USG. This is Change. Just the Facts.. its a YES

Understanding the University Student Government (USG)

I. Current Structure of the Student Council (SC)

This is the current structure of the Student Council. There's a legislative body which makes resolutions (or "laws") and the executive body, the one implementing the resolutions and making projects for the students. The VP-Activities and the CSO are coordinating together to prevent redundancies and overlapping of activities by each separate organizations.

II. Proposed Structure of the University Student Government (USG)

This is the PROPOSED USG structure. Besides having a separate legislative and executive body, we now have a judiciary body to do checks and balances on the executive body.

FAQ No. 1: Will CSO be under the VP-Activities in the USG structure?
The answer is NO. Three Points: First, there is no more VP Activities in the USG Structure. What we have is the VP Internals who will handle all activities under the USG. Second, you will see that CSO is NOT in the diagram. In the current structure (see previous diagram), CSO is not even under the SC. The dotted line simply means they are of the same level (i.e. CSO and SC should be coordinating to avoid redundancy in activities). Lastly, in the USG Constitution, it is stated in Art. XXI Sec. 2 that "The CSO shall be an AUTONOMOUS body that may work closely in coordination, in the principle of synergy, with the Vice President for Internal Affairs."

FAQ No. 2: Why is it that the number of Vice Presidents in the Executive Board is reduced from 3 to 2?
There are only two Vice Presidents now so that our Executive Board will be more focused, efficient and effective. All activities to be implemented within DLSU-Manila will be handled by the VP-Internals while all activities that involve organizations outside the university (e.g. establishing external alliances) will be handled by the VP-Externals.

FAQ No. 3: What is the Activities Assembly?
The Activities Assembly (AA) shall be the policy-making arm concerning activities, projects and programs of the USG. Members of the AA plan university-wide student activities, projects and programs and assign departments or ad hoc committees for the implementation of such projects.

FAQ No. 4: Why is there a need for a Judiciary body?
Currently, the legislative body also acts as the judiciary of the SC. Instead of having the role of a law maker only, they are also the ones giving sanctions and judgements among the SC officers, including themselves. In order to remove this overlapping role, the judiciary body will be the one handling the cases for any USG officers.

FAQ No. 5: Why is there one Legislative Assembly Representative (LA Rep) instead of two? Does this mean less representation from my batch?

Having one less LA Rep does not mean less representation, nor having one more LA rep mean more representation (i.e. Should we have 3 LA Reps instead of 2?). The purpose of having one LA Rep is that your batch will only have one unified stand. If there are 2 LA Reps, there might be conflicting stands from the two LA Reps. Therefore, your batch does not have a clear stand on an issue.

University Student Government Constitution
Current	Proposed	Note
1. The President's veto power.
There is no defined process for how reconsideration on decisions are made...	The President may veto policies, resolutions, programs and projects by the EB, AA, and LA	Veto may be overturned by a 2/3 vote of the body concerned (e.g. EB, AA, or LA).
2. Presidential Pardon
Sanctions are made arbitrarily by the ethics committee and there is no process for appeal.	President may grant pardon to any USG officer found guilty of a violation, provided pardon is with just cause.	USG officers found guilty may be charged, but without sanction
3. Vice-President for Internal Affairs
Responsibilities among Vice-Presidents (Academics, Activities and Operations) and the President sometimes overlap and are not clear.	1) Supervise planning and implementation of projects of USG in campus; 2) address operational efficiency concerns; 3) conduct research on University policies/structures	Easy to determine which VP to approach, not only for the students, but for the admin as well.
4. Vice-President for External Affairs
VP-Operations' involvement in external affairs depends on priorities of the one seated.	VP-Externals shall: 1) Establish liaisons; 2) Establish alliances for specific issues or campaigns	Better DLSU involvement in external affairs; Better networking and stronger linkages for resource building
5. Batch Student Government
We elect: 2 Batch Representatives, 2 LA Representatives	Officers to be elected: 1 Batch President, 1 Batch Vice-President, 1 LA Representative	Clear difference of responsibility among elected officers. Position is based on skill, not only on popularity.
6. Chief Legislator
SC President chairs the Legislative Assembly.	LA Representatives elect among themselves a chief legislator.	More autonomy (and accountability) for the LA Representatives.

New Features of the USG
Feature	Benefit
1. The Executive Departments
1.Department of Activity Approval and Monitoring 2.Department on Community Development 3.Department on Student Services 4.Department on Advocacy	More coordinated, focused and efficient efforts coming from the Activities Assembly.
2. Majority & Minority Floor Leaders
-Serve as spokespersons for each side -May call separate meetings outside the LA sessions to convene respective side	-Better articulated views and accountability coming from both political parties -Protects the interest of the minority group
3. The Judiciary
Sole body vested with judicial power. -May settle actual controversies involving rights which are legally demand-able and enforceable -May determine whether or not there has been a grave abuse of discretion	Judgement for controversies are less biased and there is better guarantee of consistency in decision making.
4. Magistrates
1 magistrate from each college. From the pool of 6, 1 will be appointed as chief magistrate.	-Appointed by outgoing EXECOM and judiciary -Chief magistrate is appointed through joint EXECOM, AA and LA session, chaired by the President
5. Hearings of the Judiciary
Decisions made by a sole judiciary can be appealed to the remaining magistrates. Judiciary hearing the case will come from the same college.	Appeal process allows for checks and balances for the judiciary. Details of the appeal process are to be given in the Rules of Court.
6. Commission on Audit
Tasked to examine and audit all accounts pertaining to the revenue and receipts of, and to the expenses and disbursements of every USG unit.	Allows for more vigilant monitoring of financial activity of all USG officers.

You still have questions? Feel free to send your questions to the incumbent Student Council Executive Board:

Nicole Villarojo: nicole.villarojo@ dlsu.edu. ph or 09178161208

Inah Garcia: korina.garcia@ dlsu.edu. ph or 09052149702

Gretch Santos: gretchen.santos@ dlsu.edu. ph or 09178159865

Greggy Chua: greggy.chua@ dlsu.edu. ph or 09178140682

Don't forget to VOTE on March 24 – 26, Tuesday to Thursday. 9am – 5pm (until 7pm on Thursday)!