AICAP

CONSTITUTION
of the
ADVENTIST INTER-COLLEGIATE ASSOCIATION OF THE PHILIPPINES

PREAMBLE

We, the members of the Adventist Inter-Collegiate Association of the Philippines

(AICAP), imploring the aid of the Divine Providence, in order to unify the student body
organizations in all Adventist tertiary schools in the Philippines that shall serve as
catalyst for dynamic change and the holistic development of the individual, the academe,
the church, and the society; for us to instill and exemplify in the exercise of our duties
and privileges a sense of commitment and dedication, do hereby ordain and promulgate
this Constitution.

ARTICLE I
NAME AND OBJECTIVES

Section 1: The name of the Association shall be Adventist Inter-Collegiate Association

of the Philippines (AICAP) which shall be used in all its official business and
activities.

Section 2: AICAP shall hold office at the institution where the elected chair is affiliated
unless otherwise designated and approved by the Council of Presidents as the
need arises.

Section 3: The Objectives of the Association are:

3.1 To promote and stimulate the exchange of ideas and experiences in youth
development through national conventions, seminar workshops, colloquia and
meetings;
3.2 To put an information network that will unify the student body organizations;
3.3 To provide, in particular, the means for improving the expertise of the
members through leadership trainings, inter-scholastic activities, writer’s
workshops, exchange programs, medical missions, evangelistic efforts,
environmental campaigns, religious conventions, youth for a, sports festivals,
and such other programs as the Association may deem appropriate.
 ARTICLE II
MEMBERSHIP

Section 1: The members of the AICAP are categorized as institutional and honorary in
which the former is composed of SBO of colleges and universities owned and
operated by SDA.
Section 2: An institutional member and its enrollees is a CHED and/or TESDA
recognize school which has participated in at least three (3) consecutive
national convention of the AICAP and which pays its annual dues as defined
in this Constitution.
Section 3: An honorary member is a person, duly recognized via invitation by virtue of
certain qualifications valued by the Association as contributing to its cause
such as his/her expertise in his/her chosen field of profession and his/her
significant contribution/s to society.

ARTICLE III
CHARTER MEMBERS

Section 1. A charter member is an institutional member present at the formation of the

Association and affixes its membership on the agreed covenant through the
signatures of its Student Body Organizations.

Section 2. Charter members shall have first priority to serve as Chair of the Council of
Presidents on a rotation basis until all of them shall have served as such.
Thereafter, any new AICAP member may be eligible to serve as Chair of the
Council of Presidents.

ARTICLE IV
RIGHTS AND PRIVILEGES

Section 1: Institutional Members

1.1 An institutional member has the right to attend and participate in all the
activities of the Association;
1.2 An institutional member shall enjoy the right to express its opinion in matters
affecting it and the Association.

Section 2: Honorary Members

2.1 Every honorary member has the right to attend and participate in the activities
as deemed necessary by the Association
2.2 An honorary member shall enjoy the right to express his/her opinions on
matters affecting the Association through appropriate communication
channels
2.3 An honorary member has the privilege of advising
the Association
 2.4 An honorary member who is an elected member of the Board of Advisers may
enjoy and exercise the rights given to the Board of Advisers as stipulated in
Article XIV, Sec. 4

ARTICLE V
DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Section 1: Every institutional member is required to pay its membership fee and other
dues as prescribed by the Constitution

Section 2: Every member shall promote the Association’s objectives

Section 3: Every member shall be involved actively in all the Association’s activities

Section 4: Every member shall uphold the highest ethical standard in the performance of
his/her duties

ARTICLE VI
MEMBERSHIP FEES AND DUES

Section 1. Membership fees are payments for membership in the Association

Section 2. Dues are payment for retention of membership in the Association

Section 3. Amount of membership fee is P50.00/semester as decided upon by the

participants of the First National Leader’s Summit held at MSH-CMAFI,
Iligan City.

Section 4. Membership fees and dues are included in the general fees of the students of
their respective institutions and it shall be known as the AICAP Fee.

ARTICLE VII
THE COUNCIL OF PRESIDENTS

Section 1. The council of Presidents (herein referred to as the COP) is the highest
governing body of the Association which shall comprise all duly elected
presidents of Student Body Organizations of the institutional members.

Section 2. The distribution of the members of the COP shall be based on institutional
memberships.

Section 3. The chair of the COP should be a Seventh-day Adventist in good standing.
Section 4. He/She must be the incumbent officer of the Student Body Organization
which he/she represents.

Section 5. The position of the chair shall be rotated annually among the charter
institutional members present during the signing of the covenant. The order
of the rotation shall be determined during the first national summit of leaders
of various student organizations which are charter members of the AICAP.

Section 6. The COP shall immediately convene every first week of July to elect among
themselves the: Treasurer, Secretary, Academic Affairs Director, Religious
Affairs Director, Social Affairs Director, External Affairs Director, and
Communications Director. (see Article IX, Sec. 7).

Section 7. The COP, Sitting en banc, shall have the following powers to:
7.1 promulgate policies, rules, and shall have the following powers to:
7.2 plan and organize activities of the Association
7.3 recognize and accredit institutional members of the Association
7.4 enter into contract for and in behalf of the Association
7.5 ac as guardian of funds and custodian of property of the Assocaition
7.6 appropriate funds for all Association’s activities
7.7 decide with finality cases of impeachment of any officer of the Association
7.8 observe quorum in all meetings and decisions of the Association
7.9 perform other duties and functions as deemed necessary by the COP

Section 8. An individual COP Member automatically loses his/.her seat if he/she is no

longer connected with the school of an institutional member who occupies the
second highest position in the institution’s Student Body Organization.

Section 9. In case of unavoidable circumstances, the SBO President reserves the right to
and a representative in his behalf but without the power to vote.

Section 10. A simple majority (50% + 1) of the COP shall constitute a quorum; two-
thirds (2/3) of those present are required to decide matters.

ARTICLES VIII
DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE COUNCIL OF PRESIDENTS

Section 1: The members of the COP shall have the following duties and responsibilities
to:
1.1 attend all regular and special meetings;
1.2 act expeditiously on matters requiring actions and decisions of the COP;
1.3 attend and participate in all conventions, seminars-workshops, conferences
and other activities of the Association;
1.4 act as custodian of all properties of the Association;
 1.5 be accountable to the general membership.

Section 2: A simple majority (50% + 1) of the COP shall constitute a quorum and two-
thirds of those present are required to decide matters.

ARTICLE IX
POWERS AND FUNCTIONS OF THE OFFICERS

The Executive Officers of the Association shall have the following powers and functions:

Sections 1:The chair shall

1.1 be the executive officer of the Association and shall directly be accountable to
the COP
1.2 preside over all meetings of the Executive Officers and members and carry out
policies, rules and regulations promulgated by the COP
1.3 recommend any appointment in any position, except members of the COP
1.4 create committees as may be deemed necessary to ensure the success of the
Association’s activities
1.5 recommend policies and regulations for adoption of the COP
1.6 be one of the signatories to the disbursement of funds of the COP
1.7 conduct his official functions in complete transparency
1.8 perform such other functions as may be assigned to him by the COP.

Section 2: The Secretary shall

2.1 prepare the agenda of the COP meeting in consultation with the Chair
2.2 record and prepare minutes of the COP meeting and furnish copies of the
same to the members of the COP
2.3 prepare and send letters, notices, and other communications
2.4 keep an accurate and updated record of all activities of the Association
2.5 notify and remind officers and members of the scheduled regular and special
meetings
2.6 be the archivist
2.7 perform such other duties as may be assigned to him by the COP

Section 3: The Treasurer shall

3.1 act as trustee of the Association’s funds
3.2 implement a systematic collection of fees, etc. as prescribed by the By-Laws
3.3 prepare financial reports and submit the same to the Commission on Audit
3.4 be a signatory with the Chair of all disbursements to the Association’s funds
3.5 keep all financial documents such as pass books, income statements, cash
flows
3.6 prepare annual financial reports and present the same to the members of the
Association
3.7 keep an inventory of the properties of the Association
3.8 perform such other duties as may be assigned to him by the COP
Section 4: The Academic Affairs Director shall
4.1 organize academic activities
4.2 perform such other duties as may be assigned to him by the COP

Section 5: The Religious Affairs Director shall

5.1 organize religious activities for the association
5.2 perform such other duties as may be assigned to him by the COP

Section 6: The Social Affairs Director shall

6.1 organize social activities
6.2 perform such other duties as may be assigned to him by the COP

Section 7: The communications Director shall

7.1 ensure the production of the AICAP quarterly electronic journal
7.2 be in charge of the maintenance of the AICAP website and other electronics
media
7.3 prepare press release and keep files thereof
7.4 perform such other duties as may be assigned to him by the COP

Section 8: The External Affairs Director shall

8.1 establish linkages with government and private institutions, industrial
companies, mass media, interconnect with the alumni and other
denominational and international organizations
8.2 organize external activities of the association
8.3 set up environment campaigns
8.4 organize community service programs
8.5 perform such other duties as may be assigned to him by the COP

Section 9: The COP shall hold a meeting every first week of July to establish the new
officers after the rotation of the chair, the venue being the home institution of
the chair or any other place designated by the COP

ARTICLE X
TERM OF OFFICE

Section 1. The position of the chair shall be rotated among the charter members present
during the signing of the covenant for the first round

Section 2. The institutional members of the Council of Presidents shall be elected for
term of one year.

ARTICLE XI
THE AICAP NATIONAL CONVENTION
Section 1: The AICAP National Convention shall be held annually on the home
institution of the chair of the COP or any other place decided upon and
approved by the COP.

Section 2: The main activities to be accomplished during the National Convention are
the ff: presentation and approval of resolutions submitted by individual,
institutional and/ organizational members; presentation and approval of new
individual, institutional and/or organizational members and if deemed
necessary the amendments and ratification of the AICAP Constitution (Article
XVII, Sec. 2); accomplish of reports; presentation of invited honorary
member, lectures, symposia, colloquia and others.

ARTICLE XII
IMPEACHMENT/TERMINMATION OF OFFICE

Section 1. Individual officers of the Association may be impeached on the grounds of

culpable violation of the constitution, malversation of funds, using the name
of the Association in bad faith, bringing disrepute to the name of the
Association, immorality, and related grounds by a 2/3 vote of all the
incumbent officers

Section 2. Any impeachment complaint may be initiated/filed in writing by any member

of the Association in good standing to the Board of Advisers which shall
determine the sufficiency in substance and form thereof

Section 3. Impeachment procedures shall be determined by the COP in accordance with

the generally accepted principles of due process and impeachment
proceedings, and which shall form part of the Association’s Constitution.

Section 4. Membership shall be terminated on grounds stated in Section 1 of this article

ARTICLE XIII
BOARD OF ADVISERS

Section 1. Past members of the COP except those who are disqualified accordance with
Section 10 are automatically honorary members of the Board of Advisers
(BOA) and shall have the right to particular in the meetings of the COP but
without the power to vote.

Section 2. Student Body Organization advisers, one per institution are automatically
institutional members of the BOA.
Section 3. The BOA shall elect a chair from among its members.

Section 4. Honorary members shall be given the privilege to attend the deliberations of
the meetings and has the right to express his/her opinion on matters affecting the
Association but without the power to vote.

Section 5. The BOA shall form the Commission on Audit.

Section 6. The BOA shall form the Grievance Committee

ARTICLE XIV
DUTIES AND FUNCTIONS OF THE CHAIR OF THE BOARD OF ADVISERS

Section 1. The chair shall be elected by a simple majority vote (50% + 1) of the BOA

Section 2. The chair of the board shall be a signatory to the disbursement of funds and all
official letters, documents, and contracts

Section 3. The chair of the board shall hold a term of one year to begin at the same time
as the term of the COP

ARTICLE XV
COMMISSION ON AUDIT

Section 1. The commission on Audit shall consist of four (4) members including an
accountant from an accounting firm duly approved by the BOA

Section 2. The Accountant may come from a designated accounting firm as approved by
the BOA.

ARTICLE XVI
DISPUTE COMMITTEE

Section 1. All disputes arising from the interpretation of this Constitution shall be settled
by the Dispute Committee appointed by the BOA within 15 days from the
time the said dispute has been brought to its attention.

Section 2. The dispute Committee shall be composes of three advisers who will elect its
Chair from among themselves.

Section 3. The adviser of the institutional member who is involved in the dispute shall
inhibit himself/herself from membership in the Dispute Committee.
Section 4. Question/s addressed to the Dispute Committee shall be answered within a
period of two weeks from the time such question/s has/have been raised
before the Dispute Committee by any disputant.

ARTICLE XVII
AMENDATORY PROVISIONS

Section 1. This Constitution shall be amended through the initiative of the COP or a
petition of at lest twenty-five percent (25%) of the COP.

Section 2. The proposed amendment shall be ratified by the majority votes cast in a
plebiscite to be held in any of the national conventions and shall take effect
immediately.

ARTICLE XVIII
EFFECTIVE CLAUSE

Section I. This constitution shall take effect upon the signing of the covenant by the
charter members of the COP by a simple majority vote (50% + 1) of all
members present in the plebiscite called for such purpose.

Section 2. Any policy, rule, and regulation contrary to the provision of this Constitution
shall be considered repealed and inoperative.

Section 3. General provisions of law and jurisprudence shall be applicable in a

suppletory manner.

ARTICLE XIX
TRANSITORY PROVISIONS

Section 1. The Chair of the Council of Presidents and other AICAP officers who shall
serve in the transitory period shall be elected during the first national leader’s
summit that shall be held in MSH-CMAFI, Iligan City on the 22nd day of
December 2006.

Section 2. The Chair of the Council of Presidents who shall serve in the academic year
2007-2008 shall be chosen by the delegates to the first national leader’s
summit. Thereafter, the Chair of the Council of Presidents shall serve on an
annual rotating basis following the mode of selection agreed upon by the same
delegates to the first national leader’s summit.
Section 3. The budget of the transitory period shall be borne out by contributions coming
from the charter members. The amount collected shall be held in trust by the
national institutional member where the incumbent Treasurer is affiliated.