BYLAWS, ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE AND ADMINISTRATIVE MANUAL
Filomena Santiago-San Juan, M.D.
When the society was first organized on October 30, 1984, the Board of Directors headed by then president Dr. Luciano SJ Sotto endeavored to register the organization with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The group submitted the Articles of Incorporation on April 18, 1985. This included the name “The Society of Gynecologic Oncologists of the Philippines, Inc”, the seven main objectives, a term of fifty (50) years for the corporation and the 10 incorporators. It was approved by SEC on April 30, 1985.
Almost a decade later, an amendment was submitted by the society on October 20, 1994. A standard “SEC-Express Lane By-Laws (nonstock)” was proposed which was approved by the SEC on February 20, 1995. The bylaws included provisions for the meetings, board of trustees, rules on membership and funds.
Between 1996 to 2002, a more complete and mature bylaws were formulated. The articles included 1) the name as just “Society of Gynecologic Oncologists of the Philippines; 2) office ; 3) objectives; 4) membership (categories, requirement, duties and sanctions; 5) functions of the Board of Directors; 6) identification of standing committees and its functions; 7) rules on the meetings, elections and dues. The bylaws of the Philippine Board of Gynecologic Oncology (PBGO) were also included. This bylaw before 2003 was the foundation for all the amendments that were introduced in 2003, 2005, 2009 and 2016. The amendments from 2003 to 2009 were minor but were approved by the body during the general membership meeting. These were not forwarded to the Securities and Exchange Commission and therefore considered unofficial.
On November 20, 2007, the society was approved to become a foundation. From then on, it became the “Society of Gynecologic Oncologists of the Philippines Foundation, Inc.”
In 2016, Dr. Filomena S. San Juan as chair together with the members of the Committee on Amendments, and conferring with a legal consultant engaged a major review of the bylaws using the 1995 bylaw as baseline. Many of the amendments adopted in 2003, 2005 and 2009 were incorporated. The 2016 bylaws expounded on 1) the duties and responsibilities of the officers; 2) limited the term of office of the Board of trustees to 1 year; 3) defined the various categories and rules of meetings and voting. This has been submitted for approval to the SEC.
In 2017, to formalize the functions of the officers and of all the working committees and subcommittees (standing, presidential and constitutional) as well as the policies concerning the day to day activities of the society, an administrative manual is prepared by the Committee on Organizational Structure and Administrative Manual headed by Dr. Filomena San Juan. New presidential committees are created. These include Finance, Audit, National Affairs, International Linkage, Legislation, Library and Archive. Job assignment and task distribution are likewise defined. A provisional organizational structure of the Society is also devised.
These 2016 and 2017 modifications are definitely organizational milestones for the society. We have evolved to professionalize our organization into one that adheres to the corporate set up, code and protocol.