The lack of an active Judiciary branch and a manifesto on the recent call for reinstating death penalty were just some of the major issues tackled by the Legislative Assembly (LA) during their session last July 26 at the USG Session Hall. Representatives have failed to deliberate on a series of resolutions in the past weeks after falling short of quorum for their prior meetings.
Assembly members also deliberated on further matters including practicum checklists for the College of Science (COS), and agenda left over from previous sessions including a manifesto on defective traffic lights and the LA Vault.
Where are the magistrates?
Legislators discussed the apparent absence of the Judiciary branch, with Chief Legislator Stella Santos clarifying that they remain existent, but rendered incapacitated due to the lack of officials needed to form a quorum. There are no sitting magistrates as appointments have failed to push through for the past academic year.
She stressed that the lack of one branch hampers the USG as a whole, causing delays in processes such as reforms in the grievance process and revisions for the student handbook.
Santos also emphasized that their absence has prevented cases from being filed and processed, noting, “Kaya nga walang nai-impeach ngayon; kasi walang magistrate.”
(That is why no one is being impeached right now; because there are no magistrates.)
Nevertheless, she remained positive on the full comeback of the Judiciary by next term.
On Duterte’s call for death penalty
During his State of the Nation Address last July 22, President Rodrigo Duterte told Congress to reinstate the death penalty. In response, FOCUS2017 representative Marco Zulaybar, BLAZE2019 representative CJ Merin, and EXCEL2021 Representative Jocef Ocampo drafted a proposed manifesto expressing concerns over Duterte’s declaration.
“Although the point of President Duterte’s reimposition of capital punishment is retribution, such a thing cannot happen for an innocent life,” Ocampo declared.
He further stressed the issue of wrongful convictions, describing the case of Cameron Willingham, an American man whose execution in 2004 became controversial after investigations revealed multiple irregularities in his trial. The EXCEL2021 representative declared, “We are not ready to handle such an irreversible process because of our [judicial] system that is not flawless.”
FAST2018 Krisvin Briones suggested, however, that the proponents draw historical basis from the Philippines to make the manifesto more pertinent. Upon approval of the assembly members, the manifesto was amended, citing instead the Supreme Court’s decision in 2004 that showed a 71.77 percent judicial error rate for death penalty cases.
Satisfied, the representatives unanimously voted in favor of the manifesto’s approval and prompt release.
Addressing potential risks
CATCH2T22 Representative Gabriel Minamedez disclosed that he and Ocampo, his fellow proponent, conducted a survey regarding the defective traffic lights located on Estrada St. and Ocampo St., accumulating more than 30 respondents. The results of the survey showed resounding support to take the matter to the office of Manila City Mayor Isko Moreno.
Armed with footage of the said areas, Ocampo pointed out how pedestrians would simultaneously walk past the road due to the traffic light in Estrada St. failing to work. The EXCEL2021 representative also described how cars driving along Ocampo St. would speed down the road even with the pedestrian light being green.
“It’s (the traffic lights) dysfunctional and unsafe for people who cross the street,” Ocampo argued.
Hence, legislators elected to release the manifesto with all representatives voting in favor.
For future LA
The LA then tackled the establishment of the LA Vault—a Google Drive that plans to house resolutions deemed essential based on guidelines set by the LA—with proponents Briones and Ocampo discussing the changes in their resolution. Briones emphasized how their planned guidelines will be able to secure the entry of essential and significant resolutions.
Stating the benefits of the aforementioned resolution, Ocampo suggested, “If we have this, we can actually put some [resolutions] that we think are timely for our batch that are important or significant so we can pass it on to the next LAs.”
Ocampo mentioned that the lack of meetings often resulted in the failure to pass significant resolutions. He proposed that by keeping unfinished resolutions in the LA Vault, they might be passed by the next batches of representatives.
The resolution was passed as all 13 representatives present voted in favor of the resolution, despite concerns raised by the assembly regarding the LA Vault’s succession of accessibility and the extent of availability of old LA resolutions.
Practicum checklist institutionalization
Zulaybar, accompanied by FOCUS2018 representative Nikhil Santwani, and FOCUS2016 representative Jiaan Santos presented their proposed resolution for practicum checklists for COS. The latter explained that each collegiate department has different procedures for accomplishing practicum requirements, causing confusion among students.
Albeit, Zulaybar shared that the checklist system implemented in the college’s Biology Department enabled students to more promptly accomplish practicum requirements. Such was not the case for the Mathematics and Chemistry departments, as Zulaybar noted frequent complaints over their processes.
The proponents clarified that information regarding the checklist system would be publicized through the USG’s online channels.
The resolution was passed with all representatives present voting in favor.
