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The 2008 UP Charter:
Forging the Transition from the Premier State University
to
a Privately Run Corporate Enterprise Driven by the Search for Profit
From State to National University
The first thing which would probably strike a casual reader of the
"Centennial Charter" (RA 9500) is the replacement of the conventional
label of "state university" by the term "national university." The current
nomenclature rests on the crucial distinction between Private Higher
Educational Institutions (PHEIs) and State Universities and Colleges (SUCs).
Indeed, the yearly General Appropriations Act (GAA) only mentions SUCs as
recipients of government subsidy. The studious elimination of all mention
of the term "state university" in the Charter sends a message that this
distinction no longer holds for the University of the Philippines. This
suspicion is confirmed by the contents of the Charter itself.
UP and the Rise of a New Managerial Stratum
One salient characteristic of the Charter is the creation of a managerial
stratum distinct from the existing governance structures of the
University. The UP President, aside from being referred to as the "chief
academic officer," is also labelled in the text of the Charter as the
Chief Executive Officer (CEO), which means no less than that she/he shall
henceforth serve as the highest ranking officer of the corporate entity
which is the "national university." Since the President shall be appointed
in this capacity as the head of a corporation and since good CEOs don't
come cheap, she/he shall also receive a salary befitting a CEO. In 2007,
CEOs in the Philippines received an average base salary of $44,496 and
$51,519 in annual cash or PhP4, 271,899 or PhP355, 991 a month (www.mercer.com).
Bear in mind that this is only the average. The Charter consequently
states that the Board shall deem it within its powers to "determine the
compensation of the President of the University" (Sec. 14). Despite the
efforts of the promoters of the Charter to allow the UP President to have
an unprecedented two terms, this proposal was eventually withdrawn because
of strong opposition. Quite disturbing, however, is the fact that the
Chancellor of each constituent unit will not only receive an unspecified
amount to be determined by the Board but will also serve an unspecified
term likewise to be determined by the Board (Sec. 18: "The Board shall
determine [both] the term and compensation of the Chancellor").
Combining managerial and governance roles, the President shall serve
simultaneously as the co-Chairperson of the Board of Regents (with the
Chairperson of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED)) and as the
Chairperson of an Independent Trust Committee (ITC) to be made up of
representatives nominated by the following private entities explicitly
specified by the Charter: Bankers Association of the Philippines (BAP),
Investment Houses Association of the Philippines (IHAP), Trust Officers
Association of the Philippines (TOAP) and the Financial Executive
Institute of the Philippines (FINEX). Furthermore, in case of two failed
biddings these same private entities shall nominate representatives which
shall make up the majority of a "third-party body" tasked with making a
"fairness opinion report" (Sec. 23). The individuals making up the ITC and
the "third-party body" shall be "entitled to a reasonable per diem as the
Board may specify" (Sec. 23 & 24). Some information about these private
entities is in order. The BAP was founded in 1964 and aims to provide "a
necessary avenue for member banks to raise and discuss issues that affect
the commercial banking industry." It counts among its members, 40
commercial banking institutions covering 26 local banks and 14 foreign
bank branches (http://www.bap.org.ph/). The IHAP was founded in 1974 and
its current membership consists of "fifty-five (55) member houses, which
include the top players in the investment banking industry" (http://www.ihap.org/).
Established in 1964, the TOAP's aim is to unite, professionalize and
promote the Philippine Trust and Investment Management Industry http://www.toap.org.ph/).
Lastly, the FINEX, founded in 1968 is said to be an "organization (which)
is devoted to the continuing development and improvement of financial
management techniques and the promotion of efficiency in business
enterprises" (http://www.finex.org.ph/).
There is no good reason why these entities should have their names
inscribed in such a solemn document such as the UP Charter. These are
plainly transitory private entities which do not sit well in a national
public document drawn up with claims to perenniality such as the UP
Charter. They could always be hired if and when consultants are needed and
paid their "reasonable compensation." As it is, they could just fold up in
a couple of years and leave embarrassing blank spaces on the Charter. This
is almost equivalent to putting the names of private businesses in the
Philippine Constitution. Being in the UP Charter lends these private
entities more prestige than they are worth.
The function of the ITC, befitting its "independent" nature, is to
recommend to the Board five banks aside from providing the "Board with
direction on appropriate investment objectives and permissible investments
with the view to preserving the value of the funds while allowing the
University to earn a reasonable return thereon" (Sec. 24). Emphasis should
be placed on the words "appropriate" and "permissible" in the above
sentence in order to stress the actual managerial power of the ITC. These
individuals, the President, the Chancellor, and these representatives from
the BAP, IHAP, TOAP and FINEX shall henceforth constitute a distinct
stratum of managerial technocrats whose "compensations" and privileges
shall be at a qualitatively differently level than the ordinary faculty,
REPS and administrative personnel making up the university community. It
seems that such gains as the Staff Regent who shall represent the
administrative personnel and the research, extension and professional
staff was conceded by the framers of the Charter with the foresight that
the BOR itself shall eventually no longer carry much weight in the scheme
of things to come.
UP as a Commercial Area with an “Academic Core Zone”
The scope of the income generating activities which these individuals
shall plan and undertake shall only be limited by the size of what is
termed in the Charter as the "academic core zone." According to Section 22
of the Charter, "The Board may plan, design, approve and/or cause the
implementation of land leases: Provided, that such mechanisms and
arrangements shall … be exclusive of the academic core zone of the
campuses of the University of the Philippines." The whole territory of the
University lying outside of this so-called "academic core zone," which is
as of yet unspecified, is therefore declared as a commercial zone.
Furthermore, lands donated to the University from hereon may simply be
sold if the terms of donation allow for it.
Profiting from the Pursuit of Truth
It is hard to see, given the power enshrined in the new Charter which now
gives private business interests a preponderant role in shaping the future
of the University, how such half-hearted provisos in the Charter itself,
such as one stating that "such mechanisms and arrangements shall not
conflict with the academic mission of the national university" or 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" (Sec. 22) can realistically be adhered to. Instead
of protecting it, the Charter actually renders the University extremely
vulnerable to the "undue influence and control of commercial interests" as
never before. For example, Sec. 3 on the "Purpose of the University,"
states that the University is "a community of scholars dedicated to the
search for truth and knowledge." However Sec. 13 specifies without irony
"that research and other activities funded by the University shall
likewise undertake research in fields of topics that have promising
commercial applications." ("Likewise" here means "also" and cannot be read
as meaning "optional.") The message is clear: the scholars of the
University shall be dedicated to the "search for truth and knowledge" only
as long as these have "promising commercial applications."
The Price of Higher Wages
The thoroughgoing commercialization of the campus and of the research and
academic mission of the University together with projected substantial
tuition fee increases are being sold to the faculty with the promise of
higher salaries. This is the proverbial carrot. Indeed, Sec. 13 states
that "any law to the contrary notwithstanding, to fix and adjust salaries
and benefits of the faculty members and other employees: Provided, That
salaries and other benefits of the faculty shall be equivalent to those
being received by their counterparts in the private sector." Aside from
the fact that a great part of these promised higher wages shall come from
rising tuition fees and rampant commercialization, it is also more than
likely that these salary increases shall come at the cost of undermining
existing rights to tenure in the longer term and lead to a rising
percentage of part-time and full-time non-tenure track teaching staff.
This is already a problem in the US where according to the American
Association of University Professors (AAUP), 68 percent of all university
and college level teaching personnel comprise these so-called "contingent
faculty," thus seriously undermining academic freedom, academic quality
and professional standards (www.aaup.org).
This Charter marks the next 100 years of UP. What has been dangled to
clinch faculty support—exemption from the SSL and salaries competitive
with the private sector—is neither forthcoming nor will it be within the
range of the compensation package of the UP President as CEO. This Charter
legitimizes the neo-liberal turn to greater commercialization,
privatization, and deregulation of UP and of higher education in general.
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SERVE The PEOPLE UP!
(STEP-UP!)
A multisectoral alliance campaigning for a celebration of the true essence
of the University of the Philippines and for the stoppage of the UP
Administration's widespread commercialization efforts
Vinzons Hall, University of the Philippines, Diliman Quezon City
PRESS STATEMENT
June 17, 2008
ON EVE OF UP'S CENTENNIAL, UP STUDENTS AND PROFS FORM HUMAN
INSTALLATION PROTEST VS UP'S COMMERCIALIZED UP CHARTER
"With President Arroyo's signing of the new UP Charter into law a month
ago, the Iskolar ng Bayan is dead, and UP's institutions that have made
these students the pride of the Filipino people have all been burnt to the
ground. There is no reason to rejoice in this week's UP Centennial as UP
has already lost its soul." This was the statement of Dr. Judy Taguiwalo,
Founding National President of the All UP Academic Workers Union and Lead
Convenor of SERVE THE PEOPLE UP, an alliance of different
university-based, multi-sectoral organizations campaigning for a stoppage
of the UP Administration's widespread efforts to commercialize UP lands,
raise tuition and other fees, especially during the current celebration of
UP's centennial. She said this during the Human Installation Protest of
100 students and faculty on the eve of UP's Centennial celebrations
tomorrow.
On the other hand, Jacqueline Eroles, Councilor of the UP Diliman Student
Council says, "While pro-commercialization student groups have been
hailing the new Charter as bringing the University of the Philippines into
the new century, the Ugnayan ng Mag-Aaral Laban sa Komersyalisasyon (UMAKSYON)
and the Student Alliance for the Advancement of Democratic Rights in UP
(STAND-UP) cannot help but declare the demise of the University of the
Philippines, as the new Charter legally sealed the coffin of widening
democratic access to UP education and preventing unwarranted
commercialization schemes."
Sarah Raymundo of CONTEND-UP, an organization of progressive university
professors in UP adds, "All of these are viewed as anathema to the former
standing of the University as a prestigious yet democratic academic
institution. With the new UP charter, majority of UP lands shall now be
open for commercial and industrial expansion through joint ventures and
long-term leases, instead of utilizing these idle assets for the building
of more academic units, specialized institutions and extension programs
responsive to the needs of the majority of the people.
Meanwhile, Clodualdo Cabrera, Former National President of the All-UP
Workers Union laments, "Unfortunately, UP lands shall be fair game for the
building of call centers, condominium, supermarkets, as can clearly be
seen now with UP's disposition of hectares of land in the UP Arboretum for
multinational call centers in the guise of building a state-of-the-art
Science and Technology Park. At the same time, the UP Administration has
earmarked P150 million for the centennial celebrations including grand
concerts while failing to provide the demand for a P20,000 centennial
bonus for its employees. "
Also ,UP Student Regent Shahana Abdulwahid raises her misgivings on the
supposed tuition consultations,"The new Charter gives the nominally
reconfigured Board of Regents absolute authority in the raising of tuition
and other fees, despite token provisions on the need for comprehensive
consultations. One only needs to review the track record of the UP
Administration during tuition consultations of the 2006 tuition increase
in which student consultations were railroaded a few weeks prior to the
approval of the increase, notwithstanding forcing its approval despite
widespead student opposition across the UP System.
She adds, "The UP President herself declared that the UP Administration
shall stick with its policy to consult only the "students concerned",
effectively rendering toothless the representative authority and
prerogative of leading student institutions such as the student councils
and the Office of the Student Regent."
Terry Ridon, spokesperson of YouthRevolt-UP Diliman, a broad alliance of
student organizations campaigning for the ouster of President Gloria
Arroyo declares, "All these problems are precisely because of President
Arroyo's failed policies in higher education, most of which have been
pilot-tested in UP, such as forcing UP to internally generate its own
income while her government restricts its annual subsidies. This has
caused UP's tuition to skyrocket by 300%, from PhP300/unit, to
PhP1000/unit, effectively depriving many poor but deserving students from
entering UP in the last two years of its implementation."
Ridon finally adds, "As such, the campaign of STEP-UP against UP's
commercialization shall not end in its barrage of protests during this
week's UP Centennial celebrations, but shall continue forth until Mrs.
Arroyo is forced out of office through people power as we fully know that
only until a reversal of Mrs. Arroyo's failed policies in higher education
can the dismal situation of the University be best addressed."
Reference: Terry Ridon, 0918513904
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Budget for the Celebration
of the UP Centennial
Items
Million (Pesos)
Centennial Lectures
13
Tri Media Projection
12
Capital Outlay
85
Centennial Concert
5
Centennial Notes
5
Centennial Awards
2
Centennial Literary Contest 2
Audio Visual Presentation
2
History Project
1.4
Coffee Table Book
1.5
Digital Film Making Contest
.7
Centennial Music Video
.7
Centennial Address Book
.5
Centennial Glass Plates
.5
Centennial Song Contest
.4
Centennial Newsletter
.3
Events Poster
.15
Administrative Expenses 5
Honoraria
1.5
Centennial Commission
Operations
1
Travel
2.5
Contingencies
10
Approved at the meeting of the UP Board of Regents September 28,
2007, UP Los Baños
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Where the money will come
from:
PGMA Presidential Proclamation:
P100 m
UP Internal Operating Budget (2007)
P 16 m
UP IOB (2008)
P12 m
UP Reprogrammed Funds
2005
P20 m
2007
2 m
Data taken from a publication
of:
All UP Workers Union and All UP
Academic Employees Union June 16, 2008
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