Miguel Tabucao, FOCUS 2016 Legislative Assembly (LA) Representative, was impeached earlier today by the University Student Government (USG) Judiciary on grounds of gross negligence. Tabucao incurred six unapproved absences from LA meetings, an impeachable offense in the USG Constitution.
“He actually already wanted to resign, and so he filed a resignation letter,” LA Chief Legislator Pia Ramin said. “But upon inspection of his records from the minutes of previous LA meetings, we found out that he already incurred six absences. After looking for any excuse letters filed by him, we didn’t find any that supports his absences.”
According to Ramin, the LA sat and discussed his resignation, but ultimately disapproved it. “We actually talked about his resignation, but knowing that he has six unapproved absences, which was way beyond the three strikes required for an impeachment, we disapproved his resignation. We consulted with the judiciary afterwards. Afterwhich, as Chief Legislator, I had to file an impeachment,” she shared.
According to the Chief Legislator, FOCUS 2016’s LA Representative seat will remain vacant, but student representation can still be done through the other batches. “In the USG, we’re not allowed to have proxies or sit-ins. If the seat is vacant, no one can sit in, even the batch’s president and vice president. However, the batch can still be represented through the other LA representatives in the College of Science (COS). The 115 and the 117 batch are still here, and their concerns can be sent through them,” Ramin expressed.
As mandated by the judiciary, Tabucao can no longer run for any USG positions in the future. He is also expected to submit a formal apology through the judiciary, to be published in campus newspapers The LaSallian and Ang Pahayagang Plaridel.
