Setyembre na. Dalawang buwan nang natanggap ng mga kapwa natin kawani sa pamahalaan ang 10% salary increase. UP na lang ang wala pa.
Samantala, kung ang inflation rate noong Hulyo ay 12.3%, at nitong Agosto ay umakyat pa ito sa 12.6%, ibig sabihin lalong bumaba ang halaga ng inaantay na 10% salary increase sa pagtaas ng presyo ng mga bilihin at mga serbisyo!!!
Bakit iniipit ng Malacañang at ni Andaya ang ating salary increase?
Hindi natin maiintindihan kung ano talaga ang dahilan kung bakit patuloy na iniipit ng DBM sa pamumuno ni Rolando Andaya ang ating 10% salary increase. Utos ba ito ni Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo na siyang kagyat na pinuno ni Andaya?
Kung ang dinadahilan ay ang probisyon sa bagong UP Charter na may kapangyarihan ang UP Board of Regents na magtakda ng bagong compensation scheme para sa mga empleyado ng UP, may ganito ring probisyon ang 1991 Charter ng Philippine Normal University.
Ang 1991 PNU Charter (R.A. 7168) ay may ganitong probisyon kaugnay ng kapangyarihan ng Board of Regents: "Section 7, h: To fix and adjust salaries of faculty members and administrative officials and employees." Pero ang mga faculty at kawani ng PNU ay nakatanggap na ng 10% salary increase dahil hindi naman sila nagkaroon ng hiwalay na salary scale labas sa SSL mula pa nang ipinasa ang kanilang Charter noong 1991. E ganito rin naman sa UP a. Wala naman tayong bagong salary scale; wala namang pagbabago sa ating sweldo mula nang naipasa ang RA 9500 o 2008 UP Charter.
Nitong nakaraang linggo lamang, ipinagmalaki ni Andaya na may panukala ang DBM na itaas ng 100% ang sweldo ng mga kawani at mga opisyal ng pamahalaan sa kanyang paghapag ng 2009 budget. E bakit, 10% salary increase man lang namin dito sa UP para ngayong 2008 ay ayaw niyo pa ibigay?
Ating panawagan sa Administrasyong Roman: Pangunahan ang “Prayer Rally” sa DBM para igiit ang ating 10% Salary Increase!
Sa pinakahuling dayalogo ni Pangulong Roman sa mga guro at kawani ng UP sa UP Baguio noong Agosto 30, 2008, sinabi niyang halos araw-araw nilang tinatawagan ang DBM tungkol sa ating salary increase at hininging “magdasal” tayo para mapabilis ito. Marami sa ating mga kawani at ang kanilang mga pamilya ay isinasama sa kanilang mga dasal na maibigay na nga itong 10% salary increase. Pero hindi nakasasapat na umasa na lang tayo sa “Divine Intervention” para sa ganitong problema.
Sa tagal na ng panahong pakikisuyo at pakikipag-usap ng Administrasyong Roman sa mga nasa poder sa DBM at Malacañang ay nanatili silang bingi.
Hinahamon natin si Presidente Roman at mga opisyal ng Unibersidad ng Pilipinas na pangunahan ang isang ”prayer rally” sa harap ng opisina ng DBM, malapit sa Malacañang, para igiit ang matagal nang nabimbing 10% salary increase. Baka sa ganitong paraan lamang diringgin ng nagaastang mga bathala sa Malacañang ang dasal na ibigay na ang ating 10% salary increase.
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 [1]). 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 or 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 who 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/ [2]). 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/ [3]). 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/ [4]). Lastly, the FINEX, founded in 1968 is said to be an "organization devoted to the continuing development and improvement of financial management techniques and the promotion of efficiency in business enterprises" (http://www.finex.org.ph/ [5]).
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 that 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 [6]).
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 neoliberal turn to greater commercialization, privatization, deregulation of UP and of higher education in general.
A Charter Against the University of the People
This blatantly neoliberal charter accepts the conventional and deadly wisdom of aspiring to be "globally competitive" at the cost of erasing all traces of the University of the People. It accepts the assumption that the government cannot and will not provide sufficient budget for UP. Its main direction is to forge the transition from being a service-oriented public entity towards being a privately run corporate enterprise with its own CEO and an independent trust committee driven primarily, if not solely, by the search for profit. This Charter is nothing but the tragedy of the UP Centennial.
As the UP administration advances its neoliberal agenda in the transformation of higher education, CONTEND calls on the various sectors of the university to be militant and continue to struggle for a UP which may be called an exemplary university of the people.
Education is not a commodity!
Continue the Fight for a genuine University of the People!
*The Congress of Teachers/Educators for Nationalism and Democracy or CONTEND is a progressive organization of academics based in the University of the Philippines-Diliman. Please email your comments to upcontend@yahoo.com [7].
the Philippines is classified as among countries where less than 30 percent of the population have regular access to essential drugs. Moreover, the Department of Health, in its Rational Drug Use paper in 1999 revealed that those who cannot afford the drugs they need resort to under-medication of essential drugs (such as antibiotics) and over-medication of cheaper symptomatic preparations. Symptomatic preparations are medicines that address the symptoms of a disease, like paracetamol for headache.
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