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BBuukklloodd AAtteenniissttaass GGuuiiddee ttoo PPaarrlliiaammeennttaarryy PPrroocceedduurreeaass aaddhheerreedd oonn RRoobbeerrttss RRuulleess ooffOOrrddeerr,, 1111t

thh EEddiittiioonn

I. Principlesa. A deliberative assembly is an autonomous body that enjoys the freedom to

conduct its business in accordance with the provisions for the rights of the

members and that of the assembly per se.

b. The right to vote is limited to the members who are present in a meeting duringthe time a vote is actually taken.

c. Even if the vote is unanimous, rules can never be suspended to give a right tovote to a non-member.

d. Cumulative voting is prohibited.e. Absentee voting is prohibited.f. One motion can be considered at a time.g. The majority rules, but only after providing for the minority to be heard.h. The only way to keep a member from being heard is by a 2/3 of the entire group

to stop a debate.

i. Before the start of a plenary session, the presiding officer will already designatewho shall lead the standing rules (singing of National Anthem, Prayer, etc.)

j. Strict adherence to the Table of Motions as provided in the Appendix (simplifiedfrom Roberts Rule of Order, 12th Edition) is expected of the members of the

parliament.

k. Violation of such must be dealt with accordingly and be considered as a graveoffense.

II. Parliamentary Procedures in Buklod Atenista Plenary Sessions

a. Getting Startedi. Opening Ceremony: the Presiding Officer, while carrying the mace, will be

the first person in queue. The Presidents of each Ateneo School 1, followed

1Arranged alphabetically per school name

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by the Ambassadors, and lastly, the other delegates will enter, respectively.

All members of the parliamentary board will remain standing until the

meeting is called to order.

ii. Standing rules2 will be followed unless an Incidental Motion of Suspensionof Rules

3

is raised.iii. The Presiding Officer will ask the Secretary if the board is in quorum. If

affirmative, proceed to iv. Otherwise, the plenary session must be

postponed.

iv. The Presiding Officer will call the meeting to order. This shall be gesturedby two taps of the gavel. All members of the parliamentary board will now

take their seats.

v. For customary purposes, a roll call will be ordered by the Presiding Officer.Such will be done by the Secretary or whoever is deemed assigned by the

Presiding Officer.

vi. Reading of the Previous Minutes will follow. An overview on what wasdiscussed on the last meeting will be read by the Secretary or whoever is

deemed assigned by the Presiding Officer. The approval of this

aforementioned will be attested by a Motion of Approval4 raised by any

member of the board.

b. Meeting Properi. Reports from Office, Boards and Standing Committee and on Special

Orders will be entertained, should there be any.

ii. On the absence of necessary and urgent reports, discussions aboutUnfinished Businesses and General Orders will be discussed.

iii. The Presiding Officer will announce the agenda for the meeting, or openlyask the pleasure of the body as to the order of presentation. If the former,

the board will adhere to the order of presentation as crafted by the

Presiding Officer beforehand and to the standing rules of raising motions.

2i.e - National Anthem, School Song, Prayer

3See Appendix for guidance as to the Nature and Levels of Motions

4Ibid.

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If the latter, members of the Parliament will proceed to the discussion of

matters by raising a General Motion.5

iv. Discussion proper commences.v. The Presiding Officer will assume that there are no more points of

clarifications, suggestions or recommendations if there are no IncidentalMotions raised after a General Motion or an Agendum, whichever is

deemed necessary. In such case when a motion/issue has been tackled,

the Presiding Officer will affirm if no more discussions will take place. If so,

he/she will say The motion is carried and as a gesture, will tap the gavel

once before proceeding to the next issue/motion6. When all underlying

issues/motions are carried, proceed to C.

c. Raising Issuesi. The Presiding Officer will ask the pleasure of the body as to what issues

will be discussed. The Presiding Officer will record the concerns. Should

there be a list secured beforehand, he/she will cite the order of

presentation.

ii. The floor will be given to the member of the parliament whom thePresiding Officer7 gave the privilege of speaking. On the absence of an

order of presentation, any member amongst the board can raise a General

Motion for discussion.

iii. While a main motion of issue is being discussed, Incidental and SubsidiaryMotions are to be raised as a gesture of clarification, question, suggestion,

and opposition. Such motions are implications of the formal procedure of

parliamentary inquiries.

iv. For every accomplished discussion of a general debate, the PresidingOfficer must say There being no more remarks on the issue of , is the board ready for the next question? If negative, a

5Reminder: From here on, strict adherence to the Nature and Levels of Motions as provided in the Appendix regarding

proper code of interruption, seconding, debating, voting, referral, postponement or reconsideration must be strictlyobserved.

6A tap of a gavel signifies an approval of a motion.

7The Presiding Officer, at this juncture will reiterate the question being talked about. i.eA general debate is then

introduced when he/she will say The question is that the body has considered the . Remarks?

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Subsidiary or Incidental Motion can be raised by any member of the board

to indicate a need for further discussion. If affirmative, the next issue will

be raised.

v. If there are issues to be raised, proceed to D. Otherwise, the PresidingOfficer will ask the pleasure of the body and go back to C. i. for guidance.

d. Adjournmenti. A motion to adjourn must be made.ii. The adjournment shall be the last item of the standing order of business.iii. The Presiding Officer shall ask for objections to the motion to adjourn. If

there are objections, debate and division follows. If the vote results to a

no, the meeting continues, and the chair asks the pleasure of the body. If

otherwise, the session is adjourned by three taps on the gavel.

iv. Upon Adjournment, the Presiding Officer shall call for members to rise. Anexit procession with similar order as in the Entrance Procession will then

follow.

III. PHRASING OF REGULARLY USED STATEMENTS

1. Main Motions:a. Motion to reconsider a decision of the chair: Mr/Ms Chair, I move to reconsider

the action on the question of .

A motion for reconsideration is raised by any member of the plenary whonotices a misjudgement of decision of the Chair. Exempli gratia, during a

division of house and Yeas have it, the Presiding Officer verdicts over the

Nays.

b. Motion to rescind a decision of the chair: Mr/Ms Chair, I move to rescind theaction which was adopted regarding the motion of .

2. Incidental Motions:a. Motion to appeal the decision of the chair: Mr/Ms. Chair, I move to raise a

motion to appeal the decision about .

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b. Motion to close nomination: Mr/Ms Chair, I move to close the nomination.c. Motion to divide the house: Mr/Ms. Chair, I raise a motion to divide to housed. Motion to object the consideration: Mr/Ms. Chair, with due respect, however I

would like to raise a motion to object the consideration about .

e. Motion to ask a question or clarify matters or parliamentary inquiry: I call/rise fora parliamentary question, Mr/Ms Chair. .

f. Motion to raise an opinion or comment: Mr/Ms Chair, Point of Information.

g. Motion to raise if a parliamentary rule has been broken: Point of Order, Mr/Ms.Chair.

h. Motion to suspend a standing rule: Mr/Ms Chair, I move to raise a motion tosuspend a standing rule about

i. Motion to withdraw a motion: Mr/Ms Chair, I move to withdraw a motion about

j. Motion to adopt the general motion: Mr/Ms Chair, I move to adopt the

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e. Motion to postpone the discussion or session to a specific time: Mr/Ms Chair, Iraise a motion to postpone the discussion to . .

f. Motion to refer the matter to a specific committee: Mr/Ms Chair, I raise a motionto refer the matter to . .

g. Motion to amend the general motion: Mr/Ms Chair, I move to amend themotion about , by adding [or removing] after the word , such that when properly seconded and

approved, it will be read as .

h. Motion to amend an amendment of the general motion: Mr/Ms Chair, I move toamend the amendment by adding/replacing the words after

the amendment , such that when properly

seconded and approved, it will be read as .

4. Privilege Motion:a. Motion to fix time of the next meeting: Mr/Ms Chair, I raise a motion to fix the

time of the next meeting.

b. Motion for recess: Mr/Ms Chair, I raise a motion for recess A recess suspends proceedings for a definite period of time to be resumed

on the same day.

c. Motion to call for a caucus; Mr/Ms Chair, I raise a call for a caucus A caucus is a recess called for the purpose of allowing groups to meet and

discuss certain matters at hand.

d. Motion to adjourn: Mr/Ms Chair, I raise a motion to adjourn this plenarysession.

e. Motion to excuse self from doing something during a session: Mr/Chair, motionof privilege. .

This motion is raised when a parliamentarian needs to pick up his/her pen,answer a phone call, or go to attend personal necessities.

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APPENDIX: Nature and Levels of Motions

Main

Motions

8

Can

Interrupt

Speaker?

Requires

Second?

Debatable? Votes

Required

Amendable? Subject to

Referral to

Committee

Subject to

Postponement

Subject to

Reconsideration

Main Motion No Yes Yes 50%+1 Yes Yes Yes Yes

Reconsider Yes Yes Yes 50%+1 No No Yes No

Rescind No Yes Yes 2/3 Yes Yes Yes Yes

Resume

consideration

No Yes No 50%+1 No No No No

Set special

order to

business

No Yes Yes 2/3 Yes No No Yes

Incidental

Motions9

Can

Interrupt

Speaker?

Requires

Second?

Debatable? Votes

Required

Amendable? Subject to

Referral to

Committee

Subject to

Postponement

Subject to

Reconsideration

Appeal

decision

Yes Yes Yes 50%+1 No No Yes Yes

Close

nomination

No Yes No 2/3 Yes No No No

Division of

House

Yes No No None No No No No

Object to

Consideration

Yes No No 2/3 No No No No

Parliamentary

Inquiry

Yes No No None No No No No

Point of Order Yes No No None No No No No

8All Main Motions need a second and are debatable except for the resuming of a consideration that was previously

postponed indefinitely.

9Incidental Motions generally can interrupt a speaker, except a Motion to Close a Nomination, Suspend Rules and

Withdraw or Approve a Main Motion.

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Suspension of

Rules

No Yes No 2/3 No No No No

Point of

Information

Yes No No None No No No No

Withdraw

motion

No No No 50%+1 No No No No

Adopt a

motion

No No No No No No No No

Subsidiary

Motions10

Can

Interrupt

Speaker?

Requires

Second?

Debatable? Votes

Required

Amendable? Subject to

Referral to

Committee

Subject to

Postponement

Subject to

Reconsideration

Postponetemporarily/

Lay motion on

table

No Yes No 50%+1 No No No No

Call for

previous

question (vote

immediately)

No Yes No 2/3 No No No No

Limit or extend

debate

No Yes No 2/3 Yes No No No

Postpone to

specific time

No Yes Yes 50%+1 Yes No No No

Refer to

committee

No Yes Yes 50%+1 Yes No No No

Amend No Yes Yes 50%+1 Yes Yes Yes Yes

Amend an

Amendment

No Yes Yes 50%+1 No Yes Yes Yes

PostponeIndefinitely

No Yes Yes 50%+1 No No NO No

10Subsidiary Motions can NEVER interrupt a speaker, but ALWAYS require seconding and voting.

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