Ongoing USG Plebiscite could be unconstitutional, Judiciary grants T.R.O.

The University Student Government (USG) Judiciary branch temporarily cancelled the ongoing plebiscite on the revisions of the USG constitution. This move is in light of the petition for certiorari and prohibition filed by two concerned Lasallians who requested that the plebiscite be declared unconstitutional.

Lack of information about the rationale behind the plebiscite is the main reason that led to the students filing for the petition. As stated in the complaint letter, the proposed revisions were only finalized early this academic year and this left many students clueless of the ongoing revision efforts. The USG then conducted a townhall meeting regarding the revisions only a week before the plebiscite at DLSU, and on the first day of voting at the Science and Technology Complex. In addition, the turnout of students in the aforementioned meetings were dismal. Today, November 5, was supposed to be the third day of voting, but the sudden turn of events required all plebiscite-related activities to be discontinued.

It was in 2009 when the constitution currently in place was last updated. The changing needs of the different USG units and their constituents created a clamor for the constitution provisions to be revised. Since last academic year, USG officers have been working on the revisions.

The efforts to update the constitution was received positively by the different USG units, but the revisions couldn’t be immediately implemented without students’ consent. The cancelled plebiscite should have been the proper avenue where students were asked to vote for or against the constitution update.

Members of the Judiciary are still in the process of finalizing the other details of the plebiscite cancellation. The elected officers expected to answer the complaint letter are USG President Carlo Innocencio and Chief Legislator Patrick Kahn.

With reports from Binky Suarez