The Legislative Assembly (LA) unanimously declared ex-National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) Spokesperson Lorraine Badoy as persona non grata and passed the extension of incumbent University Student Government (USG) officers until the end of Term 1 of Academic Year (AY) 2022-2023.
Meanwhile, LA also planned for the incoming USG elections in the ninth special LA session, which was held online via Zoom last Wednesday, September 28, to ensure everyone’s safety in the aftermath of Typhoon Karding.
Badoy declared persona non grata
The LA agreed to declare Badoy as persona non grata by the DLSU USG, prohibiting her from taking part in “any and all activities, programs, and initiatives” by the USG.
“We don’t necessarily have the jurisdiction outside of the things I have mentioned, but what we can do is to ensure that we don’t allow [Badoy] to discredit the principles that the USG was built on, and that starts with prohibiting her from taking part [in] matters concerning DLSU USG,” Chief Legislator Francis Loja told The LaSallian when asked about the extent of Badoy’s restraint. This came as a response to her calling out the USG for encouraging Lasallians to wear black clothes on the 50th Martial Law anniversary on September 21 and associating them with communist groups.
EXCEL2022 Batch Legislator and Minority Floor Leader Aeneas DR Hernandez, the proponent of the bill, stated that public access to the contents of the bill will be limited to prevent further attacks on the USG. The bill was also endorsed by the LA Committee on National Affairs with Hernandez abstaining from signing the endorsement in order to avoid potential conflicts of interest.
Prepping for F2F USG elections
The call for amendments to the Omnibus Election Code was raised to adjust to the incoming face-to-face election setup. BLAZE2024 Batch Legislator Raphael Hari-Ong shared that upon consultation with the DLSU Commission on Elections (Comelec), the proponents decided to include that candidates should seek approval and authorization of physical and room-to-room campaigning from Comelec, Student Leadership Involvement, Formation and Empowerment Office, and other necessary offices.
Failure to comply with such mandates would attribute a major offense to the concerned candidate and a minor offense to their political party.
Additionally, CATCH2T25 Batch Legislator Sebastian Diaz highlighted that voters’ credentials will be sent to their emails 48 hours before the voting period, giving Comelec ample time to address discrepancies and fix possible technical difficulties.
Hari-Ong also explained that students who cannot access the voting website will be redirected to an “online backup ballot via Google Forms.” The backup ballot will only cater to those having trouble with their voting credentials.
Comelec Chairperson Vincent Magsalin, who was present for the session, explained that candidates should resign from their respective executive boards to be deemed eligible to run for office, responding to FAST2020 Batch Legislator Ashley Francisco’s queries on the process should executive board members of organizations under the Council of Student Organizations run for USG elections.
However, CSO Vice Chairperson for Internals Ronald Pandato said that a resignation would not be necessary. “It is advised lang na you should take a [leave of absence], but there’s no part of it na you should resign if you’re running for a position in [the] USG.”
Incumbent USG officers extended
The LA unanimously approved amendments on Legislative Assembly Act 2021-18, which extends the USG officers’ term until the end of Term 1 of AY 2022-2023.
The act also provides that USG officers who decide to resign from their posts should be the ones to find a replacement officer before the end of the term.
