CONTEND's Statement on the Eve of the BOR Meeting to Select the New UP Diliman Chancellor

Congress of Teachers/Educators for Nationalism and Democracy

(CONTEND)

STATEMENT OF SUPPORT FOR DEAN ROLAND TOLENTINO ON THE EVE OF THE BOR MEETING TO SELECT THE NEW UP DILIMAN CHANCELLOR

In the era of intensifying penetration of neoliberal capitalist logic into all areas of social life and with corporatization creeping into the academic ivory tower, producing nomadic youth who are supposed to work anywhere and everywhere around the globe; and the re-orientation of education to mere social efficiency, the University of the Philippines needs a Chancellor who can lead Diliman to reconsider and emphasize its task for theIskolar ng Bayan and national development with transparency, accountability and democratic governance. CONTEND finds such vision in Dean Roland Tolentino.

CONTEND has always stood for democracy and social justice. We are fortunate to have as our chairperson, Dean Rolando Tolentino. As chairperson of CONTEND, Dean Tolentino spearheaded numerous activities that addressed pressing social issues such as faculty tenure, welfare of students and employees, and even national issues that impinge on the life of the University such as budget cuts to education, human rights violations, gender issues, massive electoral fraud and freedom of the press. As colleagues and comrades of Dean Tolentino, we can strongly attest to his unwavering active struggle against local, national and global injustices.

Dean Tolentino’s unwavering commitment to the betterment of the University and the nation is equally matched by his impeccable track record as an administrator, as a well known and revered teacher and mentor, as a public intellectual doing extension work in behalf of the University, and as a critic of Philippine popular culture and society. As members of CONTEND, we believe that these qualities are necessary for effective academic leadership in UP Diliman.

CONTEND has always been steadfast in its commitment to the national good and the struggle against all forms of oppression. It is in this spirit, that we shall remain vigilant of university policies that trample upon student, faculty and workers rights. We shall work with critical and principled engagement with the next UP Diliman Chancellor. We call on the esteemed members of the Board of Regents to give the University of the Philippines the necessary opportunity to start anew and learn from the basic sectors of our University as they seriously call for an end to the Roman Empire. We demand that the new administration practice good governance, transparency and accountability.

Dean Roland Tolentino’s current bid for Chancellorship is unprecedented in the history of UP Diliman. Dean Tolentino is a renowned and respected radical public intellectual who has expressed his willingness to serve the University in ways that are critical and innovative. His positioning on national and university issues are not anathema to the vision statement of the current president. We are affronted that those who were against the selection of the current UP president are using issues against Dean Tolentino which were similar ro the issues they raised against President Pascual.

The selection of Dean Tolentino as UP Diliman Chancellor by the Board of Regents will be consistent with its selection of President Pascual. Dean Tolentino as Chancellor will be a strong pillar in fostering democratic governance in the University and in realizing the ideal of liberal education for which UP is well known—ideals severely compromised under the previous administration.

We, members of the Congress of Teachers for Nationalism and Democracy, pledge our support to Dean Rolando Tolentino and our commitment to continue to work within the spaces of the University to promote a nationalist, scientific and mass oriented education. That we shall continue to expose and oppose all forms of anti-student, anti-faculty and anti-worker policies and programs are only the initial but necessary steps in fostering the values of honor, excellence and social justice that only a public university for public service can advance in the service of our people.

End the Roman Empire in UP-Diliman!


Dean Rolando Tolentino for Chancellor!


Let us work together to make the University of the Philippines a Public University for Public Service!


MARCH 1, 2011

U.P. Faculty, Organizations call for Dec.1 March to Senate to protest Budget Cuts to State Universities and Colleges; Decry Aquino Administration's Gobbledygook to justify Budget Cuts

THERE IS A BUDGET CUT! 
Oppose the language of technocracy, assert the language of common sense! 


December 1, 2010

Statement of UP Faculty and Staff of UP Kilos Na Laban sa Budget Cut

A lot has been said in the past week, not just about the extent, but more fundamentally, about the existence or non-existence of a “cut in the budget” or “budget cut” affecting the UP System in the proposed 2011 "Reform Budget." Some have asserted that there has in fact been no “budget cut” at all, or that if there has been, it is much less than the P1.39B being bandied about by the student activists. The gist of the argument is that the “capital outlay” part of the budget which is project-specific and meant for the construction of buildings, equipment purchase among others, is “non-recurring.” That is to say the amounts for the past year’s capital outlay will not necessarily have to appear in next year’s budget.

Let’s look at some figures: In 2008, the national budget allocated P1.5B as capital outlay for the UP System, in 2009 it was P2.05B while in 2010 it was pegged at P1.28B. In the budget which UP initially proposed for the coming year amounting to a grand total of P18.5B, almost half or P8.87B was to have been set aside for the much needed development of University infrastructure and upgrading of equipment. However, in great contrast to this stated need, the “Reform Budget” does not allocate a single centavo as capital outlay for the UP System for 2011. The net result is that the UP System has been given a zero amount for this particular component instead of its proposed P8.87B.

It is correct that the amounts requested for “specific projects” within a fiscal year are non-recurring. But it is crucial also to take note of the fact that the need for capital outlay itself (given current trends) is always recurring and in fact, seems to be mounting yearly. Even a superficial comparison of UP with other leading universities in Asia would suffice to underline the sordid and decrepit state of its infrastructure and equipment. The argument that there has been no budget cut because the relevant projects covered by capital outlay terminate on a yearly basis anyway, mistakes the trees for the forest.

Given that the language of business administration and management seems to have colonized all domains of human speech and asserted its supreme right to determine the semantics even of activist slogans, it might be useful to go back to our trusty Merriam-Webster Dictionary which defines “budget” as “the amount of money that is available for, required for, or assigned to a particular purpose.” In addition, according to the venerable Oxford English Dictionary, one of the meanings of “cut” is “to reduce or decrease (expenditure, etc.).”

Now let’s say the particular purpose we are looking at is the very legitimate budgetary component called “Capital Outlay.” Following the above definition closely, the budget for “Capital Outlay” is therefore the amount of money available for, required for, or assigned to it. In the past few years, the money which the national government has made available or assigned to this budgetary component for the UP System has never been zero. Next year it will be zero. Now isn’t the reduction of the money available for “Capital Outlay” from last year’s amount of P1.28B to absolutely nothing a huge reduction in expenditure or “cut” for this component? Isn’t this a drastic negation of the amount which UP claims it requires of at least P8.87B? And on top of this, this translates to a net reduction in the total budget at the disposal of the whole UP System.

We may quibble over the amount, but to deny that there has been a cut, and a huge one at that, is pure sophistry. To accept this would be to let the language of technocracy take over the truth of the language of common sense. Going beyond semantics, we are faced with the very real fact of state abandonment of tertiary education on a large-scale. In line with World Bank prescriptions on higher education “reforms,” President Noynoy Aquino admits openly that “we are gradually reducing the subsidy to SUCs [State Universities and Colleges] to push them toward becoming self-sufficient and financially independent, given their ability to raise their income and to utilize it for their programs and projects.”The current budget cut and those still to come will imperil UP’s ability to provide affordable, quality education for the youth of this nation. These will erode and undermine our central values of academic excellence and academic freedom. We must act now to stop the budget cut!

Join the December 1 Anti-Budget Cut Rally at the Senate! 

College teach-ins: 7 am – 10 am.

Assembly 11 am, Dec. 1 at Quezon Hall before departing for the Philippine Senate.


UP KILOS NA LABAN SA BUDGET CUT
Concerned Faculty Against the Budget Cut
All UP Workers Union
All UP Academic Employees Union
CONTEND-UP

Back to Class: O Kung Bakit Hindi Kadiri ang Makauring Pagsusuri - Agosto 23, 2010 Forum & Exhibit

(To enlarge the graphic, please click on it)

Inihahandog ng Congress of Teachers/Educators for Nationalism and Democracy (CONTEND-UP) sa ika-16 na anibersaryo nito ang isang forum na pinamagatang

BACK TO CLASS: O KUNG BAKIT HINDI KADIRI ANG MAKAURING PAGSUSURI

sa Agosto 23, 2010

1-4pm

Claro M. Recto Hall, Faculty Center, U.P. Diliman

Bubuksan rin sa okasyong ito ang exhibit tungkol sa kasaysayan at praktika at pedagohiya ng pakikibaka ng CONTEND-UP.

(Source: U.P. Issues: http://upissues.wordpress.com/2010/08/15/back-to-class/)