Continuation of: "On the basis of a complaint filed by the All U.P. Workers Union"

On the basis of a complaint filed by the All U.P. Workers Union (AUPWU), the Commission on Audit (COA) has now cast doubts on the legality and validity of the 25-year lease contract entered into by and between the UP, through U.P. Manila- Philippine General Hospital (UPM-PGH), and the Mercado General Hospital, Inc. (MGHI), for the conversion and development of the PGH Dispensary historical three-storey concrete building into the Faculty Medical Arts Building (FMAB) in its recently released 2009 Consolidated Audited Annual Report (CAAR).

The FMAB is a priority project of the Administration of outgoing U.P. President Emerlinda R. Roman. However, the 2009 CAAR refers extensively to “unresolved legal issues and inadequacy of auditorial documentary requirements on the 25- year lease contract of the Faculty Medical Arts Building (FMAB).”

COA said the unresolved legal issues and inadequacy of the auditorial documentary requirements cast doubts on the legality and validity of the 25-year lease contract entered into by and between the UP, through the UPM-PGH, and the Mercado General Hospital, Inc. (MGHI), for the conversion and development of the PGH Dispensary historical three-storey concrete building into the FMAB.

COA said AUPWU, based on its preliminary analysis and evaluations of the subject contract, raised an issue that certain provisions of the 2008 University of the Philippines Charter (RA 9500), particularly Section 23 thereof on the “Safeguards on Assets Disposition” may have been violated, and that the contract is allegedly disadvantageous and contracted with attendant irregularities.

Correspondingly, the issue was submitted to the Department of Justice (DOJ) for an opinion on whether the new requirements provided in Section 23 of the R.A. No. 9500, which took effect only in May 2008, or three years after the approval of the FMAB Project, apply retroactively to the subject contract. The DOJ Secretary, in Opinion No. 8 s, 2010, commented that the non-impairment of contracts clause as claimed by U.P. would not apply to the FMAB Lease Contract, or assuming it is applicable, the non-impairment clause must “yield to the police power of the state and that there may be certain provisions in the Terms of Reference (TOR) which was approved before R.A 9500 was passed that are no longer applicable or needs to be revisited in order to be beneficial to all the parties involved.”

Quoting from the DOJ opinion, COA said in the 2009 CAAR that:

“Records would show that the University was in the middle of negotiations when the UP Charter of 2008 was passed. No contract was entered into, no agreement was yet in effect. It approved the renegotiated terms of the contract months after the effectivity of the UP Charter of 2008. It was only at that time that the contract was perfected between the parties. Hence, the non-impairment clause as claimed by UP, would not apply.”

“Besides, assuming that the non-impairment clause is applicable, UP’s contention would still not stand. In Oposa vs. Factoran, Jr (G.R. No. 101083, July 31, 1993, 224 SCRA 792) the Supreme Court held that the non-impairment clause must yield to the police power of the state. Property rights and contractual rights are not absolute. The constitutional guaranty of non-impairment of obligations is limited by the exercise of the police power of the State for the common good of the general public. In this case, the State makes it clear that the preservation of U.P. property is of primordial concern which is the reason why in passing the law, Congress deemed it fit to provide for safeguards in asset distribution. This is more on the protection of the University itself and its properties.”

“Moreover, it was pointed out that the TOR has been approved long before the new law was passed, but since the project has dragged on for years, the situation now may be different, there may be certain provisions in the TOR that are no longer applicable or needs to be re-visited in order to be beneficial to all the parties involved.”

“Lastly, we call your attention to Section 22 (f) of RA 9500 which states that, “any plan to generate revenues and other sources from land grants and other real properties entrusted to the national university, shall be consistent with the academic mission and orientation of the national university as well as protect it from undue influence and control of commercial interests”. Provided, that such programs, projects or mechanisms shall be approved by the Board subject to a transparent and democratic process of consultation with the constituents of the national university; xxx” (emphasis ours).”

“Further, Section 5 of Article 5 of the contract exempts the University, among others, from any liability, loss or damage to persons and properties during the lease period which is contrary with Section V A.1 Policies and Guidelines of the Department of Health (DOH A.O. No. 2007 – 0021 dated June 6, 2007 on the issuance of a Single License to Operate (LTO), quoted below:

“Section V A. 1 Policies and Guidelines provides, among others:

Ancillary and other facilities that are located within the premises of the hospital shall be included in the LTO.

Sanctions for violations involving ancillary and other facilities, regardless of the ownership, shall be borne by the hospital.”

“Moreover, legal and auditorial review showed absence of the following additional documents/information necessary to determine reasonable assurance of the contract’s compliance to existing government rules to establish the validity and regularity of the transaction:

a. Authority from the National Historical Institute (NHI) for the conversion, rehabilitation and development of the PGH Dispensary Building, a historical three-storey concrete building into the FMAB in compliance with Section 5 of Presidential Decree (PD) No. 260 as amended by P.D. No. 1505, which provides that:

“It shall be unlawful for any person to modify, alter, repair or destroy the original features of any national shrine, monument, landmark and other important historic edifices declared and classified by the National Historical Institute as such without the prior written permission from the Chairman of the said Institute.”

b. As the contractual arrangement for the FMAB Project is under the Build Operate and Transfer scheme, the approval of the Investment Coordination Committee (ICC) of the NEDA pursuant to Section 2.7 of the IRR of R.A. 6957 as amended by R.A. 7718, which provides as follows:

“Section 2.7 Approval of Priority Projects – The approval of projects prosecuted under this Act shall be in accordance with the following:

National Priority Projects – The projects must be part of the Agency’s development programs, and shall be approved as follows:

1. projects costing up to P300 million, shall be submitted to the ICC for approval;

2. projects costing more than P300 million, shall be submitted to the NEDA Board for approval upon the recommendation of the ICC; and

3. negotiated projects shall be submitted to the ICC for it to prescribe the reasonable rate of return prior to negotiation and/or call for comparative proposals.

c. Financial and Technical Evaluation of the Negotiated Lease Contract is required under Section 9.4 of the said IRR, which shall include among others, assessment of the technical, operational, environmental and
financing viability of the proposal vis-à-vis prescribed requirements and criteria/minimum standards;

d. UPM infrastructure/development programs and list of priority projects published and provided to project proponents;

e. The UPM did not invite a Technical Officer from a concerned regulatory body, two representatives from the private sector as non-voting member and representative from the Coordinating Council of the Philippine Assistance Program (CCPAP) as non-voting observer in the Bids and Awards Committee (BAC);

f. Invitation to pre-qualify and bid was only published in the Philippine Star and not in at least two newspapers of general circulation and in at least one local newspaper of general circulation;

g. Information to bidders of the results of the BAC action/decision;

h. Bidders’ acceptance of criteria and waiver of rights to enjoin project;

i. Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) environmental clearance;

j. Notice to Proceed;

k. Insurance; and

l. Monitoring and Supervision Reports.”

“The foregoing conditions cast doubts on the legality and validity of the 25-year FMAB contract of lease.”

“We recommended that management submit the aforementioned information/documents requested for further review and evaluation as well as its legal stand on the issues raised over the subject contract.”

COA said the DOJ comment was forwarded to the UP System Administration through the Vice President for Legal Affairs, Atty. Theodore Te, copy furnished the Auditor. Since the case was already referred to the COA Legal Office, the DOJ's comment will be forwarded to that Office for consideration.

Last March 3, 2010, the Diliman Diary reported on a press conference held by the All U.P. Workers Union, then-PGH Director Jose Gonzales, Faculty Regent Judy M. Taguiwalo and former Student Regent Charisse Banez where it was first revealed that the DOJ had already questioned the validity of the contract (see http://diliman-diary.blogspot.com/2010/03/department-of-justice-up-board-of.html).

This case has turned out to be a major embarrassment for the U.P. Administration because COA has now closed ranks with the DOJ in questioning the contract in the 2009 CAAR even as it is now up for review by the legal department of COA. Additionally, another Diliman Diary story dated April 29, 2010 revealed that the legal personality signing with U.P., Mercado General Hospital, Inc. (MGHI) (see: http://diliman-diary.blogspot.com/2010/04/up-philippine-general-hospital-contract.html) should logically have been disqualified from even bidding on the FMAB project, as its articles of incorporation shows the capital stock of MGHI that is actually subscribed is a meager PhP 2 million only. What is baffling, however is the failure of the U.P. Administration-dominated Board of Regents to disqualify MGHI from bidding on the contract in the first place, which was signed on July, 2009 when the minimum amount of PhP 400 million will be spent on a pharmacy and a medical diagnostics center but where MGHI clearly was severely undercapitalized.

Clearly, such a public-private sector partnership would never have passed muster by the NEDA Board, since the contract does not make clear what is in it for U.P. in terms of such traditional strait-laced financial criteria, such as Net Present Value (NPV), Internal Rate of Return (IRR), Return on Investment (ROI), and acceptability by and among affected constituents which are criteria employed by the NEDA Board in approving large-scale projects. Additionally, the NEDA Board typically would require proof of capability of the project proponent and thus at a mere capitalization of PhP 2 million, MGHI's severe undercapitalization of  a PhP 2 million company that aggressively pursued a PhP 400 million project, causes it to join the ranks of other equally ambitious but tiny companies who dared to bid for government projects far beyond their allowable margin for error commensurate with their financial capabilities.One example of this in the past is the failed attempt in 1996 of Domestic Satellite Co., Inc. (DOMSAT) to band together a consortium of equally tiny companies to launch the first Philippine satellite in space, the Philippine Agila satellite, Inc. (PASI) consortium on a Philippine government owned orbital slot. However, the project ultimately failed when its financing fell apart (see: http://pdff.sytes.net/ar/t2890.htm).

Although the FMAB construction along Taft Avenue has already exceeded 60% completion, with the essential structure finished, the major dillema now facing the U.P. Administration is that COA may actually disallow the contract, leading to a possible capital flight on the part of the investing company, MGHI and its possible "silent" investors. This could create a huge headache, as the remaining renovation works could be left hanging with a possible adverse COA decision disallowing the contract in the pipeline. The question is, why did a project of such questionable legality and financial viability be allowed to fly in the first place by the current U.P. Administration? With the facts starting to emerge, more tough questions are sure to follow, now that the national government authorities are taking a direct hand in investigating this case.

To return to the main story, please click here: http://diliman-diary.blogspot.com/2010/11/breaking-news-coa-releases-2009-audit_05.html

Open Forum answers of Nominees for U.P. President on October 14, 2010 at Science Hall, U.P. PGH

Embedded below are the questions and answers of ten of the eleven nominees to the 2010 Search for a New U.P.President held at the 3rd and last of the fora held throughout the U.P. System. This particular forum was held on October 14, 2010 at Science Hall at the University of the Philippines (U.P.) Philippine General Hospital (PGH). The answers are presented in the order of the original presentations given by the nominees. Only U.P. School of Economics Professor Benjamin E. Diokno was not able to attend this particular forum.

Readers who are interested in reading selective coverage of the opening statements of the nominees in this particular forum should click on this link at the Diliman Diary: http://diliman-diary.blogspot.com/2010/10/into-homestretch-last-and-3rd-of-search.html

Here are the questions posed to the nominees and their corresponding answers. While each nominee was asked to answer two common questions, the remaining questions were chosen at random from a fishbowl containing slips of pape, by each nominee and were thus specific to each nominee:

1. Cabral, Esperanza I.

In response to the question as to what kind of health care coverage she contemplated for U.P. constituents, Dr. Esperanza I. Cabral said that "everybody in the university should be enrolled in the national health program, even students."

Asked, what are your thoughts of a return service agreement for all U.P. graduates? Dr. Cabral said of the U.P. budget, PhP 3.9 billion was for students. Since the whole U.P. System had a population of 52,000 students, then each student gets PhP 78,000 a year in subsidies. "We can ask for a kapalit," Dr. Cabral said, using the conditional cash transfers program of the government as an example where recipients were required to meet certain performance parameters or undertake certain activities in return for cash.

Asked, given the violent frat culture what will you do to address violence in frats? Dr. Cabral said the violence in fraternities "is isolated." However, she said the there should be a system for monitoring certain activities based on the principles for which U.P. stands: "non-violence and participative democracy." Dr. Cabral's answer was met with loud applause by the audience.

In response to the question, "U.P. is a complex institution with so many problems. Why do you want to be U.P. President?" Dr. Cabral said that, "I thank the people who nominated me, but I do not seek any position per se."

2. Pangalangan, Raul C.

In response to the question as to what kind of health care coverage he contemplated for U.P. constituents, Former U.P. College of Law Dean Raul C. Pangalangan agreed that there should be universal health care and that health care should be "actuarialized." he also said that the U.P. Provident Fund was doing well, and that further steps could be undertaken to strengthen it.

Asked how will the U.P. President work within the framework of the 2008 U.P. Charter (R.A. 9500) giving the Board of Regents (BOR) new powers to design a new salary scheme for U.P. employees, Dean Pangalangan said that with its expanded powers, U.P. is "now a corporate entity, but it is still bound by salary categories." The challenge, he said, is to use the power to raise money, which boils down to figuring out how to maximize ways to raise funds. As a former Dean of the U.P. College of Law, he said he had managed to increase bonuses several times for the staff, since he was able to also correspondingly raise funds to finance these bonuses.

Given a question as to how the U.P. Open University may develop and implement plans to reach beyond the autonomous campuses, Dean Pangalangan said U.P. should "experiment with ways to tap technologies without losing the face to face benefits of interaction between faculty and students. He said that even in other countries, there was always still a face to face component that enriched the learning process.

In response to the question, "U.P. is a complex institution with so many problems. Why do you want to be U.P. President?" Dean Pangalangan said, "the univesity is where I studied, and served all my adult life. I want to contribute to the growth of U.P. I care about certain types of gratifications. I have served as a full professor and as a Dean and now I want to leave a legacy behind for U.P."

3. Pascual, Alfredo E.

In response to the question as to what kind of health care coverage he contemplated for U.P. constituents, Alumni Regent (on leave) Alfredo E. Pascual said U.P. needed to study Philhealth coverage of REPS, teachers, and staff without burdening them unduly with more premiums. He said for certain items or major expenses that are not covered, U.P. can provide a supplemental program. He also said that U.P. was lucky, because through the U.P. College of Medicine and PGH, there was a tremendous in-house expertise and facilities that could be tapped as a resource for all U.P. employees.

Asked what kind of initiatives he would undertake to improve the system for faculty promotion and tenure and to develop a career path for the REPS, Regent Pascual said "this requires study." However, he cited the principle that it is the faculty who should decide who qualifies for tenure or not while the BOR ensures that there no abuses. In the case of REPS, they should be promoted based on qualifications. He said that he did not agree with the practice that thee should be no possibility of breaking the glass ceiling in the case of REPS who were qualified to become faculty.

Asked about how U.P. can pioneer in telemedecine with an emphasis on delivery to health care providers, Regent Pascual said that the application of information and communications technology should be utilized to improve the delivery of the health care services and it is at this point that regent Pascual said that he was talking to a major telecommunications company to ensure that the bulk bandwidth was available to U.P. to ensure that it could carry out other projects which would include telemedicine as well.

In response to the question, "U.P. is a complex institution with so many problems. Why do you want to be U.P. President?" Regent Pascual said that as an Iskolar ng Bayan, he wanted to to fulfill his "delayed return service to U.P." Regent Pascual said that he was a NISD scholar "but they threw me out" of possible service to NISD. He said that he liked the idea of the opportunity of solving complex challenges "which I will not shrink from. I hope to contribute my expertise to my beloved U.P.," he said.

4. Diokno Ma. Serena I.

In response to the question as to what kind of health care coverage she contemplated for U.P. constituents, U.P. Diliman History Professor Ma. Serena I. Diokno revealed that she had a colleague from her department who had incurred up to PhP 1 million in costs to replace a heart valve. This colleague was only able to accomplish this through a social network, but there was still the post-surgery rehabilitation that needed to be done. She said on a practical basis, it was possible for U.P. constituents to avail of private insurance on an informal basis and using their numbers as leverage to command discounts from insurance companies.

Asked what proportion of graduate students there should be to undergraduate students, Professor Diokno, a former Vice President of Academic Affairs of the U.P. System said "not all universities are graduate universities." "The fundamental requirement is not the ratio, but the output of the faculty," she stressed, adding that even a so-called second-tier university such as the University of West Indies at Mona now required its faculty to have one published output per faculty per year, implying that some kind of similar mechanism can be worked out for U.P.

In response to the question, "U.P. is a complex institution with so many problems. Why do you want to be U.P. President?" Dr. Diokno said that "service was a sacrifice and an administrative position was less important than my being a member of the faculty, and I will always be proud of it." Admitting that she was worried about the future of the university, Dr. Diokno reminded her audience that her late father Senator Jose W. Diokno was always asked by his family why he continued to lead such a hard life in fighting former President Ferdinand E. Marcos at great personal cost, and the reply which was her own as well was, "in life you have to beklieve in a cause bigger than yourself."

5. Cao, Sergio S.
In response to the question as to what kind of health care coverage he contemplated for U.P. constituents, U.P. Diliman Chancellor Sergio S. Cao, a former Vice-President for Finance of the U.P. System said that while U.P. can't pay pensions, the 2008 U.P. Charter allowsthe granting of benefits to U.P. employees.

He said that he would work for PhP 200,000 in financial assistance for hospital expenses to be approved by the BOR if he became U.P. President.

Asked how U.P. could maintain a good pool of faculty in order to have a good graduate university, Chancellor Cao said that the answer was to strengthen programs which essentially hinged on figuring out how to entice the faculty to join. He said this could be done by improving salaries and benefit, and providing an environment where the faculty can grow, and where there are mentors. For example, he said there are faculty from the College of Engineering who would be willing to stay in U.P. for as long as there was a good laboratory and good infrastructure.

Asked why the U.P. Pahinungod was devolved, Chancellor Cao said that for example it was devolved into the Gurong Pahinungod in the College of education and that every college had some kind of way to handle the devolution. He said the original concept of the Pahinungod was to address the premise that "U.P. had lost its soul," and therefore this outreach program was one way to recapture this lost essence. Chancellor Cao said that the new thrust was to let the colleges handle this "because each college knows what it is. Kailangan manatili sa kolehiyo ito," he said.

In response to the question, "U.P. is a complex institution with so many problems. Why do you want to be U.P. President?" Chancellor Cao used the words, "kakayahan at karanasan." He said that as U.P. Diliman Chancellor he had many programs that he would like to implement throughout the entire U.P. System. "I am willing to seve. Ang gustong-gusto ay delikado." He said that the process for nominating an individual to the U.P. Presidency did not stress that an individual "want to serve" but that he be "willing to serve." In view of the many nominations for him to serve as U.P. President, Chancellor Cao said that he was "willing to serve" as U.P. President.

6. Teodosio, Virginia A.

In response to the question as to what kind of health care coverage she contemplated for U.P. constituents, U.P. Diliman School of Labour and Industrial Relations (SOLAIR) Professor Virginia A. Teodosio said one way of addressing this problem was for U.P. employees to organize themselves into a cooperative "where we can be donor and manager at the same time." She called for an actuarial study on the matter, and said that in SOLAIR for example, all employees and faculty were covdered by MAXICARE.

On the issue of how to address the lack of faculty and staff items in U.P. Mindanao, Professor Teodosio said that one way of addressing this is to increase the budget and find ways for U.P. Mindanao to develop alternative sources of income.

Asked what strategies she had for U.P. becoming a research university, she said that in 6 years many senior faculty are retiring. Therefore, U.P. needed to raise money by using its social capital and to engage in collective-style businesses.

In response to the question, "U.P. is a complex institution with so many problems. Why do you want to be U.P. President?"Professor Teodosio said that she was on the verge of "becoming the varegiver of my 82 year old Mom," but that the call of service motivated her to throw her hat into the ring. "I want to utilize my experience n social entrepreneurship in helping U.P., she said. I want to help my generation and the next generation to have heart."

7. Briones, Leonor M.

In response to the question as to what kind of health care coverage she contemplated for U.P. constituents, National College of Public Administration and Governance (NCPAG) Professor Leonor M. Briones said that the problem was that dreaded diseases tended not to be covered in existing coverages. She said that Philhealth, for example, had a large idle fund. She said that if she became U.P. President, she could help address this issue by getting back the PhP 1.179 billion taken out of U.P.'s Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses (MOOE) which was not granted by the DBM as well as the Php 300 million still owed to it by the national government under the U.P. Charter.

Asked ano ang maging pagkakaiba ng Presidency ninyo sa Roman Presidency, Professor Briones replied that she wold focus on financials, especially the raising of funds through public and private means. She said that she would also make sure that U.P. exploited its idle assets. She said that unlike Roman, who has a doctorate in business administration, she came from NCPAG which was a school of public administration with an emphasis, she said "sa pagsisilbi."

In response to the question, "U.P. is a complex institution with so many problems. Why do you want to be U.P. President?" Professor Briones said that she she at first refused the pleas of two of her young students to run for the U.P. Presidency. "Are you kidding?" she told them asking them to go away. However, the two students persisted, and she eventually gave in, despite the fact that she realized that at least half of U.P. Presidents had "their hearts broken by their jobs" because she listened to the impassioned pleas of her students that "you need to run, you need to help the university."


8. Alaras, Consolacion R.

In response to the question as to what kind of health care coverage she contemplated for U.P. constituents, Former Department of English and Comparative Literature Consolacion R. Alaras said it was important to ensure the health benefits of faculty, staff and fresearchers. "I believe in justness and equity and the spirit of damayan," Professor Alaras said, adding that "all of us must have health coverage, or none at all."

Asked how she would cope as U.P. President with a corresponding lack of funds without tuition fee increases, Professor Alaras said "the basic point is that the government puts out the fund." However, in such situations, she said "Rizal is my model," adding that U.P. should shoulder what it can do well, such as for example, in education, governance and diplomacy. "Dreams can become realities," she said.

Asked what steps are you going to undertake to strengthen democratic governance in U.P., with an emphasis on the recent unilateral ouster of Dr. Jose Gonzales as PGH Director, Professor Alaras cracked, "parang ayoko yung tanong na yan ah," eliciting laughter from the audience, many of whom are U.P. College of Medicine faculty, nurses, staff and other personnel from PGH. Alaras said that she was in favour of instituting multisectoral assemblies to democratize consultation. Referring to Dr. Gonzales' removal by a reversal of the vote within the BOR through a manipulation of the board composition by the outgoing Roman administration, she criticized the U.P. administration by saying, "On the one hand you will use something to justify a decision and invoke an issue to get what you want or you will abandon an issue again just to get what you want." "The basic principle is that once Dr. Gonzales was approved as PGH Director," he should have remained as such. Professor Alaras' remarks were met with warm applause from the audience.

In response to the question, "U.P. is a complex institution with so many problems. Why do you want to be U.P. President?" Professor Alaras said that U.P. was a metaphor for the Philippine nation and that whatever will happen in U.P. will influence the Philippine nation" and that she as running to positively influence not only U.P., but the rest of the country.

 9. Azanza, Patrick Alain T.

In response to the question as to what kind of health care coverage he contemplated for U.P. constituents, U.P. College of Education Senior Lecturer Dr. Patrick Alain T. Azanza said that if Quezon City had a yellow card, then "U.P. should have a maroon card," a statement that was met with applause from the audience. Azanza also used the question to make statement about University-related foundations raising funds without the public knowing what is happening in those foundations.

Asked how he would improve U.P. faculty compensation, Dr. Azanza said he would stress increasding incentives in return for increasing intellectual outputs. However, he said that it was also important to tap the idle resources of U.P.

Dr. Azanza, responding to the query, how will you attract U.P. faculty to stay, said that a former Dean of the U.P. College of Law received an eviction notice for overstaying in faculty housing. He disagreed with this, saying that "we have to make sure that we retain the best, but the best has its price." He said, "my mission is to run for the U.P. Presidency," utilizing his skills in human resource development in "compensating the faculty properly."

In response to the question, "U.P. is a complex institution with so many problems. Why do you want to be U.P. President?" Dr. Azanza said that "the sectors asked me to run. Ang nomination ko ay isang dalisay na pagkakataon para magsilbi sa bayan."

10. Velasco, Luis Rey

In response to the question as to what kind of health care coverage he contemplated for U.P. constituents, U.P. Los Baños Chancellor Luis Rey Velasco said he preferred to stress "a preventive approach," because "kuminsan nagsisitabaan ang faculty."

Asked the question, "Shouldn't U.P. be producing graduates primarily for the public sector?" Chancellor Velasco said that U.P.'s responsibility was "for all parts of the Philippines." He said that "the private sector is the economic engine for growth of the country, and we need to have one country where we all work together."

Asked what his plans were for PGH employees, because PGH should in fact be part of SSL3 despite this premise being challenged by the Department of Budget and Management, Chancellor Velasco said that he believed in merit incentives for performance. He said that as Chancellor of UPLB he made sure that outstanding REPS and staff were given PhP 100 thousand in one-shot awards and that he would be pepared to do that in the case of the rest of the U.P. System, including PGH.

In response to the question, "U.P. is a complex institution with so many problems. Why do you want to be U.P. President?" Chancellor Velasco said that his elementary school and high school were in Diliman and his undergraduate years were spent in UPLB. He said that he wanted to serve "para makabawi sa tulong na binigay sa akin," referring not only to his parents but to U.P. itself.

The nominees for U.P. President answer questions during the 2nd forum for Nominees at U.P. Diliman on September 24, 2010

By Chanda Shahani

The eleven nominees for U.P. President answered questions from their various audiences who were made up of a live audience at the NISMED Auditorium at U.P. Diliman and questions were also sent in via live video streaming from the various constituent campuses in the U.P. System on September 24, 2010

The Diliman Diary covered this event remotely from out of U.P. Baguio. This article incorporates the comprehensive list of questions asked of the nominees on that day and other critical information which we have reproduced from the Facebook page of U.P. Faculty Regent Judy Taguiwalo. The comprehensive list of questions can be accessed from this link: http://diliman-diary.blogspot.com/2010/09/12.html

To read about our coverage of the presentations of the nominees on September 24, 2010, please click on this link: http://diliman-diary.blogspot.com/2010/09/ups-problems-are-ventilated-their-own.html

Here are the responses of specific nominees regarding specific questions asked of them:

Is the U.P. education deteriorating?

U.P. Diliman Chancellor Luis Rey Velasco said that “it is not declining, but it must be improved upon. Students must be able to discuss the truth and must be trained in how to separate the garbage from the real information.”

Former Budget Secretary and School of Economics Benjamin Diokno said, “there is a decline or a failure in basic education.” He said that U.P. continues to attract the best and brightest; but U.P. needs to discern where it wants to be ten years from now.

Former Vice president for Academic Affairs and U.P. Diliman History Professor Ma. Serena Diokno asked, “Relative to what? I ask myself, in my heart of hearts, are we happy where we are. I look at comparable universities and we are still the best; but not in all areas.” She said U.P. must be rigorous regular curricula reviews as well in order to stay relevant. She ended her statement by stating that U.P. should ask itself what is its overall capacity to offer the best in a subject area and if U.P. cannot be the best in that subject area, then it should not offer it.

Former U.P. Diliman Department of English and Comparative Literature Chair Consolacion Alaras said with the “best staff and a shared vision, together with a moral sacred University of the Philippines, then we can influence government leaders and everything else will follow.”

Dr. Patrick Alain T. Azanza, President of Winsource Solutions, Inc., and a senior lecturer at the U.P. Diliman College of Education said that “U.P. cannot be in denial. The truth is the reality hurts. He said he intended to address U.P.’s deterioration as U.P. President by transforming it into an ICT global research university by modernizing its facilities and raising funds.

U.P. School of Labor and Industrial Relations Professor Virginia Teodosio said 80,000 people take the U.P. College Admissions Test but only ten percent pass it. This means that U.P. still gets the best students. However in an era when the youth are accustomed to a malling environment, U.P. still needs to develop critical minds.

Former College of Law Dean Raul Pangalangan said that “in U.P. we are not supposed to watch others. However, it is true that those who are supposed to be behind are catching up. He said that U.P. should take strategic advantage of being a research university. He added that the new generation needed more mentoring and attention than previous generations, so adjustments would have to be made to accommodate that reality.

Former Health Secretary and U.P. College of Medicine Pharmacology Professor Esperanza Cabral said that U.P. was declining “because of the way we teach students which is not appropriate. We must understand how we can convert our talent in the faculty to teaching,” she said.

Alumni Regent (on leave) and former Asian Institute of Management Professor Alfredo Pascual said that quality had many dimensions but that U.P. should undertake a close examination to determine if it is teaching its students the right thing. He said that he placed a lot of value on students being able to think critically and to be able to think in ambiguity.

U.P. Diliman Chancellor Sergio Cao said that U.P. had a combination of good faculty, good programs and good students. However, he admitted that the quality of U.P. education was declining.

On the issue of illegal occupancy of U.P. properties

Professor Benjamin Diokno said that “there has to be respect for the integrity of the university.” He said that the riot caused on EDSA by informal settlers who were being evicted by the police on the strength of a court order was an example of how the issue could get out of hand. However, he said U.P. could approach the problem by providing alternative housing to informal settlers on U.P. various properties throughout the country in coordination with Vice President Jejomar Binay who is the chair of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC).

The BOR should defer to the university on academic decisions. What do you think about the case of Dr. Jose Gonzales of PGH?

U.P. Diliman School of Labor and Industrial Relations Professor Virginia Teodosio, whom this question was given to said that “the BOR cannot withdraw the appointment of Dr. Gonzales. The BOR should have properly studied this issue beforehand.”

“Kung saan ang tama, dapat doon tayo,” she said.

On the budgetary problems of U.P. Mindanao

Former College of Law Dean Raul Pangalangan said that “we in U.P. must have the political will not to accept budget cuts. However, we have to maximize our links to the executive branch to ensure that U.P.’s budget is preserved.”

With the autonomy of UP Cebu from UPV, it will be under the office of the UP President. What are you going to do to support the growth of UP Cebu?

Former Health Secretary Esperanza Cabral said that there should be a sharing of resources within the university to ensure the growth of U.P. Cebu, but at the time U.P. Cebu should try to generate resources on its own.

What will be your governing style if you become U.P. President?

Professor Ma. Serena Diokno said that “as a historian, I have my own limitations. However, I value and enjoy working with multi-disciplinary teams, and that’s what I will do as U.p. President. In U.P. we should always have the sense of being able to talk to one another even if we disagree on specific issues.”

Professor Alaras said that she would convert the BOR into “a working board,” that would also deal with the Senate, Congress and the Executive branch of government. She said she would also take closely into consideration the concerns of the sectors in making decisions since “nobody has the monopoly of knowledge.” She said she wanted to see a united BOR if she became U.P. President.

Dr. Azanza said that if he became U.P. President he would be people-oriented and would consult the different sectors, such as the faculty, students, staff and alumni. He said the regents representing the sectors would have direct access to documents in his office to follow the principle of shared governance.

Former College of Law Dean Raul Pangalangan said that “it is important to start at ground level and work from the Chancellors and the Deans.” He said he would undertake systemic changes in the U.P. System as U.P. President.

Dr. Cabral said that as U.P. President she would recognize that “everybody has their own responsibilities and correspondingly has their own authority,” implying that she would govern U.P. with a light touch.

Regent Pascual said that he was with the faculty of AIM for nine years and that the style of decision making there was collegial. At the Asian Development Bank the style there was on consensus building. As U.P. President, he said he would set a shared vision and set priorities while delegating much to the governance structure within the university.

Chancellor Cao said that while he believed in collective decision making, it would also be true that as U.P. President, “at the end of the day I am the decision maker. Alluding to his denial of tenure for U.P. Diliman Sociology Professor Sarah Raymundo as U.P. Diliman Chancellor, he said, “I am fair and just despite what the tarps hanging around campus say. At night, I sleep the sleep of the just.” Cao was referring to massive opposition in U.P. Diliman to his denial of tenure for Professor Raymundo, with many tarps hanging at the time calling his decision "flawed and unjust." For readers who are interested in our coverage of this case, we refer to our previous dispatches (please click on: http://diliman-diary.blogspot.com/2010/05/up-diliman-sociology-professor-sarah.html and http://diliman-diary.blogspot.com/2009/12/case-of-professor-sarah-raymundo.html).

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(Chanda Shahani is the Editor of the Diliman Diary)