PHILJAFA Constitution and By-Laws

February 22, 2009

  

CONSTITUTION AND BY-LAWS

OF THE PHILIPPINE-JAPAN FELLOWS ASSOCIATION

IN THE AUTONOMOUS REGION IN MUSLIM MINDANAO (PHILJAFA-ARMM)

  

PREAMBLE

 

In the name of the Almighty God, we, participants of the various Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) training programs conducted in Japan bonded together in common purpose, cognizant of the need to establish and maintain a strong linkage among ourselves and to foster closer Filipino – Japanese relations, do hereby ordain and promulgate this Constitution and By-Laws.

  

ARTICLE I

 

NAME AND OFFICE

 

Section 1. The name of the association shall be Philippine-Japan Fellows

                    Association in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao or

                     PHILJAFA-ARMM.

 

Section 2. The Association shall have its main office at the DOH-ARMM Regional

                      Training Center, ARMM Complex, Cotabato City.

  

ARTICLE II

 

MEMBERSHIP

 

Section 1.  The qualification/requirements for membership in the Association shall

                       be as follows:

 

i)              Any participant in a JICA-Sponsored training/studies/ programs who haS successfully completed the same  shall be eligible for membership.

ii)             To become a regular member (per preceding paragraph) one shall be required to fill up the prescribed membership form.

iii)            There shall be a membership fee of Three Hundred Pesos (P300.00) and an annual due of Three Hundred Pesos (P300.00) for each member of the Association.

iv)           Any regular member of good standing as determined by the Board of Trustees shall  be eligible for life membership upon payment of three thousand pesos (P3,000.00).

v)            Any non-member who has contributed significantly in the attainment of the goals and objectives of the Association as determined by the Board of Trustees may be accepted as honorary member.

 

Section 2        Chapter Membership. Any group of regular member of not less than

             twenty (20) members in a particular province may organize a Chapter

             and affiliate with the Association subject to the approval of the Board

             of Trustees.

      

ARTICLE III

 

BOARD OF TRUSTEES

 

Section 1.       The association shall be governed by a Board of Trustees composed of

                          seven (7) regular members.

 

ARTICLE IV

 

OFFICERS

 

Section 1.       The officers of the Association shall consist of the following:

 

a)            President

b)            Vice President

c)            Secretary

d)            Treasurer

e)            Auditor

f)             Public Relation Officer

  

Section 2.       Officers shall be elected from among the members of the Board of

            Trustees. Provided, however, that the President may appoint the

            Secretary and the Treasurer who are not necessarily members of the

            Board but shall not have the right to vote.

      

ARTICLE V

 

POWERS AND FUNCTIONS OF THE OFFICERS

  

Section 1.       The President shall be the Chief Executive Officer of the Association.

             The President shall preside over all meetings of the Association and

             Board of trustees, execute and enforce all the rules and regulations

             promulgated; appoint officer pro-tempore and all committee members

             not provided for; countersign all disbursement made by the Treasurer,

             and perform such other duties as are inherent to the position of the

             Chief Executive officer.

 

Section 2.       The Vice President shall perform the duties of the President incase of

             the latter’s absence, and shall automatically become temporary

             President. Incase of disability, incapacity,  resignation or death of the

             president, the vice-president shall succeed.

 

Section 3.       The Secretary shall keep records of the minutes and proceedings of the

             Board and the Association, serve notices, prepare annual reports of the

             President, and perform such duties as may be assigned by the Chair of

             the Board.

  

Section 4.       The Treasurer shall be the custodian of funds of the Association.

            He/she shall collect fees and make disbursements. He/she shall render

            a financial accounting to the Association at its General Assembly

            meeting every year.

 

Section 5.       The Auditor shall audit all income and expenditures of the Association.

 

Section 6.       The Public relation officer shall coordinate with individuals and/or

             groups interested to join PHILJAFA as members or Chapters,

             respectively. He/She shall provide information that shall promote the

             interest and welfare of the Association.

   

ARTICLE VI

 

MEETING AND ELECTION

 

Section 1.       The Board shall hold quarterly meetings; however, special meetings

             may be called upon by the President as the need arises, or upon written

             request of at least four (4) members of the Board or at least the

             majority of the regular members.

 

Section 2.       The election of the officers shall take place on the 1^st Monday of April

 during the annual General Assembly; provided, however, that if the

Association fails to meet on the date herein prescribed, the officers shall continue to hold office until their successors shall have been elected and qualified in the next special or regular general meeting when the election shall be held.

 

Section 3.       A quorum for any general assembly of the Association shall be the

                        equivalent of three-fourth or 75 percent of  the total number of regular

                        members.

 

Section 4.       Voting shall be done in secret ballot and there shall be no voting by

                        proxy.

 

ARTICLE VII

 

PERMANENT OFFICES

 

Section I         The following shall be the permanent offices of the Association, with

             their corresponding responsibilities:

 

i)              Coordinating Offices which shall cover (a) General Affairs to handle the revision of By-Laws, as necessary, provision of pre-departure orientation seminar for participants; (b) Public Relations to conduct public awareness workshops for JICA related activities, handle press release for JICA activities, establishment and maintenance of database of ex-participants, operation of the PHILJAFA-ARMM library and management of cultural exchange programs; and (c) Overall Coordination to liaise with JICA Philippine office, PHILJAFA and the ex-participants.

 

ii)             Technical Support Group which shall be composed of the following sub-groups: (a) governance; (b) economic; (c) social; and (d) infrastructure. The Technical Support Group shall be responsible for information sharing, dissemination of lessons learned, consultation on various related topics, research activities and feedback on JICA strategic position papers.

 

Section 2.       Each sub-group shall be composed of a Chairperson and Co- Chairperson and members who have attended training programs focused on the sub-sectors mentioned under Section 1.1 above.

  

ARTICLE VIII

 

AMENDMENTS

 

Section I.        The Constitution may be amended, whenever necessary, during a general assembly called for the purpose.

 

Section 2.       The preceding section may be initiated by any regular member of the

                         association provided that the proposed amendment/s shall be coursed

 through the Board of Trustees who shall undertake further study as to

the merits of the same. Upon approval of the Board of Trustees, the

Secretary shall send copies thereof to all members of the association at

least thirty (30) days prior to the conduct of the  General Assembly.

      

ARTICLE IX

 

EFFECTIVITY

 

Section 1.        This Constitution and By-Laws shall become effective and operational immediately upon its ratification.

 

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            This is to certify that this Constitution and By-Laws was finalized and ratified during the PhilJaFA Annual Consultative Meeting held at Sardonyx Plaza on February 18, 2009.

  

Alia Raida A. Macaumbos

Acting Secretary