Diliman Diary Sidebars: Faculty Regent's Updates on the September 24, 2010 BOR meeting

Updates on the September 24, 2010 BOR meeting
Judy M. Taguiwalo
Faculty Regent
September 29, 2010

I am sharing these updates on the September 24 BOR meeting held at Quezon Hall, UP Diliman. The updates cover the substantial decisions and/or discussions which your Faculty Regent considers significant and are based on the notes I made during the meeting. The official documents of past Board of Regents meetings may be accessed at http://www.officeofthesecretary.webs.com/gazette.htm

1.For the first time, the new Chair of the Senate Committee on Education, Senator Edgardo Angara attended. This was the second BOR meeting for Rep. Juan Edgardo Angara, Chair of the House Committee on Higher Education, who was also present in the August 24 BOR meeting held in UP Mindanao. Only Nelia Gonzales among the three Malacanang-appointed Regents was present. Former Justice Abraham Sarmiento, whose term as Regent ends on September 29, and Francis Chua were absent. In all, nine Regents attended the meeting with the presence of CHED Chair Patricia Licuanan, UP President Emerlinda Roman, Atty. Gladys Tiongco, the new Alumni Regent, and the three Sectoral Regents

1.Important decisions on financial matters include the approval of the third rice subsidy (worth P1,500) which is part of the CNA of the University and of the All UP Workers Union and the CNA between UP and the All UP Academic Employees Union.

The second merit incentive worth P5, 000 was also approved. However for administrative staff and REPS with administrative assignments, the merit incentive is tied to their submission of the OPES individual work plans. The All UP Workers Union has raised objections to this condition as the merit incentive was originally part of the CNA incentives won by the union. Also the workers union has pointed out that the OPES is still in its pilot stage and the union was not consulted in the adoption and pilot implementation of this additional evaluation instrument. VP for Administration VP Samaniego said that in a recent meeting with HRDO heads, only a few administrative staff of UP have not submitted their work plan. The Staff Regent asked for the precise number of administrative staff who have not done so.

UP Diliman’s request for the programming of P8 million from its Revolving Fund, chargeable against the Legal Research Fund was also approved. The amount covers P4 million in Personal Services, P1.5 million for MOOE and P2.5 million for capital outlay.

1.Discussions on matters arising from the previous meeting of the BOR included the “Sagad Award” and the “Request for Equity re Sick Leave Privilege”. Discussions on the two were deferred upon the request of Senator Angara to allow him time to study the matter. He asked the Secretary of the Board to provide him with the necessary background information on these concerns.

“Guidelines for the merit promotion of faculty members who are eligible to cross rank and are due for compulsory retirement.” The BOR approved last July 29, 2010 allowing faculty members who have fulfilled the requirements for crossing rank and are due for compulsory retirement to be promoted even without the university-wide call for promotion. As I was aware that the original proposal, which came from the UP Diliman Executive Committee, referred to ALL eligible faculty members, I asked the Board in our August 27 meeting to go back to the original proposal. President Roman said that the PAC had already turned down the proposal but would raise it again in the PAC meeting scheduled right after the BOR meeting.

In the September 24 BOR meeting, President Roman reported that the PAC decided to stick with the approved BOR policy limited the merit promotion for crossing rank only to faculty who are due for compulsory retirement for the following reasons:

the financial implications of the recommendation, in particular the effect on CU savings; opening the floodgates to further promotion requests when current policies already allow out-of-season promotion, e.g. one who obtains a Ph.D. with publications may actually cross-rank even without yet reaching say, Assistant Professor 7.

In response, I argued that part of the CU savings actually come from the slacks in faculty items and these could be used more appropriately to allow qualified faculty members, regardless of age, to cross-ranks outside of the promotion season which is dependent on additional money from DBM. Also I could not comprehend that the extension of this policy would open “the floodgates for promotion requests” as there are no exact data presented on how many faculty members are actually occupying the ceiling for Assistant Prof (Assistant Prof 7, Step 7 ) or Associate Prof (Assoc Prof 7, Step 7) .

The compromise agreement in the BOR meeting was to take this matter to the University Council meetings of the different constituent universities which are scheduled to meet this December 2010.

Sustainable Management and Development Plan for the UP Sierra Madre Land Grants: This was first presented in the July 29, 2010 meeting of the BOR and was deferred for further study. The plan, prepared by UPLB and endorsed by the UP System administration is supposed “to guide the development efforts in the Laguna Quezon Land Grant (LQLG, with an area of 6765.4 hectares), the Laguna Land Grant (LLG, with an area of 3435.4 hectares, and even the Makiling Forest Reserve (MFR). It will provide proper context to the many project initiatives that have been undertaken relative to these UP land holdings.” Sen. Angara raised the need to explore the viability of the eventual transfer of UP to Laguna-Quezon given the speed of urbanization in Quezon City and Manila. I requested for a briefing to interested BOR members by the VP for Planning on the actual plan being presented for approval to the BOR. The approval was deferred until after such briefing.

The 2010 UP Faculty Regent Selection Process: The proposal prepared by the President and the Chancellors is “a consolidation of the proposals approved by the seven (7) University Councils and the inputs of the President and the Chancellors”. I raised objections on the following: the general description of the Role of the Faculty Regent, the adoption of the electronic method of voting without a period of piloting, the prohibition on campaigning, the requirement that a nominee who is an officer of a bona fide organization in the University must take a leave of absence from the organization once she or he accepts the nomination as this particularly targets faculty members who are officers of the recognized union of faculty. Most importantly, I raised questions on the so-called approval by the University councils of the proposals which was the basis of the process. I have information that in the July 2010 UC meetings of Baguio and Manila, the chancellors merely asked that comments by faculty members be submitted to their offices. In UP Mindanao, the Chancellor informed the UC that the process was for information only. In UPLB, the matter was presented at the end of the UC meeting and there was no time for deliberations. In UP Diliman, there was discussions on the proposal but there was no explicit approval by the body. Even with the objections, VP Te said that the BOR has no authority to vote on the matter as it would violate the provision of the 2008 UP Charter. Chair Licuanan upheld the position of VP Te and the Board did not deliberate on the matter. I requested that the Board be provided with the transcript of the meetings of the University Councils of the CUs to look into the process of the deliberations of the 2010 proposal.

1.Policy matters approved included the following:

Doctor of Philosophy in Music Program of the College of Music, UP Diliman

Elevation of the Status of UP Visayas Cebu College to an Autonomous Unit Under the Office of the UP President, UP Visayas Cebu College Land Use Plan and Project Development of UP Visayas Cebu College

I raised the concerns of the faculty of UP Cebu high school regarding their status and their proposal for a UP Cebu High School for the Arts. According to President Roman, after the approval of the autonomous status of UP Cebu College, she will request the College of Education and the College of Music of UP Diliman to assist her office on this matter.

1.Appointments of UP Officials

Prof. Mary Ann A. Espina— chosen Dean, College of Architecture, UPD from among four nominees

Dr. Carlo Arcilla—Director, National Institute of Geological Sciences (NIGS), UP Diliman

Dr. Grace de Ocampo—chosen Dean, College of Veterinary Medicine, UPLB from two nominees

Dr. Oscar B. Zamora—Dean, Graduate School, UPLB, lone nominee

Dr. Carlos Baylon—chosen Dean, College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences, UP Visayas from among three nominees

Program Coordinators for the Philippine Genome Center (PGC)

Dr. Carmencita Padilla –Program Coordinator for Health Research

Dr. Rita Laude—Program Coordinator for Agricultural Research

Dr. Gisela Concepcion—Program Coordinator for Biodiversity for Drug Discovery

Dr. Cynthia Saloma --- Program Coordinator for Core Facility for DNA Sequencing/Genotyping

Dr. Arturo Llusima --- Program Coordinator for Core Facility for Bio-informatics

Vice President for Academic Affairs Amelia Guevara ‘s appointment as Acting Director of the PGC from September 1, 2010 to May 31, 2011 was approved in the August 27, 2010 BOR meeting.

President Roman also asked for authority to appoint additional Program Coordinators. I suggested that she considers Dr. Annabelle Novero of UP Mindanao who is a molecular biologist.

1.Selection of the Next UP President: The Board agreed to hold a special meeting in November 19, 2010 to select the new UP President when Pres. Roman’s term ends on February 2011. The interview of the 11 nominees will be held on November 8 or November 18.

1.Nominations to the Board of Regents: The 2008 UP Charter provides the following: “Three other Regents who have distinguished themselves in their professions or fields of specialization, to be appointed by the President of the Philippines, considering the recommendation of the Board. At least two (2) of these Regents should be alumni. All these Regents shall each serve for a term of two (2) years.”

As the term of office of Regent Sarmiento ends on September 29, I submitted to the Board of Regents as early as August 28 the names of Dr. Bienvenido Lumbera, Dr. Marita Reyes and Dr. Consuelo Paz, all retired UP faculty members for submission to Malacanang. According to President Roman, Malacanang asked for nominations last September 20 and she submitted the following names in addition to those I have earlier recommended: Regents Francis Chua, Nelia Gonzalez and Abraham Sarmiento, Dr. Magdaleno Albarracin Jr., Dr. Victoria Jardiolin, Chief Justice Reynato Puno (ret.), Former Acting UPAA President and Former Alumni Regent Ponciano Rivera

During the September 24 BOR meeting, Regent Gladys Tiongco submitted the names of Dr. Federico Macaranas, Atty. Ancheta K. Tan and Dr. Napoleon T. Vergara. Senator Angara nominated Atty. Alfonso R. Reyno Jr. These names together with the name of Atty. Gladys Tiongco and Former Chancellor Ruben L. Villareal were transmitted to Malacanang after the BOR meeting.

1.Approval of the Automated Guideway Transit (AGT) prototype at the University of the Philippines Diliman Campus. “ DOST shall undertake an evaluation and assessment of the UP Diliman campus transport system; conduct the necessary Research and Development processes and activities; and design and construct a prototype Automated Guideway Transit (AGT) consisting of two 60-passenger capacity coaches traversing a 2-kilometer (approx.) test track in an area within the UP Diliman campus to be designated by the University”. The Staff Regent and I raised the concerns that consideration of the impact of this project on transportation fares for students and staff and on the jeepney drivers of the Katipunan-UP and Philcoa-UP routes should be taken into account in the planning and execution of the AGT prototype.

1.Faculty Regents’ Concerns:

On the status of the tenure decision of Prof. Sarah Raymundo: I submitted the attached document in response to a letter sent by the Department of Sociology last July 2010 to President Roman. The BOR again discussed how the decision granting tenure to Prof. Sarah Raymundo can be implemented. President Roman was again instructed to look for ways to operationalize the BOR decision.

On the tenure of Prof. Roberto Basadre of UPV Cebu. Prof. Basadre has fulfilled the requirements for tenure and has been recommended by his division and by the College APC. But the UP Cebu Dean overturned the recommendations and instead recommended that the waiver of the tenure rule be applied to Prof. Basadre. The waiver of the tenure rule has been used to allow the retention of temporary faculty members who have served for three years, whose publications have been accepted but have yet to come out. Prof. Basadre has fulfilled all the requirements for tenure and the UP Cebu Dean’s decision to deny him tenure and to retain him only as temporary faculty was on the basis of the reorganization of UP Cebu. I raised issue over this decision as this is unfair to the faculty concerned. Prof. Basadre continues to appeal his case with President Roman.

COA Report on the 2007 Investiture Expenses of UP Mindanao Chancellor Gilda C. Rivero. Last February 19, 2010, the Commission on Audit in Davao in an “Audit Observation Memorandum” wrote to Chancellor Rivero ” that an audit of the 2007 Investiture expenses exceed by P269,584.67 or by 72% the approved budget and requested her explanation for such. In the deliberations for the UP Mindanao chancellorship last March, I brought to the meeting the concern of a number of UP Mindanao constituents over giving Dr. Rivero a second term considering that she has yet to explain this serious financial question. But the majority of the BOR did not consider the matter crucial enough as the issue has not been settled and if the final audit would reveal that Dr. Rivero has actually overspent, then she could just reimburse the amount. if disallowed by COA. Chancellor Rivero was given a second term.

The Commission on Audit in Davao City in its August 23, 2010 “Report on the Special Audit /Investigation Conducted of the University of the Philippines Mindanao “ found that that Chancellor Rivero had overspent by P269,584.67 or by 72% of the approved budget investiture budget of P374,216. The report ended with the recommendation that the UP Mindanao Chancellor should “ be admonished to prioritize the allocation of its funds on U.P.-Min's mandated purposes.” (For a copy of the August 2010 COA report, please see http://diliman-diary.blogspot.com/2010/09/commission-on-audit-criticizes-up.html)

On September 21, 2010 , the heads of the three major recognized organizations of UP Mindanao, the Chair of the Student Council, the President of the All UP Workers Union and the President of the All UP Academic Employees Union wrote a letter to Board of Regents “strongly urging “ the members of the Board to :

“Let Dr. Rivero personally restitute the excess amount spend during her investiture, amounting to PhP269,584.67. It is clear from the breakdown of this amount that the expenses were extravagant, unnecessary, or personal (i.e., expenses of her guests);

Recall Dr. Rivero’s appointment as chancellor of UP Mindanao based on moral integrity and misuse of limited funds; to whom much is given, much is expected in terms of accountability;

Translate “admonish” into specific sanction for Chancellor Rivero. “

As this matter was presented at the last part of the meeting and there was no time for discussions, this was tabled for the next BOR meeting.

Attachments:

Faculty Regent’s Report to the September 24, 2010 BOR meeting

Response to the Department of Sociology’s Inquiries on the BOR Decision Granting Prof. Sarah Raymundo Tenure

Faculty Regent’s Report to the September 24, 2010 BOR meeting