CASS Gov raises gender-affirming concerns in Consultative Meeting with Sen. Aquino

Report by Jayane Leslie Feliciano and Joaquin Umali / JM Magday

Students and Administrators from various colleges attended and raised concerns in a consultative meeting with Senator Paolo Benigno “Bam” Aquino hosted by Tarlac State University (TSU) held in the Main Audio Visual Room, last July 15, 2025.

Additionally, Student leaders led the conversation, raising student-related concerns including miscellaneous fees and gender-affirming attires.

CASS Governor Clarise Ann Dacanay inquired the Senator about the potential steps in creating a law allowing students the right towards a gender-inclusive dress code within universities, noting the timely use of gender-specific attire within TSU's ongoing graduation rites.

"The admin and the student leaders po, we have consultations naman regarding this, but I don't think tolerance is a step towards inclusivity," she expressed.

Although Senator Aquino agreed that students should not be prescribed what to wear, he explained that the University has its own set of rules and standards.

Meanwhile, TSU Board of Reagent Member Hon. Dennis Norman Go cited that parents, certain staff, and other members of the TSU community are still conservative in regards to the topic of gender-inclusive attire.

"Sa nine years kong naka-upo as reagent, nine years na rin itong napag-uusapan…Kaya ang ginagawa na lang natin ay gradual [change] na lang," Hon. Go said.

Hon. Go also explained that certain amendments must be made to the TSU manual in order to uplift revision of standards in the University's dress code.

Moreover, a student leader representive from the Linguistic Society also took stage to ask Senator Aquino for a potential re-evaluation of the retention policy system within the University as this poses a heavy toll for those who fail to meet the given requirement.

Senator Aquino responded that such requirements are understandable for specific programs, especially for board courses.

"Kung fairly given out naman siya [grades], personally, I don't find anything wrong with grade requirements for certain courses," Senator Aquino said.

Furthermore, he explained that there would only be an issue if an alarming number of students reaching a 50-80% range were removed from their courses due to the retention policies.

"If hindi naman ganoon ka-grabe ang natatanggal, as student leaders, let's help our classmates to maintain the grade requirement," he added.

The dialogue also tackled concerns about the University's lack of proper resources and budget for better accommodation of student slots, facilities, the eventual abolishment of the opt-to-pay mechanism, and other relevant topics.

The panel consisted of Senator Aquino; Former Capas Mayor, Hon. Reynaldo Catacutan; TSU Board of Reagent member, Hon. Dennis Norman Go; TSU President Dr. Arnold Velasco; Vice President on Academic Affairs, Dr. Agnes Macaraeg; and Vice President on Administration and Finance, Atty. Wilmark Ramos.

The event was attended by student leaders, college deans and associate deans, non-teaching staff, and invited staff of Senator Aquino.

The consultative meeting aimed to provide a dialogue to further improve academic programs in the University by collecting narratives and queries from students and staff as well as gain insights from Senator Aquino as the pioneer for free education within state universities.