By Ivan Obias • May 11, 2025

Christian Mar Arganda will no longer serve as the Student Congress (SCon) House Speaker, as nine of 12 members of the 43rd Congress signed a motion removing him during its 15th regular session Saturday, 9 May.

The motion, authored by College of Business and Accountancy Representative Hanz Aeron Orcales and filed 28 February, charged Arganda with multiple offenses under the 2024 Constitution of the Liderato kan Nueva Atenista (Lideratos) and the Student Congress Code of Internal Procedure.

Headlining among the allegations were Arganda's repeated attempts to pressure fellow representatives to expedite the approval of the proposed budget for delegates to the Arangkada: 41st Buklod Atenista National Leaders Summit. He allegedly used private and group messages to influence the outcome, an act that violated his role as a neutral facilitator.

“Certain actions of the Speaker during the budget deliberation degraded the credibility and integrity of the Office of the Speaker of the House and also the 43rd Student Congress, resulting in the loss of confidence from the Congress Representatives,” the resolution stated. 

The motion continued, “The representatives lost trust and confidence in the speaker's current performance and ability to perform his duties and responsibilities impartially and competently, formally calling for the resignation or removal from his office.”

The movement sat on the Congress for more than two months, and only gained legal traction after the motion was added in the unassigned business of the SCon, during its latest session.

While Arganda has been removed from his position as Speaker, he remains part of the 43rd SCon as the representative of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Ivan Obias

Editor-in-Chief

Ivan Obias writes at the intersection of code and conviction. As Editor-in-Chief of ThePILLARS Publication, he steers the campus press with a steady hand and a sharp pen: chronicling truth, challenging power, and championing stories that matter. A Computer Engineering student by day and a storyteller always, he believes journalism isn’t just ink on paper. It’s a pulse.

Checkout Ivan's other work here

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