U.P. Diliman vs. U.P. Manila according to U.P. Manila Chancellor Ramon Arcadio

"The Chancellor’s message was really good. I’m not short of adjectives to describe it—it’s really good. But I wan to focus on his silly though fully-spirited speech: The Comparison of UP-Manila and UP-Diliman.

** UP Manila is the cradle campus (We are the first!)
UP Diliman is the flagship campus

** UP Manila has the highest UPG cut-off
UP Diliman falls in the second place

** UP Manila has the UP Manila Mall i.e. Robinson’s Place Ermita
UP Diliman has no-match in terms leisure-places

** UP Manila is the true home of the authentic Oblation
UP Diliman just got it from us

** UP Manila’s environment depicts TRUE life: Pollution, Crime, Street Vendors, etc.
UP Diliman depicts the serene life: trees, grasses, nature, etc.

** UP Manila’s audience in their rallies are the DOJ, NBI, COA, etc.
UP Diliman’s audience in their rallies are the trees, the students, and the oblation

** UP Manila’s chancellor lives with the PGH President, Bahay ni Kuya.
UP Diliman’s chancellor lives with the UP President, Bahay ni Biyenan."

Read the rest here: http://www.alpsaguado.com/2001/04/up-life-101/

Diliman Video of the Week: U.P. Manila Oblation Run 2010

Editor's note: The U.P. Diliman Oblation Run is on December 15, 2010, 12 noon, AS Lobby.

COA's 2009 Consolidated Audited Annual Report unearths more Money Management problems at the University of the Philippines

The Commission on Audit's (COA) 2009 Consolidated Audited Annual Reports is bringing to light more disclosures about how taxpayer's money remains unaccounted for at the University of the Philippines (U.P.), at a time when U.P. faces unprecedented budget cuts upon the recommendation of the Department of Budget and Management (DBM). 

DBM Secretary Florencio Abad has said that part of the basis for its determination of the 2011 national budget is partly based on COA reports about an agency or institution. By that standard, U.P.looks like it has problems in fiscal management - and if this is left unaddressed - weakens its institutional credibility as it demands for a higher budget from Congress in 2011. Legislators will want to know that U.P. has sufficient controls to ensure that the money is not "lost" and unaccounted for.

For example, COA said the UP Diliman manner of recording income realized but not yet collected from its auxiliary and income generating activities did not conform with the usual accrual method of accounting, which is a norm. Instead, what U.P. does is to recognize income by recording it as Other Deferred Credits account instead of an appropriate Income account thus, overstating and understating respectively these aforementioned accounts by at least P17.59 million as of December 31, 2009.

Auditors say this can lead to possible corruption known as “kiting”, because by understating actual income for a given year, then the understated income can be spent without the auditors looking for this money in bank balances or through receipts and vouchers, etcetera.

COA is recommending that the U.P. Diliman Administration require the Accounting Office to prepare a Journal Entry Voucher to adjust the identified erroneous credit made to Other Deferred Credits account, and to henceforth comply strictly with the prescribed government accounting system.

The 2009 Consolidated Audited Annual Report (CAAR) of COA also pointed out that the balances of Cash in Bank Local Currency-Current Accounts and Savings Accounts (LCCA & LCSA) of P152.48 million of U.P. Manila and Visayas and Foreign Currency Account of $187,674.61 of U.P. Manila were misstated due to unreconciled differences between the books and bank balances amounting to P131.90 million and $104,809.07 respectively, due to the failure of the Accounting Division to prepare and update the bank reconciliation statements (BRS).

In other words, COA is probably being overly polite by referring to the window dressing by the U.P. Administration of its books of accounts as it claims that UP Manila-PGH it was in actual possession of taxpayer funds worth P 142,689,776.86 when it reality the U.P.'s own bank balances for UP Manila-PGH only showed the existence of funds worth P 74,480,379.96 or a staggering variance of P131,790,603.10. Where did this money go? Did university officials dip their hands in the cookie jar one too many times? Perhaps or even perhaps not. However, such endless speculation may be quieted once and for all, if only U.P. officials would simply follow Section 74 of P.D. No. 1445, otherwise known as the State Audit Code of the Philippines, COA said.

P.D. No. 1445 provides that: “At the close of each month, depositories shall report to the agency head, in such form as he may direct, the condition of the agency account standing on their books. The head of the agency shall see to it that reconciliation is made between the balance shown in the report and the balance found in the books of the agency.”

“The reconciliation of cash in bank account balances with bank records provides a periodic determination of the validity of cash balances appearing in the books of the agency concerned. Bank reconciliation statements prepared on a regular and timely basis is an essential control over these cash accounts. The agency accountant shall draw journal vouchers to record all valid reconciling items that require adjustment and correction in the General Ledger

COA's 2009 CAAR also found that U.P. Visayas said that it had at least P 9,787,307.82 in its books, when it reality it had P 9,897,874.82, or a positive variance of P 110,567.00 which, while it might seem like a happy problem, was still problematic from a COA perspective, because it showed that accountants were not practicing sufficient levels of rigor that was in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Procedures (GAAP).

In terms of foreign currency holdings, UP Manila-PGH said that it had at least $187,674.61 in its books, but actual bank statements only proved that it was in possession of $292,483.68 or a positive variance of $104,809.07 which again makes it difficult for COA auditors to determine the path of the money trail in terms of where this money comes from and where it is going.

With this article, the Diliman Diary continues to update, incrementally, a broader article which interprets and reports on COA's 2009 report on the whole U.P. System. Interested readers and policy makers may access the U.P. System article here: http://diliman-diary.blogspot.com/2010/11/breaking-news-coa-releases-2009-audit_05.html. The Diliman Diary has also embedded the U.P. System article within an even broader article that interprets and reports on COA's 2009 CAARs on Metro Manila based State Universities and Colleges. This article may be accessed at this link: http://diliman-diary.blogspot.com/2010/11/state-universities-and-colleges-are.html

U.P. Student points out errors in Diliman Diary's coverage of U.P. NCPAG Professor Briones' remarks as a nominee in several fora for U.P. Presidential nominees

Editor's note: We are reposting below an email we have received today from U.P. Student John J. M. Duldulao pointing out several errors in our past reporting of the remarks of University of the Philippines (U.P.) National College of Public Administration and Governance (NCPAG) Professor Leonor M. Briones, who is one of eleven nominees for U.P. President. Several fora were held at U.P. Los Banos, U.P. Diliman and U.P. Manila where the nominees presented their visions for U.P. and answered questions from the audiences. The Diliman Diary has corrected the errors and apologizes for any inconvenience we may have caused. Mr. Duldulao also sent copies of the written speeches of Professor Briones at these three fora the texts of which we are making available to interested readers, who may click on the links below:

Speech of Professor Leonor M. Briones at U.P. Los Banos on September 20, 2010:

http://www.scribd.com/doc/40290525/U-P-Los-Banos-Speech-of-Prof-Leonor-M-Briones-on-9-20-2010

Speech of Professor Leonor M. Briones at U.P. Diliman on September 24, 2010:

http://www.scribd.com/doc/40290421/U-P-Diliman-Speech-Prof-Leonor-M-Briones-on-9-24-2010

Speech of Professor Leonor M. Briones at U.P. Manila on October 14, 2010:

http://www.scribd.com/doc/40290734/U-P-Manila-Speech-Prof-Leonor-M-Briones-on-10-14-2010

Letter of Mr. John J. M. Duldulao

26 October 2010

The Editor

Diliman Diary

diliman-diary.blogspot.com

Dear Sir:

Thank you for keeping us informed and updated on the search process for the next UP President! Your posts on the fora are very helpful in making the constituents, alumni and supporters of the university aware of the nominees’ visions and views on different UP issues.

In view of this, I would like to share additional information on the statements as reported in the blog posts. It is mentioned in the September 24 post that “…Briones told the audience that she ‘left PhP 125 billion with the National Treasury when I was fired by then President Joseph E. Estrada…’"[i] However, it was not then President Estrada who fired Professor Briones for telling the truth; it was then President Gloria M. Arroyo who fired her for not lying in favor of the latter. In fact, the PhP 125 billion, that is comprised of PhP 75 billion in the custody of the Bureau of Treasury and PhP 50 billion in the custody of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, is what was left by the Estrada administration when Prof. Briones was the Treasurer of the Philippines. Former UP President Dodong Nemenzo even said that because of this, which he referred to as the strongest evidence of Prof. Briones’ integrity, he felt proudest of her[ii].

Meanwhile, in the October 15 sidebar article, it is stated that “[s]he said that if she became U.P. President, she could help address this issue by getting back gthe PhP 100 million taken out of U.P.'s Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses (MOOE) in the national budget as well as the Php 300 million still owed to it by the national government under the U.P. Charter.”[iii]  She actually said “she could help address this issue by getting back the PhP 1.179 billion in the MOOE which was not granted by the DBM.” In fact, that was what she requested from Congress in the Appropriations Committee hearing when she presented the alternative budget proposal.

The alternative budget that she presented stated that,

“[t]he University of the Philippines needs additional funds for Maintenance and Other Operating Expenditures (MOOE) to meet budget deficiencies for existing programs and projects; including provision of fund for utilities (water and electricity) and repair and maintenance of various school buildings and facilities of different campuses of the UP System. Likewise, there is need to appropriate necessary funds for the completion and start of operation of several buildings of the National Science Complex (NSC) and the Engineering for Research and Development for Technology (ERDT) Projects of the College of Engineering.

Under RA 9500, ‘An Act to Strengthen the University of the Philippines as the National University,’ it is mandated that ‘in addition to the regular appropriations for the University under the annual GAA, a centennial fund shall be appropriated in the amount of One Hundred Million pesos (PhP 100M) per year for a period of 5 years which shall likewise be included in the GAA.’”[iv]

I hope that I was able to share substantially in addition to the information that your team has gathered for the Search Process for the next UP President. I am also attaching copies of Prof. Briones’ speeches that I have obtained from the fora for the nominees for UP President. Thank youand mabuhay po kayo!

Sincerely,

JOHN J. M. DULDULAO

Student, University of the Philippines

---

[i] "U.P.’s problems are ventilated by its very own nominees for U.P. President as they present their visions, and answer questions before critical audiences at UP Diliman and the rest of the U.P. System." Diliman Diary. Diliman Diary, 24 Sep 2010. Web. 26 Oct 2010. <http://diliman-diary.blogspot.com/2010/09/ups-problems-are-ventilated-their-own.html>.

[ii] Nemenzo, Francisco. Parangal: Prof. Leonor M. Briones. UP National College of Public Administration and Governance. Assembly Hall, UP-NCPAG, Quezon City. 18 10 2010. Speech.

[iii] "Open Forum answers of Nominees for U.P. President on October 14, 2010, at Science Hall, U.P. PGH."Diliman Diary. Diliman Diary, 15 10 2010. Web. 26 Oct 2010. <http://diliman-diary-sidebars.blogspot.com/2010/10/open-forum-answers-of-nominees-for-up.html>.

[iv]Social Watch Philippines. Alternative Budget Fiscal Year 2011. 1st ed. Quezon City: 2010. 35. Print.

The nominees for U.P. President present their visions, and answer questions before audiences at UP Los Baños and other U.P. constituent universities

 

 (Inside the College of Dentistry auditorium, at U.P. 

Manila where the remote site viewing of the 

UPLB forum was held)

By Chanda Shahani

Ten out of eleven nominees for the position of U.P. President attended today's "Search for the Next UP President: Nominees’ Fora," the first of a series of three held today at D.L. Umali Hall at UP Los Baños. The Board of Regents (BOR) decided that the fora should be held in U.P. Los Baños, U.P. Manila and U.P. Diliman and beamed live to various UP campuses through the U.P. Open University

The fora is an activity of the Board of Regents intended to enable the University constituencies to raise issues and concerns they would like the next UP President to address. The Diliman Diary attended today's forum via remote online teleconferencing at the auditorium at the U.P. College of Dentistry at U.P. Manila.

Of the eleven candidates, only former Health Secretary Esperanza Cabral did not attend.

The candidates were chosen at random in terms of the sequential order in which they would give their respective presentations. Here is what the candidates said in order of their presentations:

(U.P. Diliman Chancellor Sergio S. Cao)

  
Cao, Sergio S.

U.P. Diliman Chancellor Sergio Cao emphasized that U.P. must focus on becoming a research university. "This means developing a true research culture in the university. We must employ scientific thinking, and give incentives, and funds for faculty as well as strengthen graduate programs," he said.

Cao added that:

• Having Ph.D's should be a requirement for the hiring of teachers and granting of tenure. 
• The development of research institutes should be accelerated. 
• The use of e-books and the internet should be accelerated. 
• U.P. should partner with industries.
• The U.P. Faculty should participate more in refereed journals.
•  During the open forum, Cao said that U.P.'s research culture must be institutionalized through putting a premium on policies, and the hiring of appropriate personnel as well as the allocation of resources to make this happen.

  (The former National Treasurer,
NCPAG Professor Leonor Briones)

Briones, Leonor M.

National College of Public Administration and Governance (NCPAG) Professor Leonor Briones said that U.P. should still continue to be guided by "love of country," and that it should be at the cutting edge of innovation and change. Moreover, programs - especially graduate programs - need to be constantly assessed and reassessed.

She added that:

• The Visayas and Mindanao are the poorest regions.
• University education should be extended to more minorities.
• In terms of sustainable financing, U.P. should further tap the assets of the university.
• As National Treasurer under the term of former President Joseph Estrada, she was entrusted with holding a budget of PhP 125 billion, so she can also be entrusted with taking good care of the University.

 (U.P. Los Baños Chancellor Luis Rey Velasco)

Velasco, Luis Rey

U.P. Los Baños Chancellor Luis Rey Velasco began his opening statement by saying that the traditional "Isko" or "Iskolar ng Bayan" should be transformed into an "Iskolar ng Bayan," or a scholar of the Nation who works for and on behalf of the national interest.

Chancellor Velasco said that if selected by the U.P. Board of Regents as U.P. President, he would focus on three thrusts for U.P. These are:

• Strengthen the constituent universities.
• Reorient U.P. towards being a research university.
• Resource generation.

He also said that an emphasis should be paid towards training U.P. students in critical thinking and being made conversant with the scientific research process. He said that he did not approve of the comercialization of U.P. education. "I will not lower academic standards for profit," he said adding that other ways of raising funds had been set by other previous U.P. Presidents such as former President Francisco Nemenzo had set the pace of using idle and underutilized land for the benefit of the university.

During the open forum, he said that the current practice in UPLB is to provide seed money to faculty so that they could jump start research that would allow them to seek external funding from outside sources. This can be done all over the U.P. System, he said.

(

 (Former U.P. College of Law Dean Raul C. Pangalangan)

Pangalangan, Raul C.

Former U.P. Diliman College of Law Dean Atty. Raul Pangalangan said that the great dillema U.P. was now facing is "What is the place of a public univbersity in a struggling democracy?" He then went on to make mention of an unnamed student who dropped out as a freshman as the silent price of the increase in matriculation fees which was the standard set during the administration of outgoing U.P. President Emerlinda Roman. He also said that U.P. should just focus on excellence, including being a research university. He said, however that:

• U.P. should focus on basic and applied research. However, he said U.P.'s traditional strengh was in basic research or research for it's own sake or for expanding the frontiers of knowledge but that there was also a need to put emphasis of appl;ied reearch or bringing comercial applications to research.
• The role of the U.P. President is not to offer answers. The U.P. President's role as leader is to convene constituents and to present options for their collegial decision making in the light of specific problems facing the university, since the teaching and practice of law itself was so specific a discipline that could not by and of itself solve particular problems alone. "Law professors are like high priests who have lost faith but kept their jobs," he joked.
• During the open forum, Pangalangan said that U.P. Diliman was in a superior position  to raise more funds, but that a kind of affirmative actionwould have to be practiced to enable the raised funds to be spread throughout the different constituent units, according to their needs and abilities.
• During the open forum, Pangalangan also said that U.P. should systematically tap into joint partnerships with foreign institutions to maximize financial returns accruing from its expertise.

(Former Budget Secretary and U.P.
School of Economics 

Professor Benjamin E. Diokno)

Diokno, Benjamin E.

U.P. Diliman School of Economics Professor Benjamin Diokno said that if he became the U.P. President, he would focus on beefing up the Faculty Development Fund to develop 25% increase of the faculty with PhD.'s after six years. He said he would also ensure that there would be a 33% increase in the num,ber of students who would enjoy modern internet facilities in dormitories in the variouys U.P. campuses. He added that:

• U.P. should take advantage of the large resources available that can complement its own in-house expertise in many subject areas.
• U.P. should utilize its collective talent to bring more resources to the university, including tapping its alumni network as public subsidies are dwindling.
• U.P. should review existing programs to prevent overlapping and more efficient.
• U.P. should find more innovative ways to finance its expenses.
• During the open forum, Diokno U.P. should establish more research institutes to upgrade its capability to become a true research university.
• He also said that U.P, must provide incentives for faculty to publish in refereed local and international journals.
 

(Former U.P. Vice President for Academic Affairs and 

U.P. Diliman Professor Ma. Serena Diokno)

Diokno, Ma. Serena I.

U.P. Diliman History Professor Ma. Serena Diokno said the challenge of the day was for U.P. and by extension the U.P. President to "justify our being before the public and the government."

"None of us wants to see U.P. crowded out by other national priorities," she added.

She also said that:

• Where U.P. once trained its neighbours from other Asian countries, it is now trailing behind.
• U.P. should have a two-pronged educational thrust made up into a U.P. basic education initiative and a U.P. higher education initiative. In the basic education initiative which would fall under the General Education program, there would be an emphasis on secondary and tertiary learning while in the higher education initiative, U.P. will partner with other state universities and colleges in order to collectively maximize strengths.
• There is a compelling need for U.P. to formulate plans and policies that are informed by data.
• There should be an academic leadership and development program for those who show leadership ability.
• There should be an academic appeal system because no particular of the sort exists yet in U.P. However, rigorous academic standards remain the prerogative of the concerned faculty while the Board of Regents ensures that due process is observed.
• In U.P. there should be an employe welfare Ombudsman to ensure that U.P. employees' rights and welfare are followed up and fought for with other government agencies such as the Government Security Insurance System.
• In response to a question asking if she was open to the idea of posting U.P.'s annual budget and detailed expenditures online for the sake of transparency, she said she agreed with that idea.
• During the open forum, she also said that U.P. faculty were not doing too badly in terms of compensation compared to their counterparts in De la Salle University (DLSU). She said that adjusting the salaries of both institutions on a per unit basis (that is, number of pesos of remuneration per each unit taught by a faculty member from both institutions showed that the U.P. faculty came out ahead, primarily because by 2012, the typical U.P. professor will be teaching 24 units while the typical DLSU professor will be teaching 36 units.

 (Dr. Patrick Alain T. Azanza)

Azanza, Patrick Alain T.

According to U.P. College of Education Senior Lecturer Dr. Patrick Alain T. Azanza, U.P. has been left behind in recent years. He cited a recent survey of Asian universities where Ateneo de Manila University ranked # 59 while U.P. ranked # 78. He criticized the administration of U.P. President Emerlibnda R. Roman for refusing ro participate in other surveys, such as the the Times Higher Education Survey where Harvard University, Oxford University and Cambridge University were active participants. "Who are we (U.P.) in relation to these other universities?" he asked. He said that if he becomes U.P. President, he will work to ensure that:

• U.P. will become an ICT-based global research university.
• He said that it was easy to raise tuition and thus pass the burden onto students, but when he was a vice-president of AMA University, they were able to find ways of reducing tuition fees of the students by 25% and he committed to doing the same with U.P. students if he became U.P. President.
• During the open forum, Azanza also criticized the existence of interlocking directorates between the U.P. Foundation and the U.P. Administration where massive amounts of funding were being raised but where it remained unclear where the funds were being employed during the time that U.P. has just experienced a massive series of budget cuts.
• He also said that  U.P.'s administration was not taking full advantage of market rates with respect to negotiating with business entitites and that it should. For example, the rental rate that the Shell gas station is paying in Philcoa is PhP 150.00 per square meter when U.P. could be earning a lot more from this.

 (U.P. Diliman School of Labor and Industrial

Relations Professor Virginia Teodosio)

Teodosio, Virginia

During her presentation, Professor Teodosio said that as a consultant in Mindanao, she was able to manage one million hectares representing 14 provinces,and that some of her constituent beneficiaries were Moslem rebels from the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. She said that she hoped to bring the same kind of practical experience in economically empowering U.P. in a period of great financial crisis.

"Look at Japan, Taiwan and South Korea," she said. It was possible to make the farmers propserous. These same countries also had programs for attracting Ph.Ds who had graduated abroad back to their countries because the government had allocated funding for them. If she becomes U.p. President, she will do the same, she said.

(Former U.P. Diliman Department of English and Comparative 

Literature Professor Consolacion R. Alaras)

Alaras, Consolacion R.

If she becomes U.P. President, former U.P. Diliman Department of English and Comparative Literature Professor Consolacion R. Alaras vowed to "restore the scared prophetic vision of Rizal and the Katipunan," to the Philippines beginning with U.P. itself.

She said that the University of the Philippines Department of English and Comparative Literature is the source of her studies on Pamathalaan or Sacred Prophetic Politics and Its Impact on Education, Governance, Development, and Diplomacy. In her Pamathalaan studies, Rizal embodies the spirit and ideals of Pamathalaan or A Moral Sacred Nation; so during her term as chairperson of the UP Department of English and Comparative Literature, she initiated the move to name our College of Arts and Letters after Dr. Jose Rizal.

The Pamathalaan then of Dr. Jose Rizal becomes the basis for her acceptance of the nomination for UP Presidency, she said.

"God Willing, my participation in this 2010 Search for the UP Presidency as a nominee can be the grace to realize my Vision for the University of the Philippines as the Mirror of a Moral Sacred Nation."

"What then is the University of the Philippines as the Mirror of a Moral Sacred Nation?" she asked.

"This means that the University of the Philippines System led by the UP Board of Regents will be one in providing our leaders and citizens here and abroad the transforming and unifying experience of the Philippines as a Moral Sacred Nation or a Pamathalaan Pilgrimage Country . After all, this Rizal Pamathalaan Vision once accepted and owned by the University of the Philippines Board of Regents will provide the crucial shared vision for all sectors of Philippine Society. In this way, the sectoral members of the University of the Philippines can undertake The National and Global Collaborative Research on Rizal Pamathalaan Training - with the Commission on Higher Education, the Office of the President, the Senate, the Congress, and the University of the Philippines Alumni Association"

"Above all, this means that the University of the Philippines can be All to All, in striving to recover the moral sacred foundations of the Philippine Republic under the Aquino Administration."

(Alumni Regent (on leave) Alfredo E. Pascual)

Pascual, Alfredo E.

Alumni Regent (on leave) Alfredo E. Pascual said that "U.P.'s eminent position has been ended," and criticized efforts by the administration of outgoing U.P. President Emerlinda R. Roman to hide this fact, which is plain for all to see, by refusing to participate in international surveys. "We must acknowledge our position relative to the rest of the world," he said.
If he becomes U.P. President, Pascual said that he would:

• Strengthen U.P. research capabilities because every great university must have highly recognized research capabilities.
• Stress rseaerch in the sciences and creative output in the arts.
• No qualified students should be constrained from studying at U.P. due to financial reasons because U.P. should provide flexible finacial payment terms for studying at U.P.
• Critical thinking among students needs to be developed so that the students are trained to deal with ambiguity, uncertainty and complexity.
• In another apparent swipe at the Roman administration, he said that "U.P. needs great university leadership that is made up of democratic governance, transparency and accountability."
• In the management of funds and other resources entrusted to the university, responsible stewardship and ethical conduct should additionally characterize good governance," said Pascual, who was a former Asian Institute of Management Professor for nine years.

Here is the schedule of the next fora:

U.P. Diliman                   NISMED Auditorium 1:30 – 5:30 PM	Friday, 24 September
U.P. Manila Science Hall 1:30 – 5:30 PM	Thursday, 14 October

(Source: http://www.up.edu.ph/features.php?i=225)

(Photos by: Chanda Shahani)

(Chanda Shahani is the Editor of the Diliman Diary)

U.P. Board of Regents March 24 meeting at Quezon Hall is disrupted by U.P. Students leading to no quorum at all

For the latest Philippine news stories and videos, visit GMANews.TV

Students from the University of the Philippines (UP) and the Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP) today merged their protest actions to seek emergency allocation from the government for state colleges and universities, a press statement released by the Office of Kabataan Kabataan Party-list Rep. Mong Palatino and other reports said today.

UP students from the Diliman, Los Banos, Baguio and Manila campuses held a rally this morning to block the UP Board of Regents from approving additional fees in the university, including a P100 hike in PE fees and P1,000 to P2,500 per unit hike in graduate classes.

The students were able to successfully block two UP regents from entering Quezon Hall resulting in a lack of quorum for the BOR meeting. This was independently confirmed by Staff Regent Clodualdo "Buboy" Cabrera in a text statement sent to the Diliman Diary.

Even U.P. Los Banos Chancellor Luis Rey Velasco was not spared. He was splashed with paint by irate students for his role in denying Student Regent Charisse Banez permission to enroll in continuing residency which is a precondition for her to continue fulfilling her functions as U.P.'s Student Regent.

According to Rain Sindayen, Chairperson-elect of the UP Diliman University Student Council, “This is an initial victory for UP students. The main issue here is that the BOR has no right to table or vote on the proposed fees in the absence of a student representative in the BOR.” The UP BOR unjustly ousted UP Student Regent Charice Banez last month on trumped up technicalities. As a result, students have been stripped of representation in the BOR.

By lunchtime, the UP students welcomed the contingent from 21 PUP campuses nationwide in a rally in front of the Commission on Higher Education office inside the UP campus to protest the 1,700 percent tuition hike proposal in PUP.

Sindayen said, “They have done it in UP but we will not allow the passing of the absurd tuition hike in PUP. We call on all Iskolars ng Bayan to unite.” The UP BOR had already increased tuition in UP in 2006 from P300 to P1,000 per unit.

The U.P. Administration gives its side

Meanwhile, the U.P. Administration gave its version of events which it headlined in the government-owned and tax-payer-funded U.P. System website (http://up.edu.ph/features.php?i=195):

"A meeting of the University of the Philippines’ Board of Regents was scheduled for 9 a.m. March 24. It did not take place because the entrances were blocked by around 150 protesters."

"The main issues being raised by the protesters were: the disqualification of Ms. Charisse Bañez as Student Regent because she is neither enrolled nor on leave as required by the students’ internal rules; and the nullification of the election of Dr. Jose Gonzalez as director of the Philippine General Hospital."

"These matters have been brought to the courts by the interested parties themselves, and the courts are hearing the cases."

"According to Vice President for Legal Affairs Theodore Te, UP respects the right to protest but has the duty to ensure the safety of the Regents. The main reason for the cancellation of the meeting was the possibility of physical injury to the Regents."

"Speeches had become inflammatory. The car of one regent was blocked and paint was hurled at it. The Chancellor of UP Los Baños was assaulted as he alighted from his car in the parking lot in front of Quezon Hall. Paint was thrown at his person and at his car. He was pushed by one protester."

Faculty Regent Judy M. Taguiwalo told the Diliman Diary in a text message that only U.P. President Emerlinda Roman and Malacañang Regent Nelia Gonzales were actually able to make it to the BOR board room. The other two Malacañang regents, Abraham Sarmiento and Francis Chua were prevented by students from entering into Quezon Hall.

"The students said, "No student representative, No BOR meeting," Regent Taguiwalo said, in apparent reference to the February 25 decision of the BOR to nullify the right of Student Regent Charisse Bañez to vote in any BOR meeting beginning with the December 18, 2009 BOR meeting.

Emergency budget allocation

“We demand an emergency budget allocation for state colleges and universities to prevent these tuition increases from being implemented. Poor budget allocation for state colleges and universities has resulted in school administrations’ passing on the burden to students,” said Vencer Crisostomo, Kabataan Partylist Secretary-General.

Crisostomo said that the past ten years saw a consistent decrease in the budget allocation for SUCs in line with the state policy of privatization and commercialization of education. “The government has been gradually washing its hands off of the responsibility to subsidize public education. As a result, SUCs are resorting to income-generating schemes and commercial ventures with private entities at the expense of students,” Crisostomo said.

“UP, for instance, requested for P18 billion in the 2010 budget but was granted barely P6 billion. PUP, on the other hand, suffered another budget slash from its 2009 budget at P704 million to P661 million in 2010,” Crisostomo said.

All major SUCs, he added, have zero budgets for capital outlay which is supposed to be earmarked for their operational expenses. “To compensate for these losses, school administrations are hiking tuitions. An emergency allocation for SUCs is imperative to stop tuition hikes,” he said.

Meanwhile, almost 250 private schools have also submitted their proposal to the CHED for tuition hikes as high as 20 percent.

A nationwide protest against tuition increases is set on March 29, coinciding with the PUP BOR meeting scheduled to approve the PUP tuition hike.