CONSTITUTION AND BYLAWS OF THE

CENTRAL STUDENT COUNCIL OF

MOUNTAIN VIEW COLLEGE
 CONSTITUTION AND LAWS OF THE CENTRAL STUDENT COUNCIL
(Amended 2010)
Mountain View College
Valencia City, Philippines

PREAMBLE

We, the students of Mountain View College, by the grace of the Divine Providence, in order to
establish a Central Student Council that shall embody our ideals, uphold our standards and
promote unity among ourselves in the attainment of our objectives, do ordain and promulgate
this constitution.

ARTICLE I

NAME

Section 1 This organization shall be called the Central Student Council of Mountain View
College. (Herein after referred to as the Council in this constitution)

ARTICLE II

DECLARATION OF PRINCIPLES AND OBJECTIVES

Section 1 The Council shall function as president form with a unicameral legislative body
known as the Assembly.

Section 2 The Council shall be the recognized governing student body of Mountain View
College.

Section 3 The Council shall respect the rights of its members.

Section 4 The Council shall serve to promote the intellectual, spiritual, social, and
physical well-being of its members.

Section 5 The Council shall serve as a forum for leadership training whereby the students
could put into practice the ideals of democracy.

Section 6 The Council shall recognize and guarantee the individual existence of the Local
Student Councils and other students organizations duly recognized by the
College.

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Section 7 The Council shall recognize the role of the administration and the faculty for the
well-being of the students.

Section 8 All officers of the Council must be of good moral and academic standing as
provided in Article XV.

ARTICLE III

MEMBERSHIP

Section 1 All bona fide students of the College shall be the actual members and shall pay
the required membership fee as provided for in Article XIV of this constitution.

Section 2 Membership may be lost in any of the following grounds:

a. Discontinuance of studies
b. Deliberate violations of the Council’s governing principles

ARTICLE IV

BILL OF STUDENT RIGHTS

Section 1 Every student shall have the right to:

a. Express opinions and suggestions through established channels of
communication.
b. Organize and assemble in accordance with the laws and regulations of the
school.
c. Request to expedite issuance of official certificates, diplomas, transcript of
records, grades and transfer credentials.
d. Access their own official records, the confidentiality of which the College
shall maintain and preserve.

Section 2 Every student shall have the right to avail themselves of all privileges afforded
by the Council.

ARTICLE V

STUDENTS’ DUTIES AND OBLIGATION

Section 1 It shall be the duty of every student to uphold the integrity of the school,
endeavor to achieve academic excellence and abide by the rules and regulations
governing academic responsibilities and moral integrity.

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Section 2 It shall be the duty of every student to promote and maintain the peace and order
of the school by observing the rules of discipline, and by exerting efforts to
attain harmonious relationships with fellow students, the teaching faculty and
staff and other school personnel.

Section 3 It shall be the duty of the student to exercise his rights, as long as he does not
violate or infringe of the rights of everyone and the public.

Section 4 It shall be the duty of the student to be loyal to the College and to uphold this
constitution and by-laws.

Section 5 It shall be the duty of the student to promote and maintain his rights as a good
citizen of the community by preserving the environment and involving himself
in civic activities.

ARTICLE VI

SUFFRAGE

Section 1 Suffrage shall be exercised by all members of the Council.

Section 2 The Commission on Elections shall provide an election code for securing the
order, secrecy, and sanctity of the ballots.

Section 3 The election of Central and Local Council shall be completed as scheduled in
the school calendar or within the first month of the school year unless prior
arrangement is made by the COMELEC chairman with the College Student
Development Committee.

ARTICLE VII

THE EXECUTIVE

Section 1 The Central Student Officers shall be organized into two levels, the Executive
Council and the different Local Councils.
A. The Executive Council shall be composed of the following:
a. President
b. Vice-President
c. Secretary
d. Treasurer
e. Public Information Officer
B. The Local Council shall be composed of the following:
a. President
b. Vice-president (Religious and Social)

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 c. Secretary
d. Treasurer
e. Public Information Officer
f. Other offices spelled out of their constitution

Section 2 The Executive officers shall be elected directly by the members of the Council
in the manner prescribed by the election code of this Council.

Section 3 The executive officers shall have the qualifications provided for by the law of
this Council and shall have the following powers, functions, and duties.

A. President
1. Shall be the official representative of the Council to the
Administrators’ Council of the College when student representation is
needed.
2. Shall appraise the Council on matter of public interest affecting the
general welfare of the students, and may recommend such measure as
deemed necessary and expedient.
3. Shall ensure that all enactments of the Assembly are carried into
effect.
4. Shall appoint secretaries of the cabinet, may create committees for
purposes deemed necessary and appoint members thereof with the
concurrence of the majority of the members of the Committee on
Appointments on quorum.
5. The President is the ex-officio member of any standing committee of
the Executive and Local Council except the Constitutional Commissions. He
may also remove from office any appointed member of his office with just
cause.
6. Shall formulate guidelines of general interest in consultation with the
Assembly members in quorum.
7. Shall supervise all the departments under his office.
8. a. May appeal before the Assembly any time he deems it necessary.
b. May veto any act fully passed and approved by the Assembly.
9. The President in executing actions duly passed by the Assembly,
shall coordinate with the Local Council and other recognized campus
organizations.
10. All appointments by the President especially towards the end of his
term shall be done one month before the end of the semester which shall be
confirmed by the Committee on Appointments. Failure to appoint officers of
the same office, the incumbent officers shall continue to exercise their duty.

B. Vice-President
a. Shall act as President in his absence.
b. In case of permanent disability, removal from office or resignation of
the President, the Vice-President shall become the President to serve
the unexpired term.

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 C. Secretary
a. Shall prepare files, communications and documents of the Council.
b. Shall be responsible for the safekeeping of the records and
documents of the Council.
c. Shall record the proceedings of the meetings of the Executive
Council.
d. Shall perform such other functions required of the office or as the
President may require.

D. Treasurer
a. Shall prepare and submit to the Assembly the budget of the
Council not later than the first regular session.
b. Shall keep the books of accounts, prepare and submit to the
Executive Council semestral reports or as often as the latter may
require.
c. Shall be responsible for all the properties of the Council.
d. Shall act as the business manager of the publications.
e. Shall perform other functions as may be required by the office of the
President, of the Vice-President or the Executive Council may
require.

E. Public Information Officer

a. Shall handle all matters related to the information regarding
activities of the Council.
b. Shall perform other functions as may be required of the office or as
the President or the Executive Council may require.

Section 4 The Executive officers shall have the term of one (1) year subject for one
reelection of the same office.

Section 5 Any vacancy in the Executive office which is not provided in this constitution,
the Assembly shall call for a special election not later than two weeks after the
vacancy occurred.

ARTICLE VIII

LOCAL STUDENT COUNCIL

Section 1 Each school shall have a Local Student Council which shall have autonomy in
the management of their own internal affairs and shall be responsible for
formulating policies, rules and regulations and in the implementation of their
respective programs of activities directly affecting the welfare and interest of
the students in the department, in coordination with the Central Student Council.

Section 2 The Local Council shall ensure the full and complete compliance of the
objective and principles of the constitution and the powers and functions of the

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 Central Student Council and shall likewise provide and adopt adequate
measures to protect and safeguard the rights of the students.

Section 3 The election of officers of the Local Council shall be by popular vote. The
Local Council shall determine the qualification of all its officers.

Section 4 The Local Council shall work cooperatively with the department chairpersons
and sponsors, Executive Council and Assembly.

Section 5 “The Local Student Council refers to all academic organizations in each school
duly recognized by the Office of the VPSA.”

ARTICLE IX

THE CABINET

Section 1 The Cabinet shall be composed of the Secretary of the Cabinet, the Secretary of
Finance, the Secretary of Religious Affairs, the Secretary of Social and Sports,
the Secretary of Information, the Secretary of General Services, the Secretary of
Local Councils, the Secretary of Justice.

Section 2 The secretaries shall have the qualifications provided in article XV of this
constitution and shall have the following functions:

A. Secretary of the Cabinet

1. Shall be filled by the secretary elect, without the consent of the
Committee on Appointments.
2. Shall keep and maintain the official records and papers of the Executive
Council and take the minutes of the meetings.

B. Secretary of Finance
1. Shall be filled by the treasurer elect, without the consent of the
Committee on Appointments.
2. Shall be responsible for the appropriation of the budget and control of all
the Council’s funds.

C. Secretary of Religious Affairs

Shall be responsible for all the religious activities of the Council.

D. Secretary of Social and Sports

Shall be responsible for all the social and sports activities of the Council.

E. Secretary of Information
1. Shall be filled by the public information officer elect without the consent
of the Committee on Appointments.

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 2. Shall be responsible for the dissemination of information of general
interest and the press releases of the Council.

F. Secretary of General Services

1. Shall be responsible for student’s concerns.
2. Shall be the representative of the Council to the Student Development
Committee.

G. Secretary of the Local Council

a. Shall supervise all duly recognized campus clubs and organizations.
b. Shall coordinate their functions with that of the Council.

H. Secretary of Justice
1. Shall work for the students’ welfare and shall represent in behalf of the
students in the Disciplinary Committee.

Section 3 The Executive Secretaries shall exercise other functions which the president
may, from time to time, entrust to them.

ARTICLE X

THE ASSEMBLY

Section 1 The legislative power of the Council shall be vented upon the
Assembly.

Section 2 The Assembly shall be composed of members coming from the Academic
Organizations of each Local Council and registered Campus Clubs and/or
Organizations having these protocols stipulated below:
A. Local Student Council

For every 75 students or a fraction thereof, there shall be at least one representative for
every Academic Department in each Local Council.

B. Registered Campus Clubs & Organizations

For every 10% of votes coming from the member, there will be one representation to
the Assembly.

Section 3 The Assembly shall be convened by the Vice-President elect on first Sunday
after the general elections upon which the Speaker, Speaker Pro-Tempore and
Secretary shall be elected. In case of delayed proclamation and/ or failure to
elect a Vice-President, one of the sponsors together with the VP for Student
Affairs shall convene the Assembly.

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 The Assembly officers shall have the following functions:

A. Speaker

1. Shall preside over all meetings of the Assembly.

2. Shall ensure that all enactments of Assembly are carried to the
Executive Council.
3. Shall supervise all the committees under his office.
4. In case of permanent disability, removal from the office, or
resignation of both the President and the Vice-President, the Speaker
of the Assembly shall act as temporary President until the Assembly
calls for a special election which shall not be later than two weeks
after the vacancies occur. The dates shall be set forth by the
Assembly, provided, however, that no special election shall be called
within one month before the end of the semester.

B. Speaker Pro-Tempore
1. Shall act as the Speaker in his absence.
2. In case of permanent disability, removal from office or resignation of
the Speaker, the Speaker Pro-Tempore shall become the Speaker to
serve the unexpired term.
3. Shall supervise all the activities made by the Assembly.
4. Shall perform other functions required of the office or as the Speaker
of the Assembly may require.

C. Secretary
1. Shall record the proceeding of the meetings of the Assembly.
2. Shall be responsible for the safekeeping of the minutes of the
meetings, records and documents of the Assembly.
3. Shall perform other functions required of the office or as the Speaker
of the Assembly may require.

Section 4 The Assembly shall its regular session on the first Sunday after the general
elections and shall convene regularly every second and fourth Sundays of the
month or as agreed by the Assembly.

Section 5 The Assembly shall determine the house rules and the proceedings and may
discipline any member for disorderly behavior as agreed upon by the majority.

Section 6 The Assembly may create different committees for purposes deemed necessary.

Section 7 The Assembly may revise the proposed budget submitted by the Executive
Council before it approves the same.

Section 8 No money shall be paid out of the treasury unless otherwise approved by the
Assembly.

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Section 9 The Assembly can evolve a system of Council fees which shall be equitable.

Section 10 No bill shall become a law unless printed copies thereof have been posted in
strategic places for the general interest. It shall be presented to the Assembly for
scrutiny for three consecutive sessions before its passage. Upon the third
reading of the bill, no amendment thereto shall be allowed and a vote thereon
shall be taken immediately thereafter.

Section 11 Every action passed by the Assembly shall embrace one subject which shall be
expressed in the title thereof.

Section 12 All action all resolutions of the Assembly shall bear the signatures of the
Speaker, Secretary and at least two Council sponsors.

Section 13 Every bill passed before the Assembly shall, before it becomes a law, be
presented to the President of the Council. The President may approve it and it
becomes a law, or he may veto it and return the same to the Assembly with his
objections and/or suggestions. If he vetoes it, the action may be considered by
the Assembly and if approved by three-fourths (3/4) vote of all the members
setting, it becomes a law.

Section 14 Impeachment proceedings shall be priority over all other matters pending before
the Assembly and shall be decided within one week from the initiation of the
complaint. A vote of two-thirds (2/3) of all the members of the Assembly or
otherwise provided by law is required to impeach any officer.

Section 15 A vote of two-thirds (2/3) of all the members of the Assembly or otherwise
provided by law is required to declare a policy of the Council.

Section16 There shall be a question hour as often as deemed necessary by the Assembly,
which will be included in its agenda, during which any member of the Council,
officers, school administrators, faculty and staff may be requested to dialogue
on matters of general and mutual interest. The agenda shall specify the
particular subject for discussion during the question hour.

Section 17 The members of the Assembly shall have a term of one year.

Section 18 The Assembly shall have the exclusive power to create a Committee on
Appointments coming from its own body.

Section 19 The CSC representatives shall be elected during the CSC Election together with
the executive officers.

ARTICLE XI

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 CONSTITUTIONAL COMMISSIONS

A. Common Provision

Section 1 The Constitutional Commissions of the Council, which shall be independent,

are the Commission on Audit and the Commission on Elections.

Section 2 Chairman of the Constitutional Commissions shall be appointed by the

President with the confirmation of the Committee on Appointments.

Section 3 Chairman of the Constitutional Commissions shall appoint their commissioners

with the confirmation of the committee on Appointments.

Section 4 No members of the Constitutional Commissions shall, during his term or office,
hold any position in the Council except the position that places him into office.

Section 5 The Constitutional Commissions shall be appointed by the President one month
before his term expires.

B. The Commission on Elections

Section 1 There shall be a Commission on Election composed of a Chairman, and the

Board of Canvassers (two canvassers to each precinct).

Section 2 The COMELEC shall be responsible for conducting election proceedings of the
Executive Council.

Section 3 The COMELEC shall have exclusive charge of the enforcement and
administration of all laws related to the conduct of elections, and for this
purpose, shall have the following functions and powers:

a. To manage and supervise all elections, plebiscites, and referenda of the

Council;
b. To promote, enforce and administer such rules and regulations necessary for
the orderly and peaceful conduct of elections, plebiscites, and referenda;
c. To proclaim and declare the election results, the decision of which shall be
final;
d. No members of the Commission shall engage, directly or indirectly in any
electioneering or any partisan political campaign.

C. The Commission on Audit

Section 1 The Commission on Audit shall be the audit body of the Council. It shall be
composed of the Chairman, a Secretary, two (2) Commissioners, three (3)

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 Council sponsors, and the Financial Consultant. (In case the President will be
reelected, the Assembly may choose to change the Commission on Audit
appointed by the President.)

Section 2 The Commission shall have the following functions:

a. To audit all business transactions of the Council and shall report to the
Assembly at most one week after the transaction has been made.
b. May audit all business transactions of any campus club organization upon a
written request of a concerned member or members of such club or
organization.
c. To recommend its findings to the Assembly which shall then serve as the
basis of the filing legal proceedings.

Section 3 The Commission shall discharge its duties and functions conferred upon by this
Council to ensure that all its funds are properly handled and accounted for.

ARTICLE XII

PUBLICATIONS

A. Common Provision

Section 1 The Council shall have a publication: “The Views” magazine, and other
publications deemed necessary.

The Views shall be published at least two (2) times a semester.

Section 2 The publication shall be composed of the Editor-in-Chief, Associate Editor,

Literary Editors, Layout Editors, Circulation Manager, Business Manager and
Photographers.

Section 3 The Council’s publication shall be directly under the supervision of the office of
the President of the Council.

Section 4 The Council and the College shall provide adequate facilities and equipment for
the publications.

Section 5 Separate designated residence office shall be provided for the publication for the
upkeep and maintenance of their properties.

Section 6 The Editor-in-Chief of the publication shall be granted free tuition fees which
shall be paid equally by the Council and the College.

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Section 7 The staff members shall likewise enjoy the privilege afforded by the printing
press or the so-called “staff fund” which shall be divided equally by the Council
and publication staff, except for that of the staff members of the VIEWS who
shall have full privilege of their “staff fund”.

Section 8 All disbursements of any publication, including the staff fund, aside from being
approved by the Business Consultant of the Council shall also bear the
signatures of the President, secretary of finance and the Speaker of the Council
before expenditures.

Section 9 The theoretical and practical examinations for editorship shall be prepared,
conducted, and supervised by a committee composed of two representatives
from the Languages department-chairperson and one faculty member who shall
also act as sponsors, one mass media practitioner, and two past editors chosen
by the outgoing Editorial Board.

Section 10 A member of the student publication staff must maintain his/her satisfactory
academic standing in order to retain his/her membership in the staff as provided
in Article XV of this constitution.

B. The Editorial Board

Section 1 The Assembly Committee on publications shall act as the Editorial Board.

Section 2 The Editorial Board shall be responsible in choosing two past editors who will
be members of the committee responsible for preparing, conducting and
supervising the competitive examinations for editorship.

C. The Editor

Section 1 The Editorship shall be opened to any member of the Council with at least one
year residence in the College.

Section 2 No student shall become an Editor or continue to be an Editor unless he

qualifies under the provisions of ARTICLE XV of this constitution.

Section 3 He must have passed theoretical and practical competitive Examinations.

a. Competitive Examinations shall be administered no later than two weeks

after the start of the school year.
b. The examinees shall be properly notified of the results of the examinations
have been administered.
c. The examinee who gets the highest marks shall be the Editor chosen by the
Editorial Board in consultation with the examiners.

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Section 4 In case no student qualifies for the Editorship of The Views or any publication,
the President shall, upon the recommendation of the publication sponsor of the
Council, appoint the Editor with the confirmation of the Committee on
Appointments.

Section 5 The term of the office of the Editors of the VIEWS or any publication shall be
one school year, without reappointment.

Section 6 The Editors shall have maximum load of twenty one (21) academic units.

Section 7 The Editor of the Publication shall have the authority to create different
departments as deemed necessary and appoint members thereof, upon the
recommendation of the President, with the confirmation of the Committee on
Appointments.

Section 8 The Editor and the Financial Consultant of the Council shall sign the contract
with the press responsible for the printing of the publication, subject to the
approval of the President in consultation with the Assembly.

Section 9 The Editor shall be responsible for answering any issue that may arise regarding
the publication of which he is the Editor.

Section 10 The Editor or any of his staff members shall represent the Council at any
seminar or workshop on publications.

D. The Staff

Section 1 No student shall be a member of the staff of any publication of the Council
unless he has at least one school year of residence in the College, and other
qualifications under the general provision of this constitution.

Section 2 There shall only be one Associate Editor for every publication and shall take the
same competitive examinations required for editorship.

Section 3 Aside from the fees, the staff may look for other sources to augment its financial
resources.

ARTICLE XIII

ACCOUNTABILITY OF OFFICERS AND MEMBERS

Section 1 The members of the Local Council and the Executive Council shall be removed
from the office by impeachment for willful violation of this constitution and

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 bylaws, gross neglect of their duties or any grave offenses or misconduct which
may have a bearing upon their moral character.

Section 2 The Assembly shall have the exclusive power to try and decide all the cases of
impeachment initiated by the majority of all its members. No officers or
members shall be removed from office or membership on impeachment without
the concurrence of at least two-thirds (2/3) of all members.

Section 3 Judgments on cases of impeachment shall bar him from running an office or
hold any office of honor or trust in the Council.

ARTICLE XIV

FINANCE

Section 1 The Council shall have the following fees:

1. A membership of P75.00 which shall be payable every semester upon

registration.
2. A student publication of P75.00 for the Views, which shall be payable every
semester upon registration and;

Section 2 The increase or decrease of the Council fees shall be determined by the
Assembly as called for by financial circumstances.

Section 3 The Council fees shall be collected upon registration or maybe charged in the
College Business Office, subject to arrangements with the Director of Student
Finance.

Section 4 All cash receipt shall be deposited in the College Business Office and or
reputable depository agencies.

1. It shall be deposited in the name of the Council.

2. It can be withdrawn only after all the necessary signatures as provided by
this constitution have been secured.

Section 5 Disbursements from the Council funds shall be duly signed by the President,
Secretary of Finance, at least one Council sponsor, and the Financial
Consultant.

Section 6 All disbursements shall be charged against the accounts of the disbursee, until
expense reports shall have been submitted and approved by the Secretary of
Finance, President and Financial Consultant. No advances shall be allowed until
precious advances are settled.

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Section 7 Travel allowances which shall include all expenditures affecting official
business transaction shall be standardized by the Secretary of Finance, subject
to the approval of the Assembly.

Section 8 All expense reports shall be submitted not later than one week after the business
transactions have been done, duly certified by the Commission on Audit,
Secretary of Finance, President and Financial Consultant. All expense reports
shall be supported with official receipts or invoices.

ARTICLE XV

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Section 1 Any student who shall run for executive office, officers of the Assembly, and
appointed as officers of the Council shall have the following qualifications:

A. Must be a bona fide member of the Council;

B. Must be of good moral and academic standing;
C. Must have a grade point average of at least 2.5 or C+ in the immediate
preceding semester;
D. Must have an academic load of not more than 21 units.

Section 2 The Executive and Assembly officers shall be granted tuition fee scholarship
which shall be paid equally by the Council having the approval of the College.

The scholarship breakdown will be as follows:

The President of the Council shall receive 75% scholarship of his/her tuition fees while the
other 4 members of the Executive Committee shall receive 50% scholarship of their tuition
fees.

The Speaker of the Assembly shall receive 50% scholarship of his/her tuition fees while the
Speaker Pro-Tempore and the Secretary shall receive 25% scholarship of their tuition fees.

Section 3 Any officer who does not function efficiently and effectively shall forfeit his
scholarships as determined by the Student Development Committee.

Section 4 Fulltime working students shall only pay 50% of the membership and
publication fees.

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Section 5 All members of the Central Student Council shall not be allowed to go off
campus during CSC days except for emergency cases such as sickness or death
of family member. Any other reasons will be referred to the VPSA.

Section 6 Fine for absences during the CSC Days shall be P150/day or P30/checking.

ARTICLE XVI

ARTICLE ON AMENDMENTS

Section I Any amendment to, or revision of, this Constitution may be proposed by the
Assembly, upon a vote of three-fourths of all its Members; or

Section II Amendments to this Constitution may likewise be directly proposed by the

member through initiative upon a petition of at least twelve percent of the total
number of the members of the Central Student Council, of which every school
must be represented by at least three percent of the registered voters therein. No
amendment under this section shall be authorized within two years after the
ratification of this Constitution and bylaws. The Assembly shall provide for the
implementation of the exercise of this right.

Section III Any amendment of this Constitution under Sections 1 and 2 hereof shall be
valid when ratified by a majority of the votes cast by the Assemblymen having
undergone the proceedings of Article X, Section 10 of this Constitution.

Section IV Any revision of this Constitution shall be valid when it undergoes the
proceedings of Article X, Section 10 of this constitution and being ratified by a
majority of the votes of the member in which shall be held not earlier than thirty
days not later than sixty days after the certification by the Assembly of the
sufficiency of the petition

******************Nothing Follows*******************

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