Rising Challenges at the Forked Roads of our University's History (Office of the Student Regent statement on Student strike and UP President Selection)

OFFICE OF THE STUDENT REGENT
UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES SYSTEM 
Vinzons Hall Basement, UP Diliman
Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines 1101

RISING CHALLENGES AT THE FORKED ROADS OF OUR UNIVERSITY’S HISTORY

The UP Office of the Student Regent (OSR) salutes and congratulates the thousands of students, faculty, and staff of the University of the Philippines who participated in the recent mobilizations against the impending budget cuts for State Colleges and Universities (SUCs).

We have once again proved the strength of our collective action. We have built the broadest unity among our administrators, faculty, and staff across all UP campuses and have been persistent in our campaigns. We have marched in solidarity with other SUCs in our fight for greater state subsidy.

As a result, the youth have moved the Senate into considering the increased budget for SUCs. On Dec 1, the Senate restored P146 million for SUC budget. While we see this as a victory of the youth’s collective struggle, we recognize that the amendment still falls short of the P1.1 billion that the SUCs demand for their maintainance and other operating expenditures (MOOE). Simply put, our struggle does not end here.

The state continues to reduce subsidy to SUCs to push them to become self-sufficient, thus, obliging them to increase tuition and other fees and resort to income-generating projects. At this rate, we are challenged to sustain our militant actions and further consolidate our ranks to defend the rights and interests of the students and other sectors in the University.

Our struggle highlighted the importance of a leadership that is one with us and serves our interests and aspirations. Hence, this day also proves to be an important point in our University’s history as we have selected our next University President. We have chosen a leader whose set of policies will affect the fate of this University in the next six years.

The OSR, through consultation with various UP units, sees that there are three general concerns of students across all campuses which were taken into consideration in the selection of the next UP President: (1) the issue of democratic access in the University, (2) the democratic participation of students in University affairs, and (3) the university participation in important national and international affairs.

DEMOCRATIC ACCESS 

For the past years, the President failed to see the potential of our collective action in asserting for greater state subsidy and instead, the University has effortlessly kow-towed to the state’s policy of pushing state universities to impose higher tuition, and increase and institutionalize laboratory fees, rental fees, and miscellaneous fees as an alternative source of budget. Students have vehemently expressed their dissent on this policy as the burden of paying for their education has been passed to them, leading the youth to a narrowing opportunity to accessible quality education. The University most definitely needs a President that is committed in preserving the public character of UP, making it accessible to the Filipino people.

We call on the Iskolar ng Bayan to maintain its vigilance to the commitments of our President-select Alfred Pascual in maintaining the accesibility of UP education:

1. consistent campaign alongside the various sectors to call for greater state subsidy for UP and education;
2. moratorium on undergraduate tuition increase for 6 years;
3. full sectoral involvement and transparency in land lease projects and other income-generating projects;
4. comprehensive and extensive consultation with students on ALL fee increase/institutionalization proposals;
5. review and reverse unjustified laboratory fees being collected from the students;
6. transparency on the collection and disbursement of all collected fees, including the tuition increment;
7. review and rationalization of exorbitant and rental fees (e.g. ‘saksak’ fees, etc); and
8. review of the large lecture class policy in UPLB.

DEMOCRATIC GOVERNANCE 

The next UP president should respect democratic processes in UP and should ensure the broadest participation among its sectors in decision-making processes, at all levels of administration. The Iskolars ng Bayan will never forget the railroading of the tuition fee hike in 2006, where it was approved without the presence of the faculty and student regent. The president should also ensure transparency and accountability in all financial transactions that this University would enter. Moreover, he or she should respect the process of Faculty, Staff and Student Regent Selection and shall not intervene in any way to affect the results of such democratic processes.

Among the President-select Pascual’s commitments in ensuring democratic governance are:

1. review the process of approval of the 2010 Student Code of Conduct and ensure student representation in the committee;
2. probe the military presence in various UP campuses, implement existing agreements with DND and DILG as regards military presence in the University without prejudice to a possible re-negotiation;
3. oppose mandatory ROTC in the University;
4. institutionalize student representation in policy-making and decision-making bodies and committees which affect student rights and welfare;
5. protection of student leaders from political harassment, trumped up cases, including the review of cases filed against UPLB student leaders;
6. monitor and ensure the status of UP Cebu High; and
7. strengthen the flagship courses of each campus.

NATIONAL ISSUES 

UP has been known as a social critic. It has produced mass leaders who have played a role in the ouster of the fascist President Marcos and even Estrada. For years now, it has been leading the campaign against budget cut and it has exposed this as a systematic policy of the government to abandon its duties on tertiary education. While the incumbent UP President had been vocal and was one with us in our fight for greater state subsidy in her early years as president, the UP President remained silent after the historic tuition fee increase was adopted by the Board of Regents. The president of the UP System, as the highest ranking official of the University, should actively engage in national issues and shall play its role of defending the rights of the taxpayers that funds it.

The OSR has high hopes that unlike the current UP administration, the next UP President will open its doors to the interests of the students. While the nominees for the president selection have their own meritorious credentials, the OSR rendered its principled vote according to the aforesaid criteria and commitments. However, we must recognize that choosing the right president is not the solution to the issues that confront the students. We must continue to become vigilant, actively challenging and engaging the next UP President to respond to our democratic rights and interest.

Time and again we have proven that only through our collective action we can achieve victories. But it is only in our relentless will to defend our rights that we can advance our struggle to achieve greater victories. This University will only take any of the two roads: a road to further commercialization and privatization, and a road upholding its public character and commitment to accessible quality education. The real fate of this University rests upon us.

STOP THE P1.39 B BUDGET CUT IN UP!
FIGHT FOR GREATER STATE SUBSIDY!
UPHOLD DEMOCRATIC GOVERNANCE IN THE UNIVERSITY!
DEFEND THE PUBLIC CHARACTER OF UP!
UPHOLD THE UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES AS A UNIVERSITY SERVING THE PEOPLE!


(Editor's note: The University of the Philippines Student Regent is Ms. Jaqueline Eroles)