By AC Putong and Kate Giordan Flores
The Senior High School (SHS) was officially excluded from participating in the Silliman University (SU) All-University Intramural Games 2026, as decided last Feb 10 during the Deans’ Conference.
Eleven out of 20 Deans voted “not in favor” due to conflicts with the Grade 12’s fourth quarter exams and the lack of the Intramural Games being reflected in the SHS calendar.
According to Vice President for Academic Affairs and Research (VPAAR) Dr. Lily Ann Bautista, their participation would violate the University’s Student Manual, which requires student activities to be scheduled in the school calendar and prohibits activities during closed weeks.
“It was removed in the Academic Year 2025-2026 [schedule] as they were not supposed to be part of the Intramural games effective [this year]… you will notice that the Intrams schedule is on the schedule for the past AY, versus not for this year,” Bautista said.
Bautista added that approval from DepEd would also be needed, but would require last-minute calendar adjustments to accommodate the approval process.
“The calendar is an official document submitted to DepEd, to change it will require necessary approvals and university actions, [including] moving the [intrams] calendar [by] one [more] week, which will then affect the timeline for graduation,” she furthered.
According to Bautista, the scheduling conflict came as a concern raised by one of the deans during the conference.
A resolution by the Silliman University Student Government (SUSG) requesting the SHS’s reinstatement in the Intramural games and the establishment of participation guidelines was passed and approved during the SUSG’s 8th regular session last Nov. 2025.
The resolution aimed to limit parental interference during the games following last year’s exclusion, and permitted only Grade 11 students to participate, while making Grade 12 participation optional due to their scheduled quarterly exams.
In a statement released by the SUSG last Feb. 12, they stated that adjustments and consultations were already being made in preparation for the SHS’s participation before the Intramurals.
“Among these preparations was the plan to float the idea at the Dean’s Conference for approval. During preparations, the heads of the SUSG stayed in close coordination with the heads of the SUSHS Student Council,” they wrote.
However, they stated that the SUSG Sports and Recreation Committee (SRC) and SHS Student Council were only invited to present on the same day during the dean’s conference, and were only given five minutes to plead their case.
“Due to the abrupt call, the SUSG-SRC were not able to see the message and come on time, leaving the SUSHS Student Council to present and were only given ‘5 minutes’ to plead on the case,” they wrote.
Last Feb. 10, Athletics Department Director Dr. Dionisio Piñero II consulted with the tournament managers to consider inviting SHS as a guest team.
However, Piñero, alongside the tournament managers, upheld the deans’ decision after concerns were raised about the guest participation being “non-bearing,” affecting the pre-planned amount of games against other competing colleges.
“The tournament managers said ‘even if they are a guest [team], still it’s non-bearing’ […] in that way, some colleges might be afraid that their athletes might get injured [during] a non-bearing game,” Piñero affirmed.
Despite the exclusion, SHS performed during the Cheer-Pop Competition as an intermission number last Feb. 21.
Malala gave a brief speech urging the administration to hear the students’ voices, saying that the SHS deserves to be heard for “more than just five minutes.”
The environmental-themed performance was originally intended as their official competition entry.
