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UP
Medicine Student Council 2/F Bobby
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We are for a new and responsive UP Charter, and we want it now! News Archive Guestbook |
MSC News Archive
(Most Recent on Top) Page 1 | 2 Student Regent opposes Students’ Suggestion House of
Representatives –
This is a case of a Student Regent actively objecting to a particular
sentiment of a group of his own fellow students. In the first Technical Working Group (TWG) meeting on the
New UP Charter conducted by the House of Representatives last November 18,
2004, University of the Philippines Student Regent Marco Delos Reyes objected
to a modification to the provision in law that gives existence to his office.
Delos Reyes in particular vehemently objected to opening the Student Regent
selection process to an allegedly more democratic method, wherein the
students at large of the University would individually be allowed to ratify
in a referendum the rules and qualifications to be followed. Delos Reyes reacted to a phrase previously suggested by UP
Diliman University Student Council Chairperson Kris Ablan, specifically
requiring that the Student Regent be “chosen by the students from their ranks
in accordance with rules and qualifications approved in a referendum by the
students.” Delegates of the UP Medicine Student Council (UP MSC), speaking
through the office of Rep. Eduardo Zialcita (1st Dist., P’que)
reiterated the previous suggestion that the students of Diliman voiced out in
the Senate. Delos Reyes averred that he only agreed up to word “ranks”. Zialcita, through his authorized representative Albert
Francis E. Domingo (also OIC of the UP MSC for the UP Charter), inquired why
Delos Reyes objected to asking the students for their popular approval on the
manner by which their Regent is selected. Zialcita manifested that he finds
it unusual for Delos Reyes, a champion of the words “democratic governance”,
to oppose a referendum which asks for the true voice of the students. Delos Reyes countered that the matter had already been
settled last October in a meeting of the UP General Assembly of Student
Councils (GASC), wherein the majority of student groups rejected such a
suggestion. Zialcita then inquired why, using the same reasoning of Delos Reyes,
should the UP Widem II’s suggestion of a System Assembly be accepted, given
that the Board of Regents rejected the idea of a System Assembly. Prof. Judy Taguiwalo who also attended the meeting came in
defense of Delos Reyes, saying on the floor that it should not be made to
appear that the current Student Regent is opposing a democratic process such
as a referendum. Zialcita replied by asking, “Then why is the Student Regent
opposing a referendum to ascertain the students’ voice?” The issue was unresolved as of the adjournment of the
meeting. For the part of the UP Administration, their representative said
that “the suggestion to subject the Student Regent selection process came
from a legitimate representative of a student group, and the UP Administration
has no hand in it.” The next TWG was then set for (UP-MSC STRAWBS, *** Widem II Walks Out of Senate Hearing on UP Charter Philippine Senate – UP Wide Democratization Movement
II (Widem II) delegates walked out of the third Senate Committee on
Education, Arts, and Culture hearing for the UP Charter last October 7, 2004. In a politely-staged yet abrupt departure from the Senate
public hearing, Widem II delegates Prof. Judy Taguiwalo and Dr. Edelina Dela
Paz read a statement condemning what they perceived to be a process “for
show” being conducted by the Philippine Senate on the legislation of the UP
Charter. Less than fifteen minutes into the meeting, the two declaimed that
what has been transpiring for the past two Senate hearings (the first last
September 16 and the second last September 29) were mere plays, wherein they
were invited as “decorations” to give a sense of democracy to the process. Dela Paz elaborated that UP students opposed the draft UP
Charter that took the form and style of the defunct SB 2587, citing the
manifestation made by Student Regent Marco Delos Reyes in the September 29
meeting. Her claims were contested, however, by UP Medicine Student Council
(UP MSC) representative Albert Francis E. Domingo when the latter spoke for
the record that they were “insulted” by the claims of Dela Paz that all UP
students are oppositors. Domingo emphasized that he, along with UP MSC Chair
Joseph Lachica, Vice Chair Roselyn Mateo, and UP Diliman University Student
Council (UPD USC) Chair Kris Ablan who were all in attendance, are also
students, and they carry with them well-consulted and deliberated stands of
their respective constituencies namely the students of the UP College of
Medicine and UP Diliman as a whole. Dr. Priscelina Patajo-Legasto, UP Assistant Vice President
for Public Affairs and Director of the UP System Information Office joined
the exchange, reading her list of supporters of the defunct SB 2587 on the
premise that the draft being used by the current Senate is based on the old
bill. Legasto asserted the documented voices of several organizations from
the Alumni, Faculty, Administration, and Staff of the University, in addition
to the manifestations of critical collaboration by the students of Diliman
and the In reply to the oppositors' allegations of railroading,
Atty. Rodolfo Quimbo, the Presiding Officer of the hearing said that their
reason for using SB 1399 (the SB 2587 copy) as the draft is because it is the
most accurate bill representing the other Senate Bills currently filed for
the UP Charter. He added that even as Widem II may have proposed revisions,
they cannot be integrated into the draft prior to a Public Hearing because no
Senator has filed any Senate Bill containing their provisions such as the UP
System Assembly, among other things. Quimbo reiterated that since the document is just a draft,
any and all proposals would be welcome at the hearing for consideration by
the Committee. Widem II did not stay on, however, and their delegates
lamented that they will just furnish the Senators with their position paper
on the matter, saying that they found no use of the Senate hearings. Meanwhile, the meeting pushed through with the UPD USC,
the UP MSC, the UP Administration, and the Commission on Higher Education
(CHED) taking turns proposing and/or countering ideas for inclusion into the
UP Charter. Notable among several things were the UPD USC’s proposal for the
inclusion of a provision on Campus Press Freedom and the UP MSC’s proposal
for the University Assembly as a recommendatory body at each constituent
university, ideas that were gleaned from HB 2327 or the Widem II bill. Quimbo closed the meeting saying that the Committee would
distill what has been discussed, and would send out another draft UP Charter
version to all resource speakers in a week’s time. The said newer version
could be pursued as the new UP Charter for second reading once the Senate
resumes session by the end of October. (UP-MSC STRAWBS, *** Senate Hears Positions on the UP Charter
UP CHARTER HEARING AT THE SENATE. Student representatives Chris
Ablan from the University of the Philippines (UP) Diliman (3rd
from left) and Albert Francis Domingo from UP Manila (center) voice out their
position on school fees increase before an amused set of senators during the
public hearing conducted by the Senate Committee on Education.
Committee Chair Juan M. Flavier (2nd from left) together with
Senators Franklin Drilon (3rd from right) and Mar Roxas (left)
have revived talks on the impending charter change of the university as UP
officials Rafael Rodriguez and Serena Diokno (right) present the
administrative’s (sic) position on the issue. Source: News Item from the website of the Philippine
Senate, at this link. For a personal update from Mr. Domingo, please visit his blog
by clicking here. (Philippine Senate, *** UP Widem II’s Villegas Hears Counter-proposals Rizal Hall, UPM CAS – There is no better venue to suggest amendments than
to attend a forum sponsored by a bill’s author. Last September 3, 2004, the UP Manila University Student
Council (UPM-USC), in cooperation with the student political organization
Asap-Katipunan (AK), the Manila Collegian (MKule), and the UP Wide Democratization
Movement II (Widem) held consultations on the UP Charter Change at the Little
Theater, Rizal Hall in UP At the affair, UP Medicine Class 2009 member Nickson Following The result was reportedly a one-month walk-out of the CM
faculty, which was followed by a disciplinary suspension by the BOR of Reyes,
according to Villegas’ narrative. Small group discussions then followed. The body, composed
of CAS students reportedly required to attend the affair by their Department
of Social Science (DSS) professors of whom Villegas is a member, was divided
into five groups facilitated by members of the UPM-USC and AK. Later on in the program, a plenary discussion ensued and
the small group facilitators reported the output from their discussions.
Notable was the report of UPM-USC Councilor Ken Ramos that in his small
group, the issue of retaining the BOR instead of the UPSA surfaced, with the
BOR composition being modified to a 5-4 body in favor of UP sectoral
interests. The five would reportedly be composed of the UP President, UP
Alumni Association President, Faculty Regent, Student Regent, and Staff
Regent, while the four would include the Chair of the Commission on Higher
Education, the Chair of the Senate Committee on Education, Arts, and Culture,
the Chair of the House Committee on Higher and Technical Education, and one
Malacañang appointee. According to Ramos, arguments were stated in his small
group that the modified BOR, while clearly in favor of the UP sectors, would
not do away with the university’s responsibility to the Filipino people. This
is because the government representatives would still be a substantial four
out of five, compared to a minority four out of thirty four in the UPSA. Another facilitator reported that in her group, the proposal
to democratize student publications and empower students in the process was
aired. It was reportedly proposed that the power to choose which publication
to subscribe to be given to the students. There were qualms from MKule saying
that it would effectively kill the existing campus publications. It was
emphasized, however, that students will be the ultimate judges of whether a
publication will cease to exist or not, because if the said publication was
indeed the voice of the students, then the latter would have no problems
consenting to fund the paper. Villegas was observed to be noting the said suggestions,
and as spectators put it, he promised to bring these to Congress when the
time comes for Public Hearings on the UP Charter. (UP-MSC STRAWBS, *** Medicine Formally Joins UP Charter Campaign Science Hall, PGH – The UP College of Medicine
(UPCM), as an institution, has formally come aboard the movement that seeks
to amend the old UP Charter. Last UP Student Regent Marco Delos Reyes was also a guest at
the affair, wherein he reported to the body information regarding HB 2327 -
“An Act Reorienting the Charter of the University of the During the open forum that followed, UP Medicine Student
Council (UP MSC) Chairperson Joseph Lachica read a statement by his council,
emphasizing among other things the desire to initiate the legislative process
as the motive for the UP MSC’s request of Rep. Eduardo Zialcita to file HB
1587. The latter bill borrowed words from the defunct HB 455 of the 12th
Congress, and is in unison with four other bills currently filed for the UP
Charter: HBs 597, 880, 993, and 2110. Lachica debunked claims that the UP MSC was influenced by
the UP Central Administration in its decision, reiterating that MSC
Resolution 0405-001 was subjected to due process as provided for by internal
rules. When the discussion moved on to scrutinize provisions of
HB 2327 which, incidentally, is also known as the “Widem Bill,” two issues
were raised and responded to. The time limit for the forum was a limiting
factor, however, since the body was not that satisfied with some of the ideas
exchanged. First of the points raised was tied by UP MSC Strawbs
Committee Co-Head Albert Domingo to the current event of Citibank facing
possible eviction from a UP Property in Domingo asked Delos Reyes on how the issue would be
managed if ever the Widem Bill would be passed. The Student Regent replied,
saying that HB 2327 has provisions that would allow the land to be used for
academic purposes only. Lachica also asked a question in the same field,
asking for clarification if the Widem Bill permits the use of UP’s idle
assets. Delos Reyes answered in the affirmative, emphasizing however that the
condition of academic use only has to be fulfilled. Sarol then made a statement to the body, relaying that he
is bothered by the apparent neglect of responsibility to the Filipino People
being embodied by the Widem Bill, pointing out that bringing the
administration of UP into the hands of its constituents could be allowed only
if the said constituents themselves were voted into office by the general
Filipino population. He reiterated that other than that, UP owes it to the
general public to allow external administrators, for the money that UP uses
comes from the National Treasury. It was emphasized by Sarol that he was making the
statement as an individual, and not in his capacity as Presiding Officer of
the PA. Dela Paz and Delos Reyes then individually replied that
the responsibility of the university to the Filipino People is not glossed
over by HB 2327, noting that Government officials from the Commission on
Higher Education, Senate, and House of Representatives are still entitled to
seats in the UP System Assembly. The Widem Bill provision for their answer allows for a
maximum of only three external National Government seats out of a minimum of
twenty eight UPSA seats. Furthermore, Malacañang appointees are not allowed
in any UP administrative body. As a rejoinder, Sarol then said that he was not satisfied
by the answer. UPCM Dean Tomas closed the ceremony with congratulatory
remarks for Dela Paz, and added that she hopes for more opportunities in the future
to continue the halted discussion among particular sectoral groups like the
faculty. (UP-MSC STRAWBS, *** UPM All Leaders Conference Convenes: UP Charter is Hot Topic UPM Student Center – Democratic consultation seems
to be the name of the game nowadays in UP Manila, and its University Student
Council (USC) seemed to have scored points when it convened a well-attended
All Leaders Conference (ALC) among the students of the autonomous UP
university. Last Monday, The pressing issue for
the meeting, however, was the UP Charter Change. Councilor Ramos, assisted
by USC Chair Rizzalyn Ramirez, began the meeting by orienting the attendees
on the organization and purpose of the ALC. Ramos said that the ALC exists to
serve as a consultative body for UP students, and any student formation – be
it a frat, soro, org, class, or others – is entitled to send a delegate to
represent his group. Ramirez added that this is just one of the many venues
that the USC will be using in getting in touch with its constituents. UP Medicine Student
Council (UP MSC) officer Albert Domingo asked the presiding officer on the
matter of who gets to be heard as the official voice of the students. Ramirez
replied that the ALC is only one venue for feedback, and the USC will be
consolidating the input from different forums to come up on one particular
stand. She added that in the end, the USC will be heard as the official voice
of the UPM students. Next on the list of
topics was the UP Charter, and it took a lot of time and generated a lot of
informative arguments. In summary, Ramirez emphasized that the USC is
promoting House Bill 2327 – the UP Wide Democratization Movement
(WIDEM) II–proposed bill, as a substitute for the re-filed versions of then
HB 455 and SB 2587. Ramos acknowledged that to
date, there are six existing bills filed in the House of Representatives
dealing with the UP Charter: HBs 597, 880, 993, 1587, and 2110 sponsored by
Reps. Escudero (Sorsogon 1st), Ablan (Ilocos Norte 1st), Zubiri (Bukidnon
3rd), Zialcita (Parañaque 1st), and Espino (Pangasinan 2nd) respectively, all
drawing words from SB 2587, and HB 2327 sponsored by Reps. Casiño, Maza,
Ocampo, Virador (all from PL – Bayan Muna), Beltran, and Mariano (both from
PL – Anakpawis). With the exception of HB
2327, all of the bills are similar to SB 2587. The ALC’s Presiding
Officer then proceeded to effectively condemn SB 2587 and highlight its
alleged opposition by the Senate resulting to its shelving. UP MSC delegates
countered, however, that it was never opposed in the Senate; it was simply
archived due to inaction and no one can lay claim to having shot it down.
“Besides, the concern of support and/or opposition for SB 2587 is a moot and
academic issue, because we are at the start of a new Congress and we are on
the verge of public hearings and consultations,” said UP MSC Chair Joseph
Lachica who was also present at the meeting. Ramirez insisted that she
is confident that the UPM students will support HB 2327 or the Widem version,
and threw a challenge to the UP MSC: “What if the students of the Lachica added that in the
first place, HB 1587 was filed for the sole purpose of initiating the
painfully slow and tedious legislative process, and that it can be amended or
even junked if need be in the future. Domingo then threw the
USC Chair’s question back: “Rizza, kayo ba sa USC ay willing na
sumuporta sa HB 1587 kung sakaling iyon at hindi ang Widem ang
suportahan ng UPM students?” After several statements, Ramirez finally
answered “Pag-iisipan muna namin.” Another
attendee from the UP Medicine Class of 2009 added in support of USC Chair Ramirez
that it does not necessarily mean that if the democratic consultation leads
to another opinion, that the USC will adopt that opinion. "Siyempre
nung binoto sila ng students, alam ng estudyante yung kanilang
ideolohiya kaya yun ang masusunod, kahit iba ang kalabasan ng popular
consultations," he added. (UP-MSC STRAWBS,
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