University of the Philippines Diliman

Asian Institute of Tourism Student Council 2014-2015

House Rules

RULE I GENERAL PROVISIONS

1. This shall be known as the Asian Institute of Tourism Student Council 2014-2015
House Rules herein referred to as House Rules.
2. This writing exists by virtue of Article 3, Section 5.1 of the Constitution of the
University of the Philippines Asian Institute of Tourism Student Council (Constitution).
3. These House Rules will aid the council members in fulfilling their mandate efficiently
and effectively.

RULE II ON THE COMPOSITION OF THE COUNCIL MEMBERS

1. The members of the Asian Institute of Tourism Student Council (AIT SC) shall be
composed of the Chairperson, the Vice-Chairperson, the Councilors, and the Year
Level Representatives as mandated in Article 3, Section 1 of the Constitution.
2. The members of the council shall recognize the participation of the College
Representative to the University Student Council (USC) in accordance with Article 6,
Section 1 of the USC Constitution regarding College Representatives to the USC, but
will not have any voting power and will not be part of the quorum.

RULE III ON COMMITTEES

1. The following are the Standing Committees according to Article 5 of the Constitution:
a. Secretariat Committee
b. Finance Committee
c. Ways and Means Committee
d. Mass Media Committee
e. Education and Research Committee
2. Ad Hoc Committees are those created by the Chairperson, either moto propio or
upon the recommendation of the council members, at any time during the course of
the councils term, to perform specific functions for a specific and/or limited period of
time as discussed in Article 5, Section 6 of the Constitution.
3. The Chairperson shall not head any Standing or Ad Hoc Committee. He/she and the
Vice-Chairperson shall be an ex-officio member of all Standing committees.
4. The Vice-Chairperson shall convene the leaders and representatives of every AIT-
based organization as stipulated in Article 4, Section 2.5 of the Constitution thus,
entitled to build a committee to aide such duty.
5. Each Councilor shall be the Head of one Standing Committee as stipulated in Article
4, Section 3.2 Constitution. Councilors and Year Level Representatives may also
head an Ad Hoc Committee, upon the approval of the Chairperson, as stipulated in
Article 4, Section 3.5. All Councilors are advised to become members of another
Standing Committee while Level Representatives must be a member of at least one
committee as stipulated in Article 4, Section 3.4 and 4.5.
6. Heads of Standing Committees shall be chosen as follows:
a. The council shall choose heads of the committees through elections. There shall
be a committee deliberations set by the council which shall be the venue for the
committee head elections.

b. Those vying for the committee positions shall present their proposals on this
suggested structure:
b.1 Title/ Thesis Statement/ Vision for the Committee
b.2 Rationale
b.3 Objectives
b.4 Detailed Plans of Action
b.5 Other Matters
c. Committee heads shall be elected by a simple majority vote or quorum which is
50% plus one of those within the committee deliberations.
7. Aspiring Heads of Ad Hoc Committees shall also submit their proposals based on the
suggested format discussed in number 6, letter b of this section.
8. Heads of Standing Committees shall take the following titles according to their
powers and functions:
a. Secretary for the Secretariat Committee Head
b. Treasurer for the Finance Committee Head
c. Business Manager for the Ways and Means Committee Head
d. Public Relations Officer (PRO) for the Mass Media Committee Head
e. Education and Research Officer for the Education and Research Committee
Head
9. Heads of Ad Hoc Committees shall have the title of Head.
10. Committee heads are required to immediately inform the body on all concerns,
projects, and progress of the committees work.
11. All committee activities shall be in accordance to the unified stand of the council as
guided by all provisions of the Constitution and House Rules.

RULE IV ON ASSEMBLIES AND MEETINGS

1. The General Assembly (GA) is the highest decision and policy making body. It is
also where assessments, daily activities, plans, project proposals, and campaigns of
the council are discussed, together with other matters.
2. The student council will hold a GA at least once a week on regular semesters, or
when and where the AIT SC sees fit.
3. A simple majority (50% + 1 of the council members present and voting) shall
constitute a quorum as defined in Article 3, Section 2 of the Constitution. Only when
the quorum is reached can a formal session commence and proceed.
4. There shall be Meetings, which shall be called by the Chairperson, to consider
interim matters which require immediate consideration by the council.
5. The Secretary, with the help of the Council Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson, shall
craft the agenda of assemblies and meetings. The Council Secretary then shall
disseminate this information to the council members two days prior to the meeting.
6. Council members are expected to maintain proper decorum at all assemblies and
meetings.
7. Assemblies and meetings are to be conducted open to the public. Non-members of
the council are purely observers and cannot participate in council deliberations,
except when given approval by the council and only when the point to be raised is in
the context of the meeting.
8. Sessions may be suspended by a majority vote of the council in session given that
there is valid reason.
9. The exact time of commencing and adjourning the council session shall be entered in
the minutes.
10. The exact time of arrival of council members in the session shall be noted in the
minutes.
11. The Secretariat Committee shall provide a digital voice recorder to ensure precision
and accuracy in recording council sessions.

12. If in any case the Council Secretary is absent, any Secretariat Committee member
shall record the minutes. If the committee members are also absent, the Council
Chairperson shall appoint someone to take charge in taking the minutes.
13. The minutes of the sessions shall be presented to the council for examination and
approval before they are released to the public.

RULE V ON DECORUM AND DEBATE

1. The AIT SC shall follow parliamentary procedures based on the Roberts Rules of
Order during all meetings and assemblies to ensure efficiency and productivity.
2. The Chairperson shall act as the presiding officer. In any case he/she desires to take
part in the debate, he/she shall relinquish his/her position as presiding officer and
name the Vice-Chairperson, or in the absence of the latter, any council member to
act as the presiding officer.
3. In the absence of the Chairperson, the Vice-Chairperson shall preside. In the
absence of both, the Secretary shall preside.

RULE VI ON VOTING

1. Consensus building shall take priority over division of the house.
2. Voting rights are only extended to council members who are present or who have the
benefit of the discussion. Voting via absentia and by proxy is not allowed.
3. To protect impartiality, the Council Chairperson shall only exercise his/her voting
rights when his/her vote would affect the outcome (i.e. in cases of breaking a tie).
This is by virtue of the principles of parliamentary procedures.
4. Voting may be in the form of by show of hands, by secret ballot, by online Facebook
polls, or by roll call. The default form of voting shall be by show of hands, unless
upon a motion to vote in any other form as deliberated by the council body.
5. When voting by show of hands, the presiding officer shall put a question to those who
favour the affirmative. After the affirmative voice is expressed, counted, and
recorded, the presiding officer asks for the votes of the opposition. If there are any
doubts, or another division is called for, the body shall again divide until the council
reaches a resolution.
6. When deciding on issues or the councils official position on an issue, the council
shall discuss it to arrive at a consensus and always return to its consolidated
principles. If in any case, the body is still divided, then voting shall commence by roll
call so as the body may know where each member stands on an issue.
7. All votes shall be recorded. Should any member request to explain his vote, he/she
may do so.
8. Any member who arrives after a motion has been deliberated and put to a vote may
not participate in the voting.

RULE VII ATTENDANCE

1. In roll calling, the Chairperson and the Vice-Chairperson shall be called first. Then,
the Councilors will each be called alphabetically by their surnames. Finally, the Year
Level Representatives shall be called by descending order of year levels.
2. For assemblies and meetings, fifteen minutes after the call time shall be the roll call.
Any council member who arrives after the roll call shall be marked late. Any member
who leaves before the adjournment shall be marked as well. Council members who
leave before adjournment, but after the set schedule for the session shall be
automatically excused. If the quorum is not reached after 30 minutes of call time, the
GA is suspended and may become a special meeting. If, in extreme cases, a quorum
is reached during the special meeting, the GA will proceed.

3. For events, call time for all council members will be at least 30 minutes before the
event. If in any event, any council member comes late, the member will be asked of
his/her reasons unless valid, to be understood and excused. If the excuse is invalid,
then he/she will be counted as late.
4. Attendance on non-council initiated events (i.e. partnership events where the AIT SC
is not a major partner), are not required. The Chairperson shall appoint
representative(s) instead.
5. Two unexcused cases of tardiness shall be counted as one unexcused absence.
Council members who arrive late must inform the Council Secretary of their excuse
before, during, or immediately after the session for consideration.
6. Regardless of the nature of the absence (whether valid and excused or not), an
absence is still an absence and will be recorded by the Council Secretary.
7. For unexcused consecutive absences on assemblies, meetings, and council
activities, the council shall follow these measures according to Article 9, Section 1
and 2:
a. Two consecutive absences shall merit a written and verbal warning.
b. Four consecutive absences shall be dropped from the rolls.
For excused cumulative absences on assemblies, meetings, and council activities,
the council shall follow these measures:
a. Three absences shall merit a written warning.
b. Six absences shall merit suspension.
8. Meanwhile, consecutive and/or cumulative excused absences may be deemed as
grounds for recommendation of leave of absence or resignation depending on the
gravity of the situation of the concerned council member. For absences accumulated
from four unexcused tardiness, these shall be regarded as unexcused cumulative
absence. The Council Secretary shall also inform the Chairperson of such actions.
The concerned member ceases to be a member and shall be informed by the
Council Secretary of the fact. The attendance for GAs and council activities will be
recorded separately.
9. These are the only valid excuses: academics (class, requirement which needs
attendance or examination on the same day), health reasons, important and
mandatory family occasions, financial reasons, religious affairs, force majeure, and
greater need in case of conflicting schedules with activities in line with council duties
and fortuitous events. In case of grave health reasons, the concerned council
member must present a medical certificate.
10. The Chairperson and Secretary shall determine the validity of an excuse, provided
that should the Secretary be in question, the Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson shall
decide. The concerned council members shall inform, in any possible way, the
Secretary of their excuse, not later than three days after the GA, in cases of
absences.

RULE VIII ON PUBLIC RELEASE OF COUNCIL MATERIALS

1. The Mass Media Committee of the AIT SC shall be in charge of approving publicity
materials and the sole official body to release council materials in online and print
media.
2. The Councils Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson, Secretary, and PRO shall administer
the official Facebook, Twitter, and Scribd accounts. The Chairperson and the Vice-
Chairpersons roles are purely ministerial.
3. As exception to Rule IV Sec. 1, committees may release publicity materials of events
or projects that are approved by the Council. All Secretariat files shall be released by
the secretary.
4. Post-project financial statements shall be published online, in print, and in AITs
official student publication, Salimbay. The Treasurer shall coordinate with the PRO in
this regard.

5. The official minutes will be released by the AIT SC. Minutes recorded by other
entities will be considered unofficial. The attendance will also be released. Both
will be published online, in print, and in AITs official student publication, Salimbay.
6. The Secretariat Committee shall keep the contact information of students to be used
only for official council matters.
7. There shall be a series of official online Facebook pages and groups for AIT students
created by AIT SC. Each online networking group must be headed or administered
by the official AIT SC Facebook account. Year Level Representatives together with
the official AIT SC Facebook account shall administer Batch groups.

RULE IX ON INFORMATION DISSEMINATION

1. The council must share each publicity materials online and in print to the members of
the AIT Community.
2. Internal text brigades shall come from the contact number of the Chairperson and the
Council Secretary. External text brigades shall come from the Vice-Chairperson and
the Year Level Representatives.
3. Along with council members, the Volunteer Corps are expected to engage in Room
to Room activities deemed necessary prior to the council activity.
4. Contact information is necessary to be gathered from all AIT students and should
only be used for AIT council purposes. If any member is found and proven to use
such information for personal, organizational or political gimmickry, the council shall
deliberate necessary disciplinary actions to this concerned member.

RULE X ON AIT SC OFFICIAL STATEMENTS

1. The Education and Research Committee and the Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson
shall form a drafting committee. The drafting committee shall set a meeting where
council members provide inputs on the statement. The drafting committee shall be
presented to the body for approval.
2. The AIT SC shall always return to its consolidated principle which should carry a
unified call in any statements released to the public.

RULE XI ON AIT SC FUNDS

1. Council funds shall be generated through the following:
a. Sponsorships from interested funding bodies or institutions;
b. Solicitations/Donations from interested bodies and individuals;
c. Income-Generating Projects (IGP) such as sales and the like;
d. AIT Student Fund collection
2. The AIT Student Fund shall be used primarily in extending student services and
solely the benefit of the Institute and the AIT student body.
3. The Student Fund will be allocated as follows: PhP 35 for council-initiated projects
and events, PhP 15 for basic student services, and PhP 10 for student groups. The
remaining PhP 15 will be for Salimbay as mandated in Article 3, Section 5.4 of the
Constitution.
4. The Business Manager and the Ways and Means Committee will be the arm of the
council to generate council funds. They must be efficient in producing funds thru
sponsorships and solicitations. As much as possible, the Ways and Means
Committee should not rely on the presence of the student fund collected.
5. The Treasurer, with the Finance Committee and the committee that needs funding,
shall deliberate on the allocation of funds per activity. Only the Treasurer shall
prescribe the way in accounting for, auditing, and reporting finances.
6. To ensure transparency of council funds, the Treasurer must release a Cash Flow to
the council and to the public after every event.

7. A written Financial Report of all committees shall be collated and reported by the
Finance Committee to the Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson. A written monthly
report shall be made by the same committee to the GA.

RULE XII OFFICE RULES

1. Smoking shall not be allowed inside the AIT SC office.
2. Use of office facilities shall be available to all students of AIT but council members
have priority in its usage. Students who wish to use such facilities must inform the
council addressed to the Chairperson stating the intent of its usage. Organizations
and individuals who wish to use the office shall only be allowed if at least one council
member is present in the office.
3. Each committee is entitled to use the council office in holding their meetings. Each
council member is highly encouraged to stay at the office.
4. Littering inside the office is strictly prohibited.
5. There shall be daily cleaners from the council members to maintain the cleanliness
and orderliness inside the council office at all times.
6. Each council member shall be entitled to one duplicate key of the council, one chair,
and one locker. In the absence of available lockers, an area must be allotted for the
personal use of the council members.
7. Other policies on office use may be imposed by the Secretariat Committee, when the
need arises.

RULE XIII ON HANDLING AFFILIATIONS

1. Council members who are resident members of AIT based organizations are highly
encouraged to be inactive in his/her organizations activities for the sake of being
unbiased and for them to focus on AIT SC duties. Participating in campaigns and
advocacies of a council members organization is an exception.
2. Sharing and promoting their organizations publicity materials are limited to personal
social media accounts. Council members are prohibited from posting them on AIT
SC-created online groups.
3. In deciding for proposals from any organization, council members who are affiliated
with that organization forfeit their right to vote.

RULE XIV ON EXTERNAL REPRESENTATION

1. Either the Council Chairperson or Vice Chairperson shall represent the council on
external affairs.
2. If both the Chairperson and the Vice Chairperson are unavailable, they shall appoint
a representative.
3. In the case that an immediate decision has to be made, the representative/s shall
decide for the council.

RULE XV AMENDMENTS TO THESE HOUSE RULES

1. Proposed amendments should be forwarded to the Council Chairperson and Vice-
Chairperson thru the Council Secretary and will then be deliberated in the next GA.
2. Amendments refer to any changes in the house rules except for punctuation,
grammatical, and formatting changes. Rewordings that would not change the
thought and wisdom of those stipulated would not be entertained.
3. The house rules may only be amended or repealed upon garnering two-thirds (2/3)
affirmative votes of the council members present and voting in the GA.



RULE XVI EFFECTIVITY

1. These House Rules shall take effect immediately upon approval of the GA and shall
have precedence over all house rules.
2. Any rule contrary to these House Rules and the Constitution shall be null and void.

















































Effective: 01 May 2014