The Royal and Pontifical University of Santo Tomas as an institution is committed in the service of the nation. It asserts her public presence of preeminent influence in the global community by taking a proactive stance in social, cultural, and moral advocacies and by assuming a lead role in national and international policy formulation.

In pursuit of truth, guided by reason and illumined by faith, the University dedicates herself to the generation, advancement, formation, and transmission of knowledge to form competent and compassionate policies that are committed to the service of the nation and the global community.

Toward this end, the University will pursue an intensive campaign that will support and promote ethical and evidence-based research, advocacies, and policies that celebrate and protect life, freedom, justice, and solidarity in the service of the family, the local and global communities, and the environment. It will initiate and support policy initiatives that will extend compassion to the poor and the marginalized to raise their quality of life regardless of race, religion, age, and gender.

Pillar 1: An uncompromising adherence to the belief that the primal obligation of the State is the preservation of life and dignity (buhay at dangal) of the human person and that the State’s monopoly of the use of force must be done as the last resort and not as the default response. The State’s exclusive access to the potential use of violence must be embodied with restraint and in the light of corrective measures and dialogue rather than punishment.

Pillar 2: A complete appreciation that the fullness of life in society can only be achieved when there is an absolute appreciation of the sacredness (sanctity) and the inviolability of human rights (karapatang pantao).

Pillar 3: To espouse the ideals of democracy (demokrasya) characterized by inclusive participation, rule of law, equality (political rights, under the law, opportunities, respect), freedom, and universal empowerment. Education takes a crucial role in a functioning democracy since only an informed citizenry can make democracy truly work.

For those who are interested to become part of the pool of experts for the RCSSED- RUU policy review, auditor-applicants shall be guided by the procedure outlined below:

1: Submission of letter of intent and CV with field of specialization (maximum of three) and loding of application documents to rcssedruu@gmail.com. Letter of intent should be addressed to:

Assoc. Prof. Jeremaiah M. Opiniano, Ph.D.

Director

Research Center for Social Sciences and Education

1. 2. Evaluation of documents and clustering of experts
   3. Training and orientation
   4. Confirmation of acceptance as RCSSED-RUU policy auditor

The RUU organizes policy exposition events that bring together policy makers and researchers to dialogue about opportunities to work together toward creating research with meaningful and socially felt implications in the form of local and national policy.