Statement of the Offices of the UP Sectoral Regents on the Co-Terminus with the Incumbent (CTI) Status of PGH Positions
We express our grave concern regarding the reclassification of hundreds of plantilla positions at the Philippine General Hospital (PGH) into “Co-Terminus with the Incumbent” (CTI) status.This action, which was acted upon unilaterally by the PGH administration, poses a direct threat to the job security, professional growth, and morale of our essential hospital personnel. Among the most affected are utility workers, ward assistants, nursing aides, and other support staff indispensable to hospital operations. They are those in Salary Grades 1 to 4 who are the most vulnerable among our workforce.In a dialogue with the All UP Workers Union – Manila Chapter, PGH Director Dr. Gerardo Legaspi confirmed that the DBM had ordered 1,940 positions to be tagged as CTI. Without prior consultation, dialogue, or even notification with affected staff or the Union, the PGH administration submitted a counterproposal offering more than 400 positions for CTI conversion. This blatant disregard for due process directly violates the Collective Negotiation Agreement (CNA) between the University and the AUPWU.Under this plan, CTI status threatens our personnel’s job security, because once vacated, these positions will be abolished. PGH’s workforce will be reduced over time, jeopardizing not only current employees’ tenure and career progressions but also compromising hospital operations especially as PGH is expected to expand its services under Republic Act No. 12210.We assert that any significant change to PGH’s staffing structure must be immediately suspended and subjected to a thorough and transparent review. This is an issue that deserves attention within and beyond the UP Community, as PGH serves not only as a vital training ground for health professionals, but also as the country’s foremost public hospital, serving some of the most marginalized members of society. Thus, these decisions must, at the minimum, be discussed by the Board of Regents.We therefore call on the PGH administration to disclose all communications and documents related to the CTI directive and the submitted counterproposal. We urge them to respect the CNA and engage in genuine consultation with the AUPWU and other affected sectors. Disregarding the welfare of our workforce essentially undermines our mission of public service.We, your Staff Regent, Student Regent, and Faculty Regent, stand firmly in solidarity with PGH workers and all members of the University community in defending labor rights, democratic governance, and integrity in public service. Francesca Mariae M. Duran Student Regent Early Sol A. Gadong Faculty Regent Marie Theresa S. Alambra Staff Regent
U.P. Faculty Regent raises alarm over surveillance operations in campuses
Creation of Academic Freedom Committee pushed anew News Release19 August 2023 [UPDATED] Faculty Regent Carl Marc Ramota expressed grave concern over the series of surveillance operations in several campuses of the University of the Philippines (UP), calling for an “institutional response” from University authorities. “There were six incidents of surveillance, and police and military operations in four campuses in August alone. It is an assault on academic freedom that warrants an institutional response from the University administration. The University of the Philippines must act to protect its faculty, staff, and students against all forms of intimidation and harassment,” Faculty Regent Ramota said. Police drones flying over campuses Drones were sighted hovering in UP Mindanao in Davao City, southern Philippines for two straight days, on August 18 and 19, during the General Assembly of Student Councils. Student leaders from different UP units gathered in Davao City to elect the new Student Regent, the sector’s representative to the highest policy making body of the University, the Board of Regents. On August 4, a surveillance drone also crashed near Quezon Hall, the University’s main administrative building in UP Diliman in Quezon City, National Capital Region. University security personnel later on confirmed that it’s a police drone after members of the Quezon City Police District claimed the equipment. It can be recalled that in February this year the same police unit took into custody Dr. Melania Flores, former president of the All UP Academic Employees Union, from her home inside the Diliman campus without proper coordination with University authorities. The court dismissed the charges against her the following month. Unwanted police visits On August 11, the police also went to the office of Dr. Raquel Fortun, chairperson of the Department of Pathology of the UP College of Medicine and one of the country’s leading forensic pathologists, in UP’s Manila campus. The visit came after Dr. Fortun released her findings on purported cases summary executions of Jerhode “Jemboy” Baltazar from Navotas, and Kian delos Santos from Caloocan in Metro Manila, both 17 years old. Baltazar was killed by the police this month due to “mistaken identity,” while Delos Santos was one of the victims of the “War of Drugs” of the Duterte administration in 2017. On August 19, a police mobile car attempted to enter the UP Visayas Miag-ao campus in Iloilo province, central Philippines, claiming to inspect the ATM machine in the university. “The police and military cannot just enter campuses out of whim. The 1992 agreement between UP and the Department of Interior and Local Government stipulates that there must be prior coordination with University authorities before the conduct of police and military operations in campuses,” Faculty Regent Ramota explained. “It is alarming that the police and military can just enter our campuses with impunity. Police and military presence has a chilling effect and puts our faculty, students, and staff in harm’s way,” Regent Ramota pointed out. Threats outside campuses disrupt academic work Faculty Regent Ramota added that faculty, students, and staff are more vulnerable to intimidation and harassment from state security forces while conducting field work, practicum, and research in communities. In July, students and faculty of UP Manila’s Development Studies program were forced to cut short their research and community work in San Francisco, Quezon, in Luzon, and pulled out of the area after being subjected to surveillance and harassment by members of the 85th Infantry Batallion of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. “By mere affiliation to UP, our faculty, staff, and students are conveniently terror-tagged by state security forces. It endangers their lives and disrupts the teaching, research, and public service work of the University in communities where these are needed the most,” Regent Ramota said. UP community calls for creation of Academic Freedom Committee Faculty Regent Ramota said as early as April this year, various sectors and the University administration have engaged in a series of discussions on the creation of the UP Committee on the Promotion and Protection of Academic Freedom and Human Rights in response to these academic freedom violations. The Office of the UP President has yet to release the administrative order creating the said committee. “The incidents alone this month should prompt the UP’s leadership to act with a sense of urgency. The University must not allow these attacks against our constituents to continue. The creation of the Committee on the Promotion and Protection of Academic Freedom and Human Rights at the level of the UP System and later on in all campuses, will provide the mechanism for monitoring and coordination, and legal and administrative aid to faculty, staff, and students in distress,” Faculty Regent Ramota conveyed. The Faculty, Staff, and Student Regents, university unions, and student groups also launched an online campaign to support the creation of the said committee: https://bit.ly/ProtectAcadFreedom #CreateAcadFreedomCommitteeNow#DefendAcademicFreedom#DefendHumanRights#DefendUP
A Call to Create the U.P. Committee on the Promotion and Protection of Academic Freedom and Human Rights
On February 2, 2023, the Office of the Faculty Regent convened the first-ever Tipunan, a systemwide consultative meeting on democratic governance in the University of the Philippines. The Tipunan assembly adopted the proposal to create a Committee on the Promotion and Protection of Academic Freedom and Human Rights, both at the System level and in constituent universities. Faculty Regent Carl Marc Ramota, Staff Regent Victoria Belegal, and Student Regent Siegfred Severino, together with the officers of the All U.P. Academic Employees Union, All U.P. Workers Union, and KASAMA sa UP had a meeting with President Angelo Jimenez and his management team on April 26, 2023 to facilitate the process of creating the Committee at the System level. The proposed Committee on the Promotion and Protection of Academic Freedom and Human Rights will have the following functions: a. Recommend policies and programs that strengthen the exercise of academic freedom; b. Monitor, document, and report academic freedom violations; c. Provide legal and logistical aid to any victim-constituent; d. Deal with public relations; conduct press conferences; and release timely public statements; e. Coordinate with national government agencies and local government units; f. Organize paralegal training, information drives, and campaigns that further the exercise of academic freedom and uphold human rights. #DefendAcademicFreedom #DefendHumanRights #CreateAcadFreedomCommitteeNow
Protection of academic freedom must be UP’s priority
Faculty Regent calls for creation of UP committee on academic freedom 7 February 2023 University of the Philippines (UP) Faculty Regent Carl Marc Ramota joined officials of the University and the All U.P. Academic Employees Union (AUPAEU), members of the faculty in a press conference at the Quezon Hall in UP Diliman, a day after the arrest of union leader, Dr. Melania Flores in her residence inside the campus. Dr. Flores was released yesterday after posting with the help of the National Union of People’s Lawyers, and was accompanied by the Faculty Regent, UP Diliman Chancellor Fidel Nemenzo, and AUPAEU Vice President for Faculty Rommel Rodriguez at the Quezon City Criminal Investigation and Detection Unit in Camp Karingal. Faculty Regent Ramota called for an investigation on the serious lapses on protocol by the arresting officers of the Philippine National Police (PNP), saying Dr. Flores’ arrest inside the Diliman campus violated the UP – Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Agreement. One of the provisions of the 1992 Accord stipulated that “the service of search or arrest warrants on any UP student, faculty, employees, or invited participants in any official activity shall, as far as practicable, be done after prior notification is given the UP President, or Chancellor of the constituent university, or Dean of the regional unit concerned, or their respective officers-in-charge in the event of their absence.” The UP Diliman administration also confirmed that PNP authorities did not coordinate with them before the arrest inside the campus was made. Regent Ramota said the arrest of Dr. Flores sets a dangerous precedent for all UP constituents and the academic community in all institutions of learning, and urged the University officials to use all administrative and legal resources to promote and uphold academic freedom. “At the heart of the University is the exercise of academic freedom, and its promotion and protection must be the priority of all its administrators,” Faculty Regent Ramota pointed out. “It is the University’s duty to promote and protect academic freedom amid disinformation, historical distortion, and wanton disregard of people’s rights,” Faculty Regent Ramota said. He added that the abduction incident in Cebu last month and Dr. Flores’ arrest highlight the need for coordinated efforts both at the level of the UP System and constituent university. The proposal for the establishment of a Committee on the Promotion and Protection of Academic Freedom and Human Rights was adopted in last week’s Tipunan system-wide consultative meeting organized by the Office of the Faculty Regent. Regent Ramota plans to present the adopted proposal before the Board of Regents and the incoming administration of UP President Angelo Jimenez this month. #
Faculty Regent calls for investigation on union leader’s arrest in Diliman campus, hits protocol lapses
6 February 2023 Faculty Regent Carl Marc Ramota condemned the arrest of Dr. Melania Flores, immediate past President of the All U.P. Academic Employees Union, saying it’s a violation of the accord between the University and the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG). He called for the immediate release of Dr. Flores, and an impartial investigation on the serious lapses on protocol by the Philippine National Police. Regent Ramota said the arrest made inside the campus violates both the UP-DILG accord, and Dr. Flores’ Miranda rights. He added that there was no prior coordination with Diliman authorities on the planned apprehension, and the arresting officers reportedly introduced themselves as employees of the Department of Social Welfare and Development out to give aid to households. The Faculty Regent said the arrest comes in the wake of a series of documented cases of harassment and intimidation against UP constituents, the latest being the abduction of UP Cebu lecturer Armand Dayoha and alumna, Dyan Gumanao on January 10. Regent Ramota pointed out that Dr. Flores’ arrest, and the Cebu abduction incident highlight the need for the institutionalization of a mechanism for monitoring and quick response against rights violations. The Faculty Regent urged the University to use its full administrative and legal machinery to uphold and protect its constituency from intrusion, and keep its campuses a safe haven for political thought and action. One of the proposals adopted in the Office of the Faculty Regent’s first Tipunan system-wide consultative meeting held on February 2 in UP Manila is the establishment of a Committee on the Promotion and Protection of Academic Freedom and Human Rights, both at the System and constituent university levels. Faculty Regent Ramota plans to present the consolidated proposals before the Board of Regents and the administration of incoming UP President Angelo Jimenez for approval. # #DefendAcademicFreedom#HandsOffOurUnionists#HandsOffOurTeachers
UP Faculty Regent calls for impartial investigation on Cebu abduction, creation of UP committee on acad freedom
Faculty Regent Carl Marc Ramota joins the call of the UP community and human rights advocates for an impartial investigation and accountability on the abduction of University of the Philippines Cebu (UPC) lecturer Armand Jake Dayoha, and alumna, April Dyan Gumanao on January 10, 2023 at the Cebu City port area. Dayoha and Gumanao have been located six days after with the help of the UP Cebu administration.