LA deliberates on Marcos burial and recent Davao blast

The University Student Government (USG) Legislative Assembly (LA) held its second regular session for the academic year last September 16 at A1206. During the session, the floor discussed the release of manifestos on the burial of Ferdinand Marcos at the Libingan ng Mga Bayani (LNMB) and on the recent Davao blast incident. The agenda was in line with the proposal first raised by the Minority Floor during the previous session to pass a resolution calling for a manifesto on the said national issues.

The session started with the announcement of the committee memberships in the LA. However, voting for committee chairs was postponed to a later date.

Minority Floor Leader Hiraya Mendez and EXCEL2017 LA representative Nicole Cruz then discussed the resolution on the burial of Marcos at the LNMB. Mendez and Cruz expressed that it is not right for Marcos to be buried at the LNMB. They emphasized their disapproval of the burial throughout the discussion.

“We condemn the decision of the burial of Marcos at the [LNMB.] As an academic institution, we cannot just let these atrocities fly by and let the former president, a human rights violator, a thief, a liar, be buried where he does not deserve to be,” Cruz voiced out.

On the other hand, the Majority Floor communicated that the resolution needed further data to support it. The LA representatives agreed to gather at least 400 respondents for a survey to ensure that the students’ opinion could be heard on the matter. With 10 voting for and 9 voting against, the resolution was laid on the table.

Afterwards, BLAZE2017 LA Representative Tatsuya Sato, 68th ENG LA Representative Hannah Tuason, and 70th ENG LA Representative Nina Lagera opened the discussion on the resolution on the recent Davao blast incident. The proponents highlighted the campaign for peace following the incident. The resolution also stressed the sympathy of the Lasallian community for those affected by the incident.

The resolution was approved with a unanimous vote from all 19 members present during the session. The manifesto was released online on September 18.

The LA will meet again on September 19 to continue discussing the resolution on the Marcos burial.