Based on an exhaustive report of the search committees and open voting, the choices for chancellor were:
Dr. Rex Victor Cruz for Los Baños
Dr. Cruz is the current dean of the College of Forestry and Natural Resources. He is a recognized expert on forest and watershed management; in 2007, he was one of about 2,000 international scientists who comprised the UN Working Group on Climate Change team that won the Nobel Peace Prize. He has a website dedicated to his campaign for chancellor: http://rexcruz.org/default.htm
Among the more substantive and contentious issues raised was Dr. Cruz’s position on selective log ban. Instead of a log ban, he suggests a Sustainable Forest Management (SFM) program be put in place to assure sustainable harvest from natural forests, more investments in plantations and tree industries, and protection of watershed and protected areas. Regulating large-scale logging, he believes, is a better foil to indiscriminate practices of illegal loggers and some farmers.
Inside the campus the students’ challenge for Dr. Cruz is clear: he must be able to change the atmosphere in Los Baños from paranoia, fear, and autocracy towards openness, consultation and democracy. For the past two terms, the students have decried the administration’s excessive focus on rules, intervention in activities, and high-handed approach to discipline. It stems from a philosophy of patronage and centralized governance, and is further worrisome when applied to financial transactions because Los Baños is one of the richest campuses in the University. We hope the new administration will have different views.
Dr. Manuel Agulto for Manila
Dr. Agulto is the director of the Institute of Ophthalmology, and former director of the Sentro Oftalmogico Jose Rizal Eye Center. He is a recognized expert in glaucoma treatment and research, and has been an officer of the various society associations, national and regional, in his chosen field. He is a devout Christian and a mason. His credentials may be found on http://upm.edu.ph/upmsite/news/news_agulto.html
The issue about Dr. Agulto’s age (he is scheduled to retire next year) was quickly brushed aside as this is not a measure of vitality, energy and commitment to the task on hand. Perhaps the most important concern was academic Manila’s relation with the service-oriented Philippine General Hospital. Dr. Agulto is keen on revisiting the University Physicians’ Medical Center (UPMC), the private clinics set up in the former Faculty Medical Arts Building. He is bothered by the competition that the UPMC has stirred within the Taft community, with the pharmacies and even the PGH itself.
What Dr. Agulto should expound on, is his vision for the School of Health Sciences (SHS). The three campuses at present are, grudgingly admitted, not fully integrated into the UP system. Some view them as second-class UP units, if not third-class, because the university exercises limited control over admission. SHS students do not take the UPCAT and are instead subject to a nomination system in their barangays and local government units. There is presently a question as to whether they are also included in the Socialized Tuition and Financial Assistance Program; previously, they were considered in the lowest bracket and provided requisite allowance from UP’s revolving fund. However, Baler and Koronadal will reportedly discontinue the allowance from UP (P1,300-P2,000 monthly). [The local government units also pay out allowances, but these are political motivated and do not come regularly].
Dr. Rommel Espinosa for Visayas
Dr. Espinosa is the current dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. He has a degree in Mechanical Engineering, a masters in Physics, and a doctorate in Computational Sciences & Informatics, George Mason University. He has two sites for his candidacy: http://www.facebook.com/RommelEspinosaForUPVChancellor and http://rommelespinosaforupvchancellor.wordpress.com/
Dr. Espinosa enjoys the support of the students because of his clear stand on greater state subsidy for UP, and for his participative approach to governance.
UP Visayas’ most urgent issues involve funding. The naturally beautiful campus is the site of several development projects, both of which will be income-generating rather than academic: the Diwata Shore Project and the Love Nature! Park. UP Visayas has paid a substantial amount of money to the former owners of major portions of the sprawling campus in Miag-ao and yet the land has remained idle and unproductive. Iloilo City already has a BOR-approved land-use plan, which the administration is now tasked to operationalize.
Dr. Espinosa’s greatest challenge is thus to explore acceptable revenue streams both for the community and for the university, which respect the liberties of the people whose residences will be displaced and whose academics will be affected. In a trilateral statement, the students, staff and faculty asked for a chancellor who “knows how to generate resources for the University while exempting the constituents from ‘internal taxation’ and commercialization schemes.”
Students also clamor for transparency and accountability in the collection and disbursement and diligent review of all collected fees, including the tuition increment, and for the scrapping of exorbitant, baseless and unreasonable fees. They also seek the University’s financial sustainability without compromising its public and academic character.
They want a chancellor who is humble and dedicated – one who can show academic leadership by his/her clear philosophy of education, one who will not abuse the position; and one who truly subscribes to the principles and practices of transparency, accountability and democratic governance.
The BOR also unanimously chose Dr. Ma. Luisa Mabunay, the present director of the Graduate Program in UP Visayas, to replace Dr. Espinosa as dean of the College of Arts and Sciences.
Benefits for our staff and faculty
The BOR also discussed university plans for the regulation of casuals/contractuals. For 2012, the University plans to submit the names of part-time and non-regular employees who are funded by the budget for unfilled items, so we can claim from the Miscellaneous Personnel Benefits Fund that was created by the Department of Budget and Management for efficient allocation of resources [a move which we believe unduly infringes upon the University’s discretion over its funds].
The Pascual administration also shared plans for the 10-day service recognition leave with pay program (additional 10 days leave for administrative staff and REPS), hazard pay allowances, and health benefits package for university employees. The Board Committee on Compensation has been tasked to harmonize contending positions and to see if the programs can be supported by the University’s finances.
Cases
The BOR will table the appeals of Dean Juan Amor Palafox (SOLAIR) and Dean Enrique Avila (Cebu) over their respective administrative cases, in the October meeting. The Board is expected to come up with a well-founded decision, with four lawyers on board: Chief Justice Reynato Puno, Senator Edgardo Angara, Congressman Sonny Angara, and Regent Gladys Tiongco.
*Please standby for updates on the budget campaign. We will be lobbying with the senators, and are planning a caravan on October 4.