The University Student Government (USG) Legislative Assembly (LA) held another regular session last June 3 at the Emilio Yap Jr. Case Room. Discussed during the session were an open letter for the newly proclaimed winners of the May 9 national and local elections, and two resolutions regarding the application and qualification of USG Judiciary magistrates, as well as the manner of identifying the batch student government’s vice president.
On USG Judiciary Magistrates
The session’s second agenda allowed for the floor to deliberate on a resolution regarding application and qualifications of USG Judiciary magistrates. In recent years, the USG Judiciary had problems in completing its bench, having experienced difficulty in recruiting new magistrates.
Chief Magistrate JC Santos admitted that the branch has found it difficult to find applicants interested in and qualified for the said positions. To remedy the problem, the LA sought to enact a new resolution to revise a previous resolution (“Resolution Calling for the Approval of the Qualifications and Application Process of Magistrates of the University Student Government”) approved in 2009. The 2009 resolution states that applicants for the positions “must come from the college he/she wishes to represent.”
According to Chief Legislator Patrick Alcantara, the rationale behind the new resolution is to fill the remaining vacant slots for magistrates for the branch “to achieve its full potential and capacity.”
Santos suggested that the removal of the restriction will encourage more aspirants to apply regardless of the college they come from. He pointed out that while he could not forecast a complete magistrate bench within a year, he believes that the move will open opportunities to accept more applicants from the same college.
On the issue of equal representation, Alcantara said that the problem of completing the bench should be given priority as it affects the performance and effectivity of the Judiciary branch as a whole. He later on assured that equal representation will not be disregarded as the resolution will still uphold the required number of magistrates, which is eight. This is so that a complete set of magistrates instead of just a limited number can decide on cases. If needed, an appointment to a magistrate to a certain college shall be done.
The resolution was later approved. The USG Judiciary and Executive Committee will spearhead the application process.
Open letter for newly elected officials
The LA session commenced with a discussion on the release of an open letter for the recently proclaimed winners of the May 9 polls. More than congratulating the proclaimed winners, the open letter expresses the Lasallian community’s sentiments for the development of the educational system in the country.
Majority Floor Leader Jorge Francisco stressed that the letter should emphasize education as the top priority issue and that elected officials should find initiatives to improve the current status quo. The resolution was approved.
On identifying a batch student government’s vice president
The LA also discussed a resolution regarding the manner of identifying the vice president in a batch student government. Alcantara shed light upon a grey area in the USG Constitution that leaves the identification of the vice president unknown. One theory, Alcantara said, is that the drafters of the Constitution patterned the current format to that of the old Student Council.
Francisco countered that the creation of a resolution that would enable other means of identifying the batch vice president instead of an election would require lengthy research, and thus there would be no time to amend the provision. The LA then agreed to stick to the current format and postpone the creation of the said resolution.
