Hand in hand with the VP for Fundraising, the Finance Office will definitely be sure to safeguard the precious money Fundraising Department earns for the organization. I shall Ensure that the funds go into the appropriate accounts and that they shall only be utilized for feasible fundraising projects, as well as SCI/Advocacy projects that really need funding. Impose upon the project managers a request system, in which they shall detail the reasons for which they need funds, the approximate amount, and very specific and reasonable projected expenses at least two (2) weeks before the said event to have systematization, and to have enough time to go through their requests and decide on their soundness. Impose a no‐disbursement policy without filling out the request form by the prescribed date. This means that the unauthorized money projects managers “abono” for, shall be borne at the individual’s own risk for failure to adhere to Treasury regulations, even if the generosity of the PM, VP or any concerned individual is to be commended in shelling out the needed money for the project from their own pockets. Form a Budgeting Committee composed of the Treasurer, her AVP/s, the VP for Fundraising, and several other members of the Executive Committee to appropriately allocate all pre‐existing funds between the departments, projected expenses, savings, and etc. at the start of the year. This is to maintain or better yet, improve the current state of our coffers, and make sure that we have a general guideline to guide us throughout the school year. Accountability In line with my request system, I hope to make people more accountable for the money that they shall ask from the Treasury Department, especially for non‐fundraising projects. They need to be made aware of the fact that Baliklaya is a start‐up organization, and while she’s trying her best to keep her funds relatively healthy, she
needs all the help she can get from her responsible, cautious and practical members. They need to be accountable for the money even before they attempt to request the said funds from the Finance Office, and more so after they spend it for their various projects. I likewise hope to make the members of the Executive Committee especially aware that their dedication to the organization does not only fall within the confines of their respective departments, but also remember that the Treasury Department is one sector that keeps things running, and as such, deserves as much taking care of as you would any other project. Continuous Auditing More to do with post‐project finances, I plan to establish an Auditing System through which just like any real‐life company, the project managers’ expense accounts and summaries shall undergo thorough auditing, just to make sure that no funds were mishandled or misappropriated. Receipts and other supporting documentation detailing where and how the funds were used will be required from the project managers, and failure to submit such documents to the Office shall be met with a demerit. This demerit shall be significant in determining the leniency of the Office in granting project funds to the same project manager in the future, and should he or she continue to carelessly disregard its regulations, the Office shall likewise frown upon the Department to which this project manager belongs to, and take this into account the next time any other project manager from the same Department asks for funding. In other words, failure to submit proper documentation for auditing, failure to be present when called for questioning and other similar matters pertaining to auditing a project’s expenses shall incur a demerit on possibly both the project manager and the department in which he or she belongs to, severely restraining their chances of getting their desired budgeting should this charade continue. Transparency Finally, transparency shall be effected out within and beyond the Finance Office. I shall make sure that income statements, summaries of profits and losses, and other financial statements shall be at everyone’s disposal, even for the regular members. The executive board and executive committee on the other hand may expect a regular update regarding the state of Baliklaya’s coffers, just to keep everyone abreast of the latest financial woes or joys. For transparency to occur, there is likewise the need for organizing and filing away every single piece of documentation for easy referencing and handling, thus all these files are to be kept a safe place for easy sorting, and for easy distribution should anyone desire it .
Arvy Brian Uy: SecretaryGeneral •
•
•
• •
•
Platform Closed room venues for the EB meetings for more focused discussions In order to provide a more formal atmosphere during the EB meetings, a closed room will be reserved for EB meetings whenever possible. The aim is not to abolish the energetic and semi‐formal feel similar to that of the current EB meetings but to simply elicit more focus from the EB members. Strict implementation of meeting rules and regulations Rules promulgated during the current year with regard to EB meeting policies will be re‐examined to be more acceptable to everyone and will be implemented with force. Digital audio recording of the EB meetings along with the type written minutes (typewritten minutes are to be uploaded online while digital minutes will be available upon request) This is also an effort to break down the walls between the EB and the members. Transparency we hope will allow the EB to me more approachable to the members so that our relationships will prosper. Improved attendance details and attendance checking system via log sheet. Yes Report making consultation with project managers after every project (can be included in EB meetings) This serves a twofold purpose. One is to systematically prepare the YES report so that it will be ready before the deadline, allowing the EB to prepare early for the report. The second is to help the organization visualize what components it still needs to fulfill in order to have a better shot at accreditation. Baliklaya newsletter will be released at least every 2 weeks in order to keep the members updated on recent events and activities.
Proposed Improvements • Improved coordination with the Advertising Committee for more efficient promotional activities + newsletter layout The Advertising Committee is crucial to our on campus promotions. As such, a tight coordination scheme with the department is being pushed for in order to maximize our reach. The layout of the Baliklaya newsletter will also be done in cooperation with the Committee. • Improved coordination with the Human Resources Department for membership participation updates + active membership incentives Now more than ever, membership involvement is heavily needed. Coordination with the HR department for member updates on participation and member incentives hopes to further bridge the gap between the members and the officers. • Rotating member participation in selected EB meetings (not counted in activities attended) Members will be invited to EB meetings not just to observe but participate and give quality input. This will hopefully serve as a good experience and a form of training for the members especially those who aspire to be EB. • Team based project distribution system. A shift from Project Manger based to Team based project‐making system where the members are encouraged to participate more. • Project consultations are to be done by the EB in order to guarantee a well planned and executed project.