The University Student Government’s (USG) Legislative Assembly (LA) celebrated a historic feat last December 6, as they held their first-ever session at the Laguna Campus. The LA representatives gathered to deliberate on a series of proposals on the legislative process and regulations for the assembly’s internal governance.
LA in Laguna
Chief Legislator Willem de Castro commended the entire body in his opening remarks for the progress made by the LA during the first term of the academic year. De Castro highlighted key achievements, including the restructuring of the Laguna Campus Student Government (LCSG) and the conclusion of constitutional amendment deliberations.
Dubbing the Laguna Campus their “second home”, de Castro shared his belief that the meeting will serve as “the beginning to more collaborations and sessions in this campus”.
Minority Floor Leader Neal Gonzales, who was unable to attend the meeting and relayed his message in advance, also praised the headways made by the Assembly and conveyed his wishes for further collaborations with the Laguna Campus as a united body.
Majority Floor Leader Maegan Ragudo similarly highlighted their successful developments in the past term and hoped for a “more fruitful” partnership with the entire Assembly. “I’m looking forward to more LA sessions in Laguna. We don’t really want you guys to feel na dahil nasa [Manila campus] karamihan ng [LA representatives], doon lang mangyayari yung LA sessions,” she said.
(We don’t really want you guys to feel that just because the majority of the [LA representatives] are in the [Manila campus], the LA sessions will always be held there.)
In her privilege speech, Laguna Campus LA Representative Michelle Gelvoleo said she appreciates the LA’s decision to hold a session in the Laguna Campus to acknowledge that they have constituents there.
“It has been every LCSG LA Representative’s dream to witness an LA session here in Laguna Campus, and I hope there will be more LA sessions to come where the venue is set here,” she affirmed.
Gelvoleo also delved into the proposed integration of the USG and LCSG constitutions. She reminded the student body of the Laguna Campus of their crucial role in the plebiscite.
Additionally, she highlighted the plebiscite’s capability to help build a more organized LCSG, as the revised constitution would introduce new positions, such as the Campus Secretary and the Campus Treasurer. These, she believed, will resolve problems encountered by the LCSG in preparing documentation reports and organizing fundraising activities.
“This is our call for change, this is our call for a better student government,” Gelvoleo declared.
Committee Chairpersons EXCEL2021 Batch Representative Katkat Ignacio of the Students’ Rights and Welfare Committee, CATCH2T21 Batch Representative Jaime Pastor of the Rules and Policies Committee, and 72nd ENG Batch Representative Ethan Rupisan of the National Affairs Committee also introduced their respective committees to members of the Laguna campus to shed light on their role in handling legislations and resolutions.
Improving the legislative process
The assembly then convened to finalize improvements to the existing legislative process in two resolutions, both authored by Ignacio, Pastor, and Rupisan.
The first resolution called for the addition of Resolution No. 2019-09, which was approved in a session held last October 9, into the LA Manual to formally integrate it into the legislative process. Resolution No. 2019-09, originally authored by 73rd ENG Batch Representative Alfonso Claros and CATCHT2T22 Batch Representative Shannon Ho, called for the transmission of approved LA resolutions to the USG Office of the President (OPRES) and outlined veto powers for the USG President.
The second resolution, meanwhile, sought to require LA members to transmit their resolutions to the LA committee it falls under before it is deliberated on during sessions. The resolution called for the rule’s integration into the LA’s Supplementary Guidelines and Rules of Internal Governance, along with the provisions from Resolution No. 2019-09.
Both resolutions were approved by the LA representatives.
