USC holds Con-Con sessions for USG Constitution draft

To discuss the entirety of the proposed University Student Government (USG) Constitution with the College Student Councils and various administrators under the Office of Student Services, the University Student Council (USC) held Constitutional Convention sessions discussing the articles of the draft USG Constitution, aiming to change the organizational structure and the various functions of the highest student governing body.

As stipulated in Section 2. a. of Article XII, Amendments and Revision of the Constitution, of the 2013 Amended University Student Council Constitution, “a Constitutional Convention (Con-Con) for the purpose of revising the Constitution. Each member coming from the following offices shall be entitled to one vote each: University Student Council Executive Board, College Student Council’s Executive Board, University Student Commission on Election Executive Board, and Office of the Student Services Administrators.”

Draft USG Constitution

Last academic year, USC 2017-2018 attempted to revise the 2013 Amended USC Constitution with a proposed USG Constitution, which was subsequently voted upon “yes” by the DLSU-D student body through a plebiscit. However, due to the “wrong version” of the draft constitution being posted online, the USC then decided to invalidate the results.

This AY, the draft USG constitution was authored by USC Vice President Jason Real and USC Secretary Joshua Ladaga, together with their Adviser Edwin Lineses during the start of AY 2018-2019 last August, and finalized for Con-Con discussion on November.

“We want to expand student inclusivity in all matters sa University, then open the opportunity of student leadership for all, [and] not just for the popular few,” Real explained regarding the reason behind revising the 2013 Amended USC Constitution.

Meanwhile, Ladaga mentioned that they reviewed the draft constitution from last academic year and assessed that certain provisions were “if not ill-defined, vague.” However, he clarified that these has been incorporated in the draft constitution upon making clear on the provisions, along with different consultations with students knowledgeable of the 1987 Philippine Constitution.

As of press time, the USC has conducted six sessions discussing all articles in the draft constitution. Currently, the council is editing on the proposed draft constitution with an indefinite schedule this month for the Adoption Ceremony of the USG Constitution, while a plebiscite is scheduled on the same month.

“We wholeheartedly ask for your support because what we are doing here is not for ourselves, the draft constitution is not for the USC and CSC[s] alone, but for the benefit of the student body,” Ladaga said, as the USC is requesting students to participate and look into the proposed constitution once released to the student body.

Among the provisions out of the 15 articles discussed during the sessions are the Executive, Legislative, and Judiciary Departments, or Articles IV, V, and VI, respectively, that proposes to shift the organizational structure of and to ensure “checks and balances” in the council.