News Flash: Dr. Jose Gonzales wins preliminary injunction in QC RTC vs. his unilateral removal as Director of the Philippine General Hospital

(Dr. Jose Gonzales. Photo courtesy of Dr. Iggy Igbayani)

The ousted Director of the University of the Philippines (U.P.) Philippine General Hospital (PGH) Dr. Jose Gonzales has won his appeal for a preliminary injunction for the Quezon City Regional Trial Court (RTC) No. 84 to return him as PGH Director after his removal was ordered by the U.P. Board of Regents last February 25, 2010 (see: http://diliman-diary.blogspot.com/2010/02/day-of-long-knives.html).

The judge assigned to the case, Judge Luisito Cortez of QCRTC Branch 84 today ordered the incumbent PGH Director, Dr. Eric Domingo to cease and desist from holding office and for Dr. Gonzales to resume his duties as PGH Director. Judge Cortez also ordered the U.P. Board of Regents (BOR) to recognize Dr. Gonzales as PGH Director, according to Faculty Regent Judy M. Taguiwalo.

(Dr. Eric Domingo. Photo 

source: http://musigmaphi.com)

However, strictly speaking this does not necessarily mean that Dr. Gonzales is in the clear yet.

According to Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Preliminary_injunction), a preliminary injunction, in equity, is an injunction entered by a court prior to a final determination of the merits of a legal case, in order to restrain a party from going forward with a course of conduct or compelling a party to continue with a course of conduct until the case has been decided.

If the case is decided against the party that has been enjoined, then the injunction will usually be made permanent. If the case is decided in favor of the party that has been enjoined, the injunction will usually be dissolved or dismissed.

In most courts the party seeking the preliminary injunction must demonstrate all four things together:

• That there is a substantial likelihood of success on the merits of the case,
• That they face a substantial threat of irreparable damage or injury if the injunction is not granted,
• That the balance of harms weighs in favor of the party seeking the preliminary injunction
• That the grant of an injunction would serve the public interest.

The affected incumbent PGH Director, Dr. Eric Domingo is expected to appeal this decision and even elevate it to higher courts. However, an individual who violates an injunction may be punished for contempt of court. A person is not guilty of contempt, however, unless he or she can be charged with knowledge of the injunction. Generally an individual charged with contempt is entitled to a trial or a hearing. The penalty imposed is within the discretion of the court. Ordinarily punishment is by fine, imprisonment, or both, according to West's Encyclopedia of American Law (http://www.answers.com/topic/injunction).

This time, time may no longer be on the side of Dr. Domingo, as the composition of the BOR has already significantly changed in terms of voting numbers which was originally in favour of Dr. Domingo from the BOR which voted to install him last February 27, 2010.

Three of the Malacañang "midnight" regents who voted for Dr. Domingo - the late former Supreme Court Associate Justice Abraham Sarmiento, former Regent Nelia Gonzales and former Regent Francis Chua were replaced with new appointees by President Benigno S. Aquino III last November 17, 2010. The new appointees are: former College of Business Administration (CBA) Dean Dr. Magdaleno Albarracin, Jr., former Chief Justice Reynato Puno and director-actress Ms. Bibeth Orteza-Siguion Reyna.

Six votes are needed to carry the day in any BOR decision. U.P. President-elect Alfredo E. Pascual is known to be a supporter of Dr. Gonzales. Two of the Sectoral Regents - Staff Regent Clodualdo "Buboy" Cabrera and Student Regent Jaque Eroles - are expected to continue the sectoral regents support for Dr. Gonzales. Alumni Regent Gladys Tiongco is a known supporter of President-elect Pascual. Meantime Ms. Oreta-Siguion Reyna is a member of Phi Delta Alpha Sorority and is known to be supportive of Dr. Gonzales.

The fact that Ms. Orteza-Siguion Reyna  is a sorority sister of former Chief Justice Puno, who belongs to Alpha Phi Beta Fraternity does not exactly hurt. However, former Chief Justice Puno is expected to give great weight to the quality of judicial reasoning of Judge Cortez. Assuming he finds the reasoning unobjectionable, there is a high probability that the BOR will have at least six out of the eleven votes needed for U.P. to decide to comply with the Judge's order instead of fighting it.

Additionally, U.P. President-elect Pascual's term does not begin until February 10, 2011 while Faculty Regent Judy Taguiwalo's term ends by December of this year to be replaced by U.P. Los Baños Professor Ida Dalmatio whose voting sentiment on this issue is still unknown. The next BOR meeting is on January 17, 2011 which means that supporters of Dr. Domingo within the BOR may still mount an attempt to fight the case in court.

However, as soon as U.P. President-elect Pascual takes over the reins from outgoing U.P. President Emerlinda R. Roman, he can simply opt to get BOR backing to immediately comply with the court order with the requisite number of votes on his side on this particular issue.

Meantime, Dr. Iggy Agbayani, spokeperson of Ibalik ang Tama sa U.P.-PGH said in his Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/notes/iggy-agbayani/dec-23-2010-icing-on-the-cake-for-ibalik-ang-tama-sa-up-pgh/484055364639) that "Today Dr. Jose Gonzales received a letter from the Q.C. court ordering the BOR to recognize Dr. Jose Gonzales as PGH Director. This is the injunction being sought by Jogon’s lawyers over the past eight months. He will now sit as PGH Director until the court’s final verdict of who the real PGH Director should be. The news is sweet victory for the many supporters of Jogon from the UP-PGH community and UP alumni. It is now very likely that Jogon will finish his term as Director until the end 2012."

"On a personal note and as a member of the Laban UP-PGH movement I consider this a very important victory for our cause and a sign of good things yet come. The battle to bring back good against near insurmountable odds was full of ups and downs. There were times when we had to question our resolve and rethink whether our sacrifices are worth it. We have been warned by family and real friends to stay away or be careful for our own sake. There had been a prevailing atmosphere of cynicism, apathy and even hopelessness in PGH and this is perhaps a reflection of our society in general. The average PGH doctor is practical and just goes by what is the prevailing credo or political weather no matter how immoral this may be."

"This has however resulted in most University and hospital leaders being chosen for their ability to tow the line and present themselves as lackeys to those who may bring them political positions of power or career opportunities. Matters of integrity, honesty and fair play took a back seat and we saw this quite clearly during our saga to bring back what is right. We never wavered though in our belief and that no matter what we had to do the right thing. Jogon needed help and when a good man asks for help and with all the right reasons and cause you don’t ever turn down a good man. I personally felt that there will be few opportunities in our life when we are asked to make a stand and this was one of them and damn me to eternal guilt if I chose to sit this one out."

"Those in the Laban UP-PGH movement headed and supported by Drs. Jonas del Rosario, Manny Agulto, Bill Romero, Abe Marinduque, Randy Abdullah, Gap Legaspi, Jojo Castillo, Chuck Chuachiaco, Ted Herbosa, Marge Lat-Luna, Agnes Mejia, Andro Fernandez, Joey Lapena, Mr. Alikabok, BJay Pasco, JF Guttierez, Ardynne Mallari, Gerald Abesamis, the Phi Alumni, the Phi International and the students of the Phi Kappa Mu Fraternity could not squander this chance to be decent human beings. We all understood that Jogon is a victim and also a symbol."

(Reporting by Chanda Shahani)

Public Service Announcement: Tuloy ang laban para ibalik ang tama sa UP PGH

Narito ang larawan kuha pagkatapos ng hearing noong Oktubre 6 sa kasong isinampa ni Dr. Jose Gonzales laban sa UP kaugnay ng di makatarungang pag-alis sa kanya bilang Direktor ng PGH. Naroon ang mga kasamahan sa All UP Workers Union ng U.P. Manila-PGH at sina Dr. Ted Mendoza (Pangalawang Pambansang Pangulo para sa Faculty) at si Prop. Lanie Abad (Pangkalahatang Kalihim) ng All UP Academic Employees Union. Kasama namin sa larawan si Atty. Antonio Pastelero, Chair ng U.P. Student Council noong 1969 at mahusay na abogado ni Dr. Jose Gonzalez.

Sa Oktubre 22, Friday, 9 am ang susunod na hearing.

Patuloy nating suportahan si Dr. Gonzales at ang laban para ibalik ang tama sa U.P. PGH.

(Editor's note: the above announcement was sent as a link from the All U.P. Academic Workers Union via Faculty Regent Judy Taguiwalo. We have posted this in view of its newsworthiness to our readers, many of whom are still following the events at PGH closely. For readers who wish to get a sense of the running narrative involving the role of the Administration of outgoing U.P. President Emerlinda R. Roman in the PGH issue, please click on the following link:

http://diliman-diary.blogspot.com/2010/02/day-of-long-knives.html

Ibalik ang Tama Video on Outgoing U.P. Administration's Unilateral Ouster of Dr. Jose Gonzales as U.P. PGH Director

U.P. Medical Alumni Society on the PGH Director controversy to the U.P. Board of Regents: "Wake up and Smell the coffee."

In what perhaps amounts to one of the strongest messages sent yet to the University of the Philippines (U.P.) Board of Regents (BOR), the University of the Philippines Medical Alumni Society (UPMAS) is asking the BOR to wake up and smell the coffee on the growing public clamor to review and reverse its decision to remove Dr. Jose C. Gonzales as the Director of the Philippine General Hospital (PGH) and to resolve the issue speedily; in the interest of service to the public, including some 500,000 estimated indigent patients who seek treatment at PGH every year.

The Diliman Diary is posting below the actual verbatim statement of UPMAS including the embedded scans of the message (embedded above and below):

University of the Philippines Medical Alumni Society

Message of Concern for the Attention of the Board of Regents of the University of the Philippines from the Board of Directors of the UP Medical Alumni Society (UPMAS)

I. We, the Officers and members of the UP Medical Alumni Society (UPMAS) having carefully studied the circumstances surrounding the election of the Director of the Philippine General Hospital issue this Message of Concern for the following reasons:

A. The effective implementation of the programs of the Philippine General Hospital has been seriously compromised.

B. The confusion generated by the series of questionable election processes carried out by the Board of Regents, since its meeting on December 18, 2009 has not only divided the UP-PGH community, it has hampered the delivery of quality care to the patients as well as the excellent education and training in PGH that have been committed to the students and trainees in all the health professions, now enrolled in UP Manila.

C. The divisiveness that has since prevailed in the hospital community as well as in UP Manila, has created an unhealthy work environment that has caused serious demoralization among all sectors in the Philippine General Hospital, as well as the entire campus.

II. Our study and careful review of the events since December 18, 2009 that has generated for us the above reasons to issue this Message of Concern leads us now to call on the Board of Regents to rectify its actions and reverse its decision of Feb 25, 2010. In doing so, it will clearly show to all sectors of the University and the rest of the country that it truly upholds what the University holds dear: the dignity and self-respect of any individual and this individual's right to due process of the law.

• We therefore support calls on the University officials to expedite the resolution of the PGH Directorship issue, in a manner that is speedy and just.

III. We are concerned that the inconsistency in the manner by which the Board of Regents has conducted the election of the Director of the Philippine General Hospital this year has put the integrity of the selection process for PGH Director in serious question. In three years' time we will face another PGH Directorship selection process. We do not want a similarly contentious situation to arise which would again polarize the UP-PGH-UPCM and the entire UP Manila community.

• We support calls for a thorough review of all UP BOR processes to ensure that they are in compliance with existing policies of the University and the country.
• We support calls for the Board of regents (BOR) to clarify and observe the policies governing the selection of the PGH Director now, and uphold these in the future.
• We support calls for the BOR to follow the prescribed mechanisms for choosing the Director of the PGH regardless of personalities and pressures from within or outside the University.
• We support demands for increased transparency in all the transactions of the BOR.
• We support calls on the BOR to be more participatory, and to truly reflect the sentiments and aspirations of the various sectors of the UP community, who are represented in the BOR, consistent with the University's ideal of excellence and honorable service to the nation.
• Above all, we would like to continually expect that the BOR express, in all its decisions and actions, what the University holds dear, which is, the recognition and respect of an individual's right to his dignity as a human being and his right to due process.

We, the 2010 Officers and Members of the Board of directors of UPMAS, along with UPCM Alumni, the entire UP Manila - especially the Philippine General Hospital community, are confident that a positive outcome will emerge from this unfortunate situation. We enjoin everyone to continue rendering the superior service Filipinos expect and deserve. We enjoin everyone that as they move forward and continue to be highly competent and compassionate physicians, to also be vigilant, having learned from the lessons gained from this experience.

Signed:

The 2010 Members of the Board of Directors of UPMAS

(Editors note: To se the actual signatories of this Message of Concern, please click on the third and fourth embedded scans below):

On Monday Morning, Flag Day, the U.P. PGH community says to U.P. President Emerlinda Roman: "We are more than just a small band of protesters."

By Chanda Shahani

Ignoring a ban against any mass assembly by the administration of the University of the Philippines (U.P.) Philippine General Hospital, hundreds of protesters made up of doctors, medical students, medical staff and members of the All-U.P. Workers Union converged today on the lobby of U.P. PGH today to lend support to the symbolic signing by PGH doctors of their intent to file mass leaves of absence (LOAs).

The LOAs by so many senior doctors are seen by many observers as a collective act of protest against the administration of U.P. President Emerlinda Roman, a professor of business administration at U.P. Diliman and who has very aggressively forced the issue of installing a less qualified Dr. Enrique Domingo as PGH Director over a more experienced and qualified Dr. Jose Gonzales through controversial corporate-style board room tactics at the Board of Regents that has angered students and faculty also in U.P. Diliman and U.P. Los Baños

102 doctors have so far signed and the setting up of a cordon as a symbol of the intent of the doctors and staff to continue with the protest until the U.P. Administration recognizess Dr. Jose Gonzales as the Director of PGH. However, LABAN UPPGH organizer, Dr. Iggy Agbayani  has  said in a Facebook update that the "mass LOA list formally ends ... at 102. Those who still wish to join are advised to sign the statement of support but not to file an official LOA at least while the others are on LOA. Somebody has to man the fort at PGH di ba."

Below are pictures of the symbolic mass LOA taken at U.P. PGH today by Dr. Iggy Agbayani:

Former U.P. PGH Director, U.P. College of Medicine alumni weigh in on PGH crisis

By Chanda Shahani

The former Director of the University of the Philippines (U.P.) Philippine General Hospital (PGH), Dr. Gabriel G. Carreon, has emailed the Diliman Diary from Sydney, Australia on April 2, 2010 with a proposal to end the leadership crisis at PGH. As part of our responsibilities as a community weblog that seeks to disseminate critical and important information right away to policy makers and our readers, we are reproducing the contents of the email  with his permission:

"Dear Mr. Shahani,

"As a former Director of the Philippine General Hospital, I have been closely following on your website since December 2009, the very disturbing events and developments about the PGH Directorship and have very serious concerns about the detrimental effects on the institution, the staff and the patients that the hospital serves. I suggest the following action to help address and hopefully resolve the problem, in the spirit and principle of true democracy, by demonstrating the will of the more than 4000 persons working at the PGH and the UP College of Medicine, who provide health care to the public and teach medical students and train young doctors, and who will accept and be working with full support and unequivocal commitment with their PGH Director of choice. These persons, include the medical [consultant and resident doctors], nursing, paramedical and administrative staff of PGH and relevant medical faculty staff of the UP College of Medicine . In pursuing this action, the health and welfare of the public is kept foremost by the UP and the PGH."

"The Chancellor of UP Manila , Dr. Ramon Arcadio, Dr. Jose Gonzales and Dr. Eric Domingo will agree to a SNAP referendum/election/secret ballot [to avoid any campaigning period] by the whole PGH constituency and relevant UP College of Medicine staff, to be called and administered [with complete transparency] by the UP Manila Chancellor and that Dr. Gonzales and Dr. Domingo will abide with the outcome of the election and not challenge the results, which will be final and binding to the Board of Regents, UP administration and the PGH. This will avoid all the unproductive happenings continuing to occur and will place the welfare and interest of and service to the public as the only priority of this venerable SERVICE and training institution -- the Philippine General Hospital."

"Gabriel G. Carreon, M.D.
Former Director of PGH, 1971 to 1979
Former Action for Health Services
Metro Manila Commission 1975 to 1979

Sydney, Australia"

Meanwhile, the University of the Philippines Medical Alumni Society in America (UPMASA) has sent a Statement of Concern, also on the PGH leadership crisis, which they have copy furnished to the Diliman Diary via email also on April 2, 2010. It was signed by UPMASA's key officers: Ofelia D. Madrid-Bernabe, M.D. as President; Silverio Cabellon, Jr., M.D., as Chairperson, Board of Governors and William H. E. Romero, M.D., as Recording Secretary.

Here is what the Statement of Concern said (the scan of the statement is embedded above):

"We, the Board of Governors of the University of the Philippines Medical Alumni Society in America (UPMASA), are deeply concerned over the controversy surrounding the appointment of the Director of the Philippine General Hospital."

"UPMASA, the alumni organization of the UP College of Medicine in North America, Europe and other countries outside of the Philippines, is issuing this statement in its capacity as a major donor of funds and equipment to the Philippine General Hospital (PGH). UPMASA derives its support from its membership and it is our fiduciary obligation to ensure that donations to the PGH are received by a stable and fiscally-responsible hospital administration."

"This unresolved dispute between conflicting appointments of two directors has resulted in lawsuits among the protagonists as well as unrest within the various communities of the University of the Philippines and the Philippine General Hospital. This discord has escalated to a mass leave of absence amongst the PGH attending physicians starting March 29, 2010."

"We are concerned that these ongoing conflicts are affecting crucial hospital operations, health access, and timely delivery of quality patient care at the Philippine General Hospital to the indigent patients who need them most."

"We therefore request a speedy and rightful resolution of this issue."

Even as Dr. Carreon and UPMASA weigh in on the issue, U.P. President Emerlinda Roman has not yet attempted to broker any meaningful dialogue between supporters of Dr. Enrique Domingo and Dr. Jose Gonzales, who have both been selected by the Board of Regents (BOR) as Director and are contesting each others' right to occupy the position at present.

President Roman has publicly stated in the past that she believes that the BOR should defer to the judgement of the concerned faculty in deciding its own internal matters; especially those involving the academic freedom of the faculty. In this particular case, the BOR or President Roman or the U.P. Legal Office has yet to issue any public statement centering on the recognition of the weight given by the BOR to the academic freedom of the U.P. College of Medicine faculty in nominating or retaining a PGH Director ; many of whom are also common faculty at the Philippine General Hospital.

(Chanda Shahani is the Editor of the Diliman Diary)

(Photo reproduced with permission of Flickr.com: http://www.flickr.com/photos/pianoforte/4461252584/)

"SHUT UP, THAT'S WHY!!!" U.P. and PGH Administration moves to silence mounting PGH Faculty, Staff discontent vs. removal of PGH Director Dr. Jose Gonzales

By Chanda Shahani

The University of the Philippines (U.P.) Administration and the U.P. Philippine General Hospital (PGH) Administration are now moving to silence the PGH Faculty and Staff regarding the removal as PGH Director of Dr. Jose Gonzales by the Board of Regents (BOR) by limiting their ability to strike and assemble; but the list of discontented doctors just keeps on growing anyway.

But ominously, the recent actions of the both the U.P. Administration and the PGH Administration towards the common faculty members of the PGH and the U.P. College of Medicine (UPCM) appear to be guided and best summed up by the West African proverb which advises a warrior approaching a wild, raging dangerous animal in the African bush to "Speak softly, but carry a Big Stick."

And what a Big Stick is now being wielded by U.P. and PGH against the equivalent of a raging beast which are hundreds of angry PGH doctors and medical personnel who oppose the removal of Dr. Gonzales and his replacement with Dr. Enrique Domingo. The threat of the loss of job security may be on the line for these doctors - who have gone on mass leave of absence to protest the removal of Dr. Gonzales - as well as  the use of state-sanctioned violence and intimidation through the use of PGH security guards to limit the doctors' right to assemble - may also be in the offing.

Here's what we know so far about the U.P. Administration and the U.P. PGH Administration's official pronouncements:

• On March 29, 2010 the U.P. Administration posted an announcement on its own website that was billed as a joint statement from PGH and UPCM (http://www.up.edu.ph/features.php?i=196) stating that: "Consistent with the University’s policy of respecting our constituents’ right to express their views, the reported leave of absence will be properly evaluated and approved upon submission, subject to existing University rules and regulations." This statement means that the U.P. Administration has the right to disapprove any LOAs and to impose sanctions for pesonnel who embark on unapproved leaves of absence.
• On March 31, right before the start of the Holy Week celebrations, Dr. Domingo issued a memo, Memorandum 2010-44 addressed to all department and unit heads, Memorandum Circular No. 6 of 1987 of the Civil ServiceCommission "which reminds all concerned of the prohibition for government officials and employees from staging strikes demonstrations, mass leaves walk-outs and other forms of mass action which will result in temporary stoppage or disruption of public service." However, while the concerned Memorandum Circular No. 6 prohibits government employees from effectively engaging in a strike by staging a mass walk-out, a mass leave is nothing but the sum total of several individuals filing their formal leaves of absence. As of March 31, 92 doctors had already signified their intention to go on mass LOA in the near future.
• On March 29, 2010 Dr. Domingo issued Memorandum 2010-39 which stated that "The Flag Raising Ceremony is a solemn activity honoring our flag and country at the start of every working week. To avoid any disrespect to the Philippine flag all programs following the flag raising are hereby suspended until further notice. The flag shall be raised every Monday at 6:00 am with full honor guard by the UP Manila Security Office and all those present at that time are invited to witness and attend." Since flag ceremonies in all government institutions, including U.P. are usually held at 8:00 a.m., this move is widely seen by observers as a tactic by Dr. Domingo to circumvent the kind of mass gathering that could take place at a later time when more doctors and medical personnel are around. The presence of armed security guards at that hour also ensures that all other programs remain suspended and creates a "chilling effect" against mass gatherings protesting the removal of Dr. Gonzales.

Dr. Domingo's and the U.P. Administration's tactics could be driving a bigger wedge between themselves and the UPCM faculty some of whom are also PGH medical staff and doctors. Memorandum Circular No. 6 of 1987 of the Civil ServiceCommission specifies the preferred alternative to a mass walkout or work stoppage in any given scenario is a series of dialogues between the bureaucratic administration and employees. In the case of the U.P. and PGH Administration and their colleagues in the faculty and the PGH, there have been none so far ever since Dr. Gonzales was removed by a new vote in the BOR, the legitimacy of which is openly being questioned, due to some regents having expired papers when they voted.

The U.P. Administration and the BOR has failed to intelligently explain to its own faculty and the public why Dr. Gonzales, who is more senior and experienced than Dr. Domingo was removed and replaced by Dr. Domingo beyond the legal arguments being peddled by the U.P. Legal Office. The majority of the faculty of the UPCM have voted to retain Dr. Gonzales and are insisting that their Academic Freedom be respected. But Dr. Domingo's administration seems determined to pursue a mailed fist policy against his own colleagues, including the cutting off of the electricity to Dr. Gonzales's office despite the U.P. Administration's unwillingness to to credibly answer questions about the legitimate right to vote of several regents who voted to remove Dr. Gonzales and replace him with Dr. Domingo when they had expired papers during those periods of time (See Diliman Diary, March 23, 2010: http://diliman-diary.blogspot.com/2010/03/success-diliman-diary-finally-gets.html).

Mu Sigma Phi Fraternity asked to join Phi Kappa Mu Fraternity in mass LOA to help UP-PGH

Meantime, Dr.  Iggy Agbayani, one of the organizers of the LABAN UPPGH Movement wrote today in his Facebook account that there was no correlation between the calls to protest the removal of Dr. Gonzales and the fact that Dr. Domingo was a member of the Mu Sigma Phi Fraternity. The only other medical fraternity in UPCM is the Phi Kappa Mu Fraternity.

He said therre were "those who have created a fake fraternity war between the Phi Kappa Mu and the Mu Sigma Phi fraternity to keep members of the Mu Sigma Phi from joining the protest activities against the oppressive and undemocratic governance of President Roman and BOR. Even if it is clear that no member of the BOR nor Roman herself is a member of the Mu Sigma Phi this mindset of Phi vs Mu abounds.”

“During the short period of Dr. Gonzales' directorship he even appointed five members of the Mu Sigma Phi to be chairmen of the various PGH Departments because he believes that what is good for PGH transcends the rivalry of fraternities. There exists a strong rivalry between these two organizations but I think the excuse of not joining a cause to help PGH because of affiliation or friendship has long expired.”

“Even rivals can agree and see if real oppression has been done or when true democracy has been thwarted. I know that my many friends and colleagues in the Mu Sigma Phi are just as passionate and as keen to fight what is wrong and to bring back what is right. In this spirit I would like to call on the Mu doctors and faculty of PGH and even the students and alumni of my rival fraternity to join our protest. Signify your intention to join the mass LOA before it is too late. Sumama na kayo sa Laban para sa UP-PGH upang Ibalik ang Tama.”

(Chanda Shahani is the Editor of the Diliman Diary. He finished A.B. Comparative Literature from U.P. Diliman)

Sources:

1) The embedded video is from: http://www.youtube.com/

2) Picture of the Oblation at the U.P. College of Medicine is reproduced with permission: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ggermar/4174819993/)

U.P. Philippine General Hospital Doctors' Statement on March 29 Mass Leave of Absence to Protest the Blatant Disregard for a Democratic Process and Oppressive Ouster of PGH Director, Dr. Jose Gonzales

The Philippine General Hospital is in crisis because of a Hospital Director’s questionable appointment. When a tenured, democratically elected and functioning PGH Director in Dr. Jose C. Gonzales can be removed from office without due process and cause, it sends a message of oppression and shock to the PGH community. On February 25, 2010 upon orders from the University of the Philippines’ Board of Regents, Dr. Gonzales was replaced by Dr. Enrique Domingo. On March 2, 2010 the College Council of the UP College of Medicine whose membership represents the majority of doctors and faculty members of PGH, overwhelmingly approved a resolution (with a vote of 199 to 19) recognizing Dr. Jose Gonzales as the duly appointed Director of PGH until December 2012. 

We the undersigned have therefore decided to take a mass leave of absence starting the week of March 29, 2010 to express our anger and dismay over the oppression and dubious removal from office of one of our own PGH Doctor and to strongly protest the lack of a democratic process in selecting our Director. In view also of the fact that this matter has already been brought to the courts and has yet to decide on who should be the legally recognized Director, our leave of absence protects us from following orders from a de facto PGH Director. We wish to make it clear that our actions will not affect life threatening or emergency cases in PGH patients but may only delay elective surgeries attendance to outpatient cases or other non-life threatening illnesses for a limited time only. Those of us in very sensitive leadership posts will likewise continue working in a limited capacity despite our LOA. We will not abandon our patients already admitted in hospital and will be available for emergency cases and critical aspects of patient care.

To this end,

We call on our patients and the public for understanding, as we will not neglect the care of the critically ill and emergent conditions, but may sadly have to defer outpatient consultations, elective surgical procedures and non-essential administrative functions.

We call on our medical students and resident trainees for support, as we demonstrate in deed, as in word, what it means to uphold and enflesh the noble traditions we cherish and the timeless principles we value.

We call on our colleagues- physicians, health professionals and health workers alike for introspection, reflection and realization that we share a common situation, and that we are challenged to make a common stand in conscience and with conviction.

We call on our leaders, elected or appointed to positions of authority in the University system, to examine their consciences, rectify the situation and assume the rightful role of servant leader rather than that of lord and master, for they are accountable to the People for their words and deeds.

We particularly call on the other members of the Board of Regents and the President of the University of the Philippines, to heed our resounding call, expressed through the representative voices of our organic Faculty, Staff and Alumni Regents, and through the silenced voice of our Student Regent, as we echo the closing lines of UP Naming Mahal:

Ating pagdiwang, bulwagan ng dangal,
humayo't itanghal, giting at tapang,
mabuhay ang pag-asa ng bayan,
mabuhay ang pag-asa ng bayan!

SIGNED:
1. Manny Agulto
2. Marge Lat-Luna
3. Joey Lapena
4. Randy Abdullah
5. Eric Legaspi
6. JJ Cruz
7. Jonas del Rosario
8. Eric Talens
9. Butch Felizar
10. Gerardo Legaspi
11. Jojo Jocson
12. Randy Nicolas
13. Venancio Garduce
14. Mario Geronilla
15. CJ Gloria
16. Pio Villacorta
17. Jubert Benedicto
18. Abundio Balgos
19. Mariel Nicolas
20. Arnel De jesus
21. Abe Marinduque
22. Dennis Serrano
23. Ted Herbosa
24. Leo Cubillan
25. Delen Dela Paz
26. Herbie Uy
27. Alvin Marcelo
28. Atoy Manalo
29. Rene Tuazon
30. Leah Tantoco
31. Edison Ty
32. Ricky Salonga
33. Bebol Paterno
34. Maloy Calaquian
35. Butching Paterno
36. Felix Lukban
37. Pablo Lazatin III
38. Jimmy Tan
39. Aileen Cubillan
40. Portia Marcelo
41. Adrian Manapat
42. June Lopez
43. Telly How -Hidalgo
44. Ben Vista
45. Gene Abes
46. Pia Malanyaon
47. Carlos Chua
48. Eris LLanes
49. Charlotte Chiong
50. Gary Mercado
51. Peter Bernardo
52. Jun Kaw
53. Ting Leynes
54. Joan Ocobillo
55. Agnes Mejia
56. Grace Herbosa
57. Joan Ocubillo
58. Eduardo Bautista
59. Benjie Dela Paz
60. Lara Alentahan
61. Cynthia Dominguez
62. Eugene Reyes

If you are a faculty member of the UPCM and you wish to be added to this list please e-mail or call/txt the following cell phone numbers below ASAP. To determine the mechanics of applying for an LOA for this purpose please contact, text or e-mail the following:

Dr. Iggy Agbayani 09175318648 or
iggyagbayani@yahoo.com
Dr. Jonas Del Rosario 09178456627 or
delrosariojonas@yahoo.com
Dr. Joey Lapena 09179137258 or
joeylapena@yahoo.com
Dra. Marge Lat Luna 09189234718 or
margelatluna@yahoo.com

DEADLINE FOR JOINING IS Sunday APRIL 4, 2010

Maraming salamat po. Tuloy ang Laban para Ibalik ang Tama.

Unibersidad ng Pilipinas ang Eskwelahan ng Matatalino, Matatapang at May Malasakit sa Kapwa at Lalo na sa Mahihirap.

Laban UP-PGH Movement

(Editor's note: the Diliman Diary will give equal treatment to the U.P. Administration's comments or reactions on this issue when they become available).

Public Service Announcement: "IBALIK ANG TONO para IBALIK ANG TAMA," Protest Concert on March 19, 2010 at U.P. PGH Quadrangle/Atrium

IBALIK ANG TONO para IBALIK ANG TAMA

This Friday 5pm March 19 at the PGH Quadrangle/Atrium.

Featuring: Noel Cabangon, Datu's Tribe, The UP Med Choir and more

Entrance is Free

Ibalik ang Tono is an impromptu protest concert produced by the coalition of various groups from UP and PGH that have come together in protest of the unjust and oppressive removal of the PGH Director Dr. Jose "Joegon" Gonzales and the the UP Student Regent Ms. Charisse Bañez. Music is has the great power to strengthen our unity and our resolve to fight for what is right. Kaya Ibalik ang Tono para Ibalik ang Tama.

Other artists are still welcome to volunteer their talents for this concert. Please call Dr. Iggy Agbayani at 09175318648 asap.

Sponsored by Laban UP-PGH, the All UP Workers Union of Manila and the Coalition for truth, justice and good governance in UP-PGH: All UP Academic Employees Union Manila, PGH Head Nurses League, , PGH Nursing Attendants Association, University Student Council-UP Manila, PGH Utility Workers Association, Alternative Students’ Alliance for Progress- Katipunan ng mga Progresibong Mag-aaral ng Bayan (ASAP-KATIPUNAN) and all the advocates of our cause.

UP-PGH has faced and is facing more administrative problems, Government records show

By Chanda Shahani

The University of the Philippines (U.P.) Philippine General Hospital (PGH) consistently lost more money than it should have from 2004 to 2009 due to a series of managerial lapses, documents from the Commission on Audit (COA) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) show.

 The lapses from 2004 to 2008, combined with a lack of availability of additional funds from the national government, contributed to an overall budget gap of PhP 1.7 billion in 2008 from its official budget of PhP 1.3 billion in the same year. COA says that the PGH needs an annual budget of at least P3 billion to maintain its ISO status. Another major lapse is the U.P. Administration's stunning blunder where it rushed to sign a contract in 2009 that is now opposed by the Department of Justice to privatize portions of PGH, leading to an estimated revenue shortfall of PhP 84 million a year for the premier state hospital.

The 2008 Consolidated Audited Annual Report (CAAR), authored by COA and available online (http://www.coa.gov.ph/) is an audit of the entire Philippine government, including the U.P. System which includes PGH, and was transmitted to U.P. President Emerlinda Roman in a cover letter by COA Director Villaflor S. Fernandez and received on September 23, 2009 by President Roman's office.

 The 2008 CAAR of COA cited budget losses for PGH stemming from disallowed Philealth claims amounting to PhP 8.7 million (See: “Former U.P. PGH Executive Director Robustly defends Financial Record, while 2008 COA Report reveals more details,” Diliman Diary, March 3, 2010). But it goes much deeper than that. Other details, buried beneath a forest of links at the COA website show an emerging pattern of managerial lapses, contributing to the PGH's PhP 1.7 billion budget gap.

 The 2008 CAAR of COA said that:

• Procedural deficiencies in the operation of Newborn Screening Services caused an estimated PhP 27 million in uncollected and unrecorded  revenue and other procedural deficiencies in the operation of the Newborn Screening Services of PGH, a procedure required by law (R.A. 9288 or the Newborn Screening Act of 2004) due to inadequate enforcement of policies and procedures on billing and collections.
• Uncollected 20 percent discount granted under the Expanded Senior Citizens Act of 2003 (R.A. 9257) resulted in the PhP 64.9 million out-of-pocket expenses incurred by PGH due to funding constraints from the Department of Budget and Management and a lack of strong representations from the U.P. Administration to both houses of Congress who are the holders of the nation's purse strings.
• Indigent patients who are the historical constituency of PGH's Medical Assistance program were deprived of some PhP 9.9 million in government funding from legislator's pork-barrel funds, otherwise known as Priority Development Assistance Funds (PDAF) since it should have been truly indigent patients who were the beneficiaries of this fund, as intended by law, and not richer and wealthier pay-in patients who wee the beneficiaries screened by the staff of the legislators.
• Hospital Fees of PhP 131.6 million excluding interest due from Corporate, Government and Individual accounts remained uncollected from one to 12 years in U.P. PGH due to inadequate and inconsistent implementation of existing policies on admission and collection for pay-in patients, which depleted PGH's financial resources to continue its operations.

(To read more details regarding the the numerous problems pointed out by COA in its 2008 CAAR and U.P. PGH's specific responses to them, please click on: http://tinyurl.com/yz8eea2 ).

Adding to the problems cited by COA, which its auditors say are correctible, and if totalled together, amount to a PhP 232.8 million contribution to PGH's PhP 1.7 billion annual budget gap; is the issue of the privatization of portions of PGH through a contract signed on June 18, 2009  for the UP PGH Faculty Medical Arts Building (FMAB) Project by U.P. President Emerlinda Roman and Dr. Edwin Mercado, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Daniel Mercado Medical Center (DMMC) and witnessed by then U.P. PGH Director Carmelo Alfiler whose term spanned 2004 to 2009, leading to another major contribution to PGH's budget gap.

According to U.P. PGH Executive Director Jose Gonzales, who is the immediate successor of Dr. Alfiler, but whose position as Executive Director is now the subject of an administrative and legal dispute after the BOR replaced him with Dr. Enrique Domingo on February 25, 2010 (See Diliman Diary, February 25, 2010); the FMAB project, while beneficial in some respects, would nevertheless still hurt the essential constituents of U.P. PGH, who are the disadvantaged poor, by siphoning away much-needed income needed by PGH for its programs and benefitting DMMC instead.

Dr Gonzales said that the pharmacy of PGH generated PhP 8 million a month or PhP 96 million a year. DMMC operated facilities would compete against PGH facilities and aside from operating a competing pharmacy within the bowels of PGH, the U.P. FMAB Project would allow DMMC the lease with conversion, rehabilitation, development and operation of the PGH Dispensary Building as the UP-PGH FMAB for a period of 25 years. Under the contract, DMMC is given an 18-month rent-free construction period starting from the time of contract signing. Under the Terms of Reference, DMMC shall lease the building from UP-PGH and sub-lease the clinic spaces to accredited PGH consultants. DMMC is responsible for the fiscal and non-medical operations of FMAB and is allowed to manage and operate the concession areas which include the following: Laboratory, Radiology, Pharmacy among others. The other concession areas would also compete against PGH's other revenue centers, Dr. Gonzales said.

A legal opinion rendered by the DOJ on February 9, 2010, said the deal was contrary to law (see Diliman Diary, March 3, 2010). The DOJ opinion also said that when U.P. entered into a negotiated bid with DMMC, its minimum expected revenue from the lease of PGH facilities to DMMC was PhP 1 million a month or PhP 12 million a year.

The Diliman Diary compared the PhP 96 million a year generated by PGH's own pharmacy alone to the PhP 12 million in rental income from DMMC, and found that there would still be PhP 84 million in unrealized income for PGH. This unrealized income should have been allocated  for indigent patients, who comprise the majority of patients in PGH. In 2008 alone, the PGH served a total of 560,218 patients. Of this total, 49,340 (9%) were admitted in Charity Wards, 14,274 (3%) in Pay Wards and the remaining 496,604 (89%) were outpatients. The unrealized income of PhP 84 million, added to the other problems at PGH cited by COA totalling PhP 232.8 million, added up to a grand total of PhP 316.8 million in combined losses due to U.P. administrative lapses. The PhP 316.8 million in combined losses due to U.P. administrative lapses represents 19% of PGH's 1.7 billion annual budget gap.

COA says that the PGH's budget shortfall results in inadequate facilities, a poor nurse to patient ratio, unpaid utility bills, and underpaid medical personnel, which may adversely affect the premier state hospital's goal of becoming one of the best national university hospitals in Asia, and achieving the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 9001:2000 Certification.

COA is pressing the U.P. Administration to make a strong and persistent representation with the DBM thru the UP System for the approval of the proposed Budget and the Actual Personnel Requirements of PGH including the release of the 20 percent Senior citizens discounts and raise more funds to augment government subsidies thru intensified collections of accounts receivables and creation of more income generating projects in line with the Hospital’s mandate.

(To read more details regarding the numerous personnel and staffing problems pointed out by COA in its 2008 CAAR and U.P. PGH's specific responses to them, please click on: http://tinyurl.com/yg6umqu)

Former U.P. PGH Executive Director Robustly defends Financial Record, while 2008 COA Report reveals more details

By Chanda Shahani

The administration of former University of the Philippines (U.P.) Philippine General Hospital (PGH) Executive Director Dr. Carmelo A. Alfiler which began in January 2004 and ended in December 2009 was able to turn over a budget surplus to its sucessor, despite numerous problems, Dr. Alfiler said in a statement uploaded in March 5, 2010 on the website of the University of the Philippines at: http://www.up.edu.ph/

But Dr. Alfiler's remarks, and the entire contents of U.P.'s website, which are all uploaded by the Office of the Vice President for Public Affairs, Dr. Cristina Pantoja-Hidalgo, who reports to U.P. President Emerlinda Roman, continue to remain silent on other important issues regarding PGH raised by the Commission on Audit (COA) in its 2008 Consolidated Audited Annual (CAAR) report of the entire U.P. System (http://www.coa.gov.ph/) , which includes PGH, and was transmitted to President Roman in a cover letter by COA Director Villaflor S. Fernandez and received on September 23, 2009 by President Roman's office.

“As a result of the problems, PGH was compelled to secure a Resructuring Agreement with Meralco on September 12, 2007 to cover the period October 2006 – December 2009. It must be emphasized that since January 2004, PGH never had any disconnection; on the contrary, Meralco prioritized resumption of power to PGH in cases of wide outages due to whatever cause,” Dr. Alfiler said.

“Our administration has endorsed sufficient funds for hospital operations in 2010 to the next administration. Together with the projected 2010 Internal Operating Budget (IOB) of some PhP2,000,000,000, the new PGH leadership is assured of a very sound financial status at the start of the 2010-2012 term,” he added.

(To see more details of Dr. Alfiler's official clarificationn, please click on: http://tinyurl.com/yzbma4y)

However, Dr. Alfiler's statement uploaded on U.P.'s website, and therefore, a component part of the U.P. Administration's official position on PGH, did not cover other critical issues pointed out by COA which arose during his term of office, and are documented by the 2008 CAAR. Neither does the U.P. website even refer to the commercial contract signed on June 18, 2009 between U.P. President Emerlinda R. Roman and Dr. Edwin Mercado, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Daniel Mercado Medical Center (DMMC) for the UP PGH Faculty Medical Arts Building Project witnessed by Director Alfiler and UP Regents Abraham Sarmiento, Nelia Gonzalez and UP Manila Chancellor Ramon Arcadio.

The deal between U.P. and DMMC agrees to allow DMMC to private portions of U.P. PGH after the Department of Justice opposed the deal, saying it was contrary to law in a legal opinion (See Diliman Diary, March 3, 2010). The Manila Chapter of the All-U.P. Worker's Union and other groups have submitted the official DOJ position to COA for analysis and investigation but no findings have yet been released by COA and the 2009 CAAR has not yet been released.
DISAPPROVED OR DISALLOWED PHILHEALTH CLAIMS REACH PhP 8.7 MILLION

The 2008 CAAR criticized the U.P. PGH for losses in revenues amounting to P 8.7 million for disapproved/disallowed Philhealth hospital claims from CY 2004 up to May 2008 due to insufficient compliance of Philhealth documentary and timeline requirements, as well as erroneous data provided by the patients.

Citing Rule VII of the Revised Implementing Rules and Regulations of the National Health Insurance (NHI) Act of 1995, COA said that Philhealth may deny or reduce any benefit when the claims are attended by any of the following circumstances: over- utilization and under-utilization of services; unnecessary diagnostic and therapeutic procedures and intervention; irrational medication and prescriptions; fraud; gross unjustified deviations from currently accepted standards of practice and/or treatment protocols; inappropriate referral practices; use of fake adulterated or misbranded pharmaceuticals, or unregistered drugs; or use of drugs other than those recognized in the latest Philippine National Drug Formulary (PNDF) and those for which exemptions were granted by the Board.

The 2008 COA Report said that a verification of the PGH’s Accounts Receivable from Philhealth showed a balance of P29,374,556.92 from CY 2004 up to May 2008 and that, 30 percent or P8,714,571.64 were disallowed/disapproved claims due to the inability of PGH's Billing Section to comply with pertinent Philhealth policies. This prevented the hospital from recovering the full cost of medical services rendered.

COA CRITIQUES PGH'S PHILHEALTH CLAIM PROCEDURES BUT PGH ANSWERS BACK

COA recommended that UP PGH revisit its existing procedures on Philhealth claims to minimize receivables in particular:

• Request for reconsideration for those cases wherein the hospital was aggrieved by Philhealth decision/disallowance;
• Send bill with demand letters regularly to patients with denied claims due to erroneous information provided for, or those who have exceeded the allowable claim limits;
• Coordinate with Philhealth for the establishment of an on-line system wherein the Hospital could verify member patients’ confinement records;
• Require the Billing section to strictly observe and comply with all the requirements of Philhealth in filing hospital claims including the deadline set for filing and appeals to ensure full recovery of the claimed reimbursements; and
• Require the Accounting Division to up-date the subsidiary ledgers for Philhealth claims.

The Administration of Dr. Alfiler replied to COA, as documented in the 2008 CAAR report that:

• They will review the reported figure of P8,714,571.64.
• Management is only dependent on the information provided by patients and doctors. The doctors are constantly reminded of Philhealth guidelines. For the patients, the difficulty occurs when they rush their forms shortly before discharge.
• Concerning incomplete documentation, these are likely with respect to patients who file their claims directly to Philhealth and NOT through the hospital. PGH is unable to countercheck the supporting documents which will only be required if the Member’s Data Record (MDR) from Philhealth has not been retrieved. Claims are carefully reviewed if the required documents are complete before such are accepted by the accounting department. So the PGH staff gets surprised when claims are returned by Philippine Health Insurance Commission with a note for incomplete documents. Because the PGH staff claims otherwise, they have begun putting an inventory checklist per claim so that PHIC is aware of the submitted documents that may be lost while in their possession. If a refiling needs to be done, patients are informed of this requirement, but oftentimes the patient does not supply the necessary documents. Efforts by PGH's Philhealth assessors are documented.
• Many patients overlook, either intentionally or unintentionally, a previously filed claim. PGH's accounting office has no way of verifying recent claims that have been partially or fully consumed.
• PGH has previously proposed an on-line system to help hospitals check on the status of patients’ Philhealth, but PHIC has been so far unable to grant the request.
• As for medicines not listed in the PNDF, PGH staff is always being reminded agasint prescribing such drugs.
• The data of disapproved/disallowed claims are a mix of reimbursements of patients with fully paid bills and charity patient claims. Currently, the hospital is making all efforts to communicate with the concerned claimants. A request was previously transmitted to Philhealth regarding this matter, which response, as “they will see what they can do”. Henec, we shall send another formal request regarding the issue. This is doable for Philhealth claims beginning 2004.
• Patients who filed their claims directly to Philhealth are not included in the receivables of the Hospital from PHIC.

Undemocratic Governance by the University of the Philippines System Leadership is Lambasted by Faculty, Staff, and Students at U.P. Diliman Press Briefing

U.P. Faculty, Staff and Students giving their
thumbs down to the incumbent U.P. Administration

By Chanda Shahani

From the joyous year-long 2008 University of the Philippines (U.P.) Centennial Celebrations peaking with the passage into law of the U.P. Charter of 2008 (R.A. 9500). To this. Perhaps U.P. President Emerlinda R. Roman should start popping a series of Extra-Strength Tylenol tabs as prophylaxis for a projected series of headaches; as a growing number of U.P. System Faculty, Students and Staff are becoming increasingly vocal about what they call her leadership's lack of democratic governance consequently creating a host of long-term problems for the premier state university and its constituents.

A press briefing was held on March 3, 2010 at the 3rd floor of the College of Social Work and Community Development (CSWCD) at U.P. Diliman to represent a coalition of groups including the Faculty Regent Judy Taguiwalo, Student Regent Charisse Bañez, Staff Regent Buboy Cabrera, Dr. Jose Gonzales of the PGH, several PGH doctors, concerned University of the Philippines (UP) faculty and students, and the All U.P. Workers Union. They have all been united by converging interests centering on the following key issues involving decisions involving the U.P. System Administration which they are questioning.

Some of the key highlights of the briefing include:

• For the first time in UP’s history, students were stripped of their representation from the UP Board of Regents (BOR) as the current student regent was prevented from attending the board meeting and removed from her position due a technicality.
• For the first time in UP’s history, three regents overstayed their temporary designations to the BOR which lapsed in 2009.
• For the first time in UP’s history, the appointment of a University official was revoked without due cause. In UP Manila, the sitting PGH director, Dr. Jose Gonzales, was removed from his post a month after he was appointed by the board and sworn in as director.
• For the first time in UP’s history, classes as large as 300 will be the norm at UP Los Baños, leading to a degradation in each student's quality of education.

Jacqueline Eroles, the University Student Council of U.P. Diliman Vice Chair said during the press briefing that Student Regent Charisse Bañez was removed due to a technicality by several members of the BOR, acting as one, in order to nullify her swing vote in favour of U.P. Executive Director Jose Gonzales who they did not support.

She commented that copies in the press kit of several students' Form-5s which are U.P. students' proof of enrollment showed conclusively that unlike Student Regent Bañez, other students at U.P. Los Baños were allowed to enroll late beyond the claimed absolute and non-negotiable deadline of November 17, 2009 of the U.P. Administration for all UPLB students. One student enrolled for residency on February 2, 2010 and the other enrolled on February 16, 2010. Thus the unwillingness of the UPLB administration was due to pressure from the U.P. Administration which was not to give the Student Regent equal treatment as other UPLB students which was in turn was directly linked to her independent stand on the issue of who should be U.P. PGH Executive Director.

During the press briefing, Student Regent Bañez was even more emphatic in characterizing the linkage between her attempted ouster as Student Regent and Dr. Gonzales as Executive Director of U.P. PGH: "Malacañang at Roman itaksil sa Pamantasan. Education not for sale. U.P. not for sale," she said.

In a March 1, 2010 report also released during the media briefing, Faculty Regent Judy M. Taguiwalo said that she raised the issue during the February 25, 2010 BOR meeting, of the legitimacy of the three Malacañang appointed regents, Abraham Sarmiento, Nelia Gonzales and Francis Chua. She said that all three were appointed as "acting" regents on September 2008, March 2008 and January 2008 respectively by Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

Faculty Regent Taguiwalo cited the Administrative Code of 1987 (E.O. 292) which said that the President of the Philippines has the power to "issue temporary designations" but "(i)n no case shall a temporary designation exceed one (1) year."

She said that Vice President for Legal Affairs Atty. Theodore Te said during the February 25 BOR meeting that this issue could not be tackled by the BOR because the status of the three is included in a court case filed b y the Student Regent in the Quezon City Regional Trial Court and any discussion would be considred sub judice and that "temporary designation" is different from an acting appointment based on Supreme Court rulings. Taguiwalo said she consulted a lawyer afterwards, who showed her an excerpt from a Supreme Court ruling, Pimentel vs. Ermita (GR 164978 13 October 2005) which expressly ruled that "Acting appointments cannot exceed one year as expressly provided ... (in) EO 292."

However, based on Atty. Te's explanation, the BOR Chairman, Eduardo Y. Angeles denied Faculty regent Taguiwalo's motion, she said in her report. She said that during the whole process of deliberations made by the BOR, the three regents with expired appointments remained as regular voting members even as they voted for the selection of Dr. Enrique Domingo as the new Executive Director of PGH; consequentially removing Dr. Gonzales as PGH Executive Director, and also approving the minutes of the January 29, 2010 BOR meeting which contained a draft resolution nullifying the legitimacy of Student Regent Bañez's vote for Dr. Domingo during the December 18, 2009 BOR meeting and which provided the basis for the removal of Dr. Domingo.

Regent Taguiwalo said that she put her objection on record to the participation of the three Regents on the grounds that their appointments have already expired. The U.P. Administration is claiming that a unanimous vote of the BOR on February 25 resulted in the removal of Dr. Gonzales and the approval of a draft resolution voiding the legitimacy of Student Regent Bañez's right to vote from December 18, 2009 onwards on the grounds that she is no longer a student and therefore no longer a Student Regent. That may be an exaggeration. Nine regents attended the February 25 BOR meeting but three regents - Staff Regent Cabrera, Faculty Regent Taguiwalo and Alumni Regent Pascual abstained from voting leaving six regents who particpated in the voting. However three regents had expired appointments at the time of the voting, meaning that only three regents voted on February 25 which does not constitute a majority of the BOR.

"Parang sampal sa mga doctors ng PGH ang ginawa nila," said Dr. Jonas del Rosario, an Assistant Professor of the Department of Surgery at the U.P. College of Medicine who spoke during the press conference. He was referring to the ouster of  Dr. Jose Gonzales by the BOR last January 29, 2010 or about a month after he won in the voting by the BOR for the selection of a new Executive Director last December 18, 2009. "They are not respecting the civil service law," he said.

A March 2, 2010 resolution of the College Council of the U.P. College of Medicine also threw its support behind Dr. Gonzales. A resolution of any College Council in the U.P. System is considered especially important, by U.P. standards, in view of U.P.'s historic commitment to the principles of college and departmental autonomy. The resolution said that "Dr. Gonzales has already served as PGH director and has performed responsibly since January 4, 2010 with honor, integrity and transparency."

The resolution said the College Council resolved to "recognize and support Dr. Jose Gonzales as the duly appointed UP PGH director from January 1, 2010 to December 31, 2012 in accordance with his original appointment."

A statement dated March 3, 2010 and released by CONTEND during the press briefing criticized President Roman for her "unrelenting effort to transform the University into a private commercial educational institution." One example is the proposal for large class sizes of 150 to 200 in general education courses starting in UPLB which "considerably lowers the expectations for quality while blatantly hewing to the logic of mass marketing."

The CONTEND statement openly criticized President Roman,  a faculty member of the U.P. College of Business Administration in Diliman with a Ph.d. in Business Administration from the same college, for "her unrelenting effort to transform the University into a private commercial educational institution ... Her philistine imposition of the narrow parameters of profitability for measuring or evaluating academic excellence in the University is simply unacceptable for any institution dedicated to teaching, learning and the deepening of knowledge. Her desire to transform the University into a privatized educational corporation is incompatible with the ideals of the University to serve the people and provide education for the poorest and least privileged in Philippine society."

A press kit handed out at the ground floor of CSWCD at the same time of the press briefing by the U.P.'s Office of the Vice President of Public Affairs contained several statements from the Office of President Roman to the Philippine Collegian, specifying President Roman's actual comments on many of the same issues, and also posted on U.P. own website at: http://www.up.edu.ph/ Here are her comments:

• On the complaint of Student Regent Bañez for a temporary restraining order where she said the votes cast in the January 29 BOR meeting to remove her eligibility to vote as Student Regent starting December 18, 2009 were invalid in the January 29 BOR meeting because there was no quorum: "The minutes of the January meeting of the Board were approved by the Board in its February meeting. Nobody questioned the quorum precisely because there was a quorum. Ms. Bañez was wrong when she said there was no quorum," Roman said.
• On the issue of the report of Faculty Regent Judy Taguiwalo where she raised an issue regarding the legitimacy of the three Malacañang-appointed regents since they have expired terms. Roman said that, "The terms of the three regents appointed by Malacañang are the subject of a court case filed by the Student Regent. This case is before the court now. Therefore I shall not be able to comment on this. Suffice it to say that our arguments regarding their tenure have been firmed up and U.P.'s lawyer will present these to court."
• On the issue of Faculty Regent Judy Taguiwalo objecting to Regent Nelia Gonzales' motion to appoint another PGH Director other than Dr. Gonzales, since the board cannot remove an official who has taken his oath of office except for cause, Roman said that: "The rule they are citing does not apply in the case of Dr. Jose Gonzales. His appointment has been voided by the Board because Ms. Bañez was not qualified to vote by virtue of her not being a student at the time of the election. If Ms. Bañez' vote is not counted, Dr. Gonzales would have lost in the vote. Hence the need to elect another director."
• On the issue of the Faculty Regent Judy Taguiwalo being unable to understand why the Chancellor of U.P. Los Baños continues to deny Bañez’s appeal for late filing of residency as it had been granted to other students similarly situated nor has President Roman advised the UPLB Chancellor to grant the appeal as it would ensure continued student representation in the BOR, Roman's reply was:
  
  "Judy Taguiwalo chooses to blame me for everything. I don‘t know what her motive is. She may not be fully aware of all the rules. For example, application for residency is decided finally by the Chancellor, not by the President. Does she expect me to tell the Chancellor to approve Ms. Bañez’s appeal even if the student has not complied with the requirements?"
  
  "The Chancellor informed me that Ms. Bañez applied for residency on December 16 (way beyond the last day for registration which was November 17) and this letter did not reach the Chancellor until January (remember, UP was on vacation starting the 19th). On January 11, Ms. Bañez‘ representative (a certain Ms. Elena Carlos) withdrew her application for residency. Ms. Bañez has denied withdrawing this application but Ms. Carlos signed the withdrawal of the application. So what was there for the Chancellor to act on if she withdrew her application?"
  
  "Instead Ms. Bañez, represented by her lawyer, chose to go on leave of absence. The lawyer wrote to her dean on January 12 (the day after Ms. Carlos withdrew her letter applying for residency) about Ms. Bañez "intention" to go on leave. Note that it was not even Ms. Bañez who wrote and applied for a leave. It was her lawyer. This was denied by her dean because she did not comply with the requirements to go on leave. According to College rules, she has to submit her clearance, and her parents‘ permission for her to go on leave."
  
  "Now the Faculty Regent wants me to tell the Chancellor to approve Ms. Bañez‘ appeal even though the requirements are not complied with? I am very surprised by this. Why doesn‘t she instead advise the Student Regent to comply with the requirements? Why does she tolerate the non-compliance with the rules by Ms. Bañez and instead ask me to pressure the Chancellor to approve Ms Bañez leave?"
  
  "The latest news is that Ms Bañez has again changed her mind and is filing for residency again!"
  
  "The rules for the selection of Student Regent were formulated and ratified by the students themselves. You have rules for the SR to continue to qualify. My question is: why did Ms Bañez not work on this during the registration period? Her reason was that she was busy. Could she not have spent a day to work on this? Or did she think it was not important to comply with the rules? By her action or non action on her enrollment, residency or leave (yes, she acted but much too late) there is no one representing the students in the Board. Should we be blamed for this? What about her? What is her culpability here?"

(Chanda Shahani is the Editor of the Diliman Diary).