Special Elections suspended, LA and COMELEC hold press con

All activities related to the Special Elections were put on hold today, October 13, on what should have been the second day of campaign period for the elections. Legislative Assembly (LA) Chief Legislator Patrick Kahn and Commission on Elections (COMELEC) Chair Giunell Flores presided over a press conference this afternoon to address the student body.

“We would like to express our complete dissatisfaction that once again we are discussing technical issues when we should be focusing on the right to suffrage for the entire student body,” Kahn commented during the meeting.

Suspension of the elections

The suspension of the Special Elections comes after the University Student Government (USG) Judiciary imposed a temporary restraining order (TRO) on the Special Elections, following the approval of a petition filed to nullify the Special Election Code.

The Special Election Code was approved through Resolution No. 2014-125 by a unanimous vote of the LA during its session last September 4. “Petition for Nullity of the USG Special Election Code approved by Resolution No. 2014-125” was filed by former Office of the President Chief of Staff Cedric Labasan on October 12.

In the petition, Labasan argued that a provision in the USG Special Election Code is in conflict with that of Article 9, Section 2.3 of the USG Constitution, which states that the Vice President for Internal Affairs shall “assume the responsibilities of the President in matters concerning internal affairs if the President is absent or incapacitated or if so directed by the [Executive Board].”

Meanwhile, Article 3, Section 5.1 of the Special Election Code, adopted and passed specifically for use only during the Special Elections, reads: “Should the USG President file for leave of absence in order to run for office, the Chief Magistrate shall take his/her place on the electoral board.”

“Our hierarchy of laws dictate the the USG Constitution shall be the highest form of law within the University,” JC Santos, magistrate for the Ramon V. Del Rosario College of Business (RVR-COB), mentions in an interview with The LaSallian. “As such, all other statutes, resolutions, and jurisprudence should be patterned to not contradict with the USG Constitution,” he adds.

Recap: USG General Elections end with low turnout, worst result in years

During the press con held earlier today, Kahn defended the Special Election Code provision, stating that, “The intention of the LA was to include the Chief Magistrate for complete neutrality purposes. The Electoral Board is not an internal portion of the USG but is rather a quasi-tribunal, which includes the Dean of Student Affairs. The Electoral Board exists to process COMELEC harassment cases, [so] nothing directly relates to the internal procedures of the elections.”

Furthermore, he stated, “[The LA] included the Chief Magistrate as a replacement given the clear intent of [Pram] Menghrajani to run for office.”

Déjà vu — The LA had devised a resolution calling for a Special Elections last March to address the dismal voter turnout in the 2015 GE, a solution that would later on be declared unconstitutional in April.

Motion for reconsideration, defendant’s answer

On the morning of October 13, Chief Legislator Kahn filed a Motion for Reconsideration and Lifting of TRO “given a lack of due process.” Kahn reasoned that in any standard judicial proceeding, before a TRO is put into place, the respondents must receive a copy of the petition. According to him, the Judiciary has not yet provided the LA with a copy of the actual case either from the petitioner or from the Judiciary.

“The LA will take it upon itself together with the [COMELEC] and the University administration to ensure that we come up with a very speedy deliberation on this matter,” Kahn concluded during the press con.

After the press con, the LA, represented by Kahn, submitted its official answer to Labasan’s petition. Kahn argued that the Electoral Board is sui generis or “a class of its own” and is therefore not part of the internal affairs of the USG. “Given its composition including the Dean of Student Affairs, it shows that it is not within the scope of internal affairs matters as contemplated in the Constitution for it is sui generis or a class of its own,” the response states.

Furthermore, Kahn argued that the incumbent Vice President for Internal Affairs Jon Ridge Ong is a signatory of the electoral memorandum of agreement for the Special Elections. “It was a view of the [LA] that it would be necessary to include a participant in the body who would surely not run for the election as a legal safeguard,” reads the response.

The defendant also argued that the petitioner failed to raise the issue at the earliest possible opportunity. Labasan filed the petition on October 12, over a month after the resolution was passed, and the first day of campaigning period for the Special Elections. The defendant went on to state that the petitioner should have brought the issue to the Judiciary even before the campaign period began because there had been ample time to examine the Special Election Code.

Finally, it was argued that assuming the provision regarding the Electoral Board is unconstitutional, the entire Special Election Code should not be declared unconstitutional. In case the TRO will not be lifted, the student body is again disallowed to elect leaders in the USG.

Update (October 13, 9:40 pm):

According to Kahn, the Judiciary has since issued a Status Quo Ante on the Special Elections in response to the LA’s counter-petition. As such, all election-related activities shall resume tomorrow, October 14, the supposed third day of campaigning period.

According to RVR-COB Magistrate Santos, “We found that only the provision pertaining to the electoral board is the only one conflicting with the [USG Constitution]. The mere absence of a separability clause is a sign of incomplete legislation and as such is subject to correction.”

Furthermore, he states, “[The Judiciary] will still pursue with the judicial review but the provision within which the review is centered on shall be the only provision facing this ‛TRO.’”

Update (October 18, 1:00 pm):

The Judiciary has nullified the controversial provision in Article 3 Section 1.5 of the Special Elections code in the Report of Judgements, Advisory Opinions, and Orders of the Judicial Review Regarding the Urgent Motion for Reconsideration and Lifting of the Temporary Restraining Order filed last week.