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University of the Philippines System Vinzons Basement, UP Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines 1101 9818500 loc 4511

OFFICE OF THE STUDENT REGENT


April 1, 2014

REPORT OF THE STUDENT REGENT ON THE 1297TH BOR MEETING


On the UP Diliman Code of Student Conduct Despite the support of the students, the approval of the proposed Code of Student Conduct was again deferred by the Board due to supposed several questions on technicalities. We express disappointment on the decision of the Board because we are being burdened to define academic freedom, as we believe that a rigid definition will only limit students rights. It is quite ironic that the UP administration continues to subject the Code to a rigorous process of questioning technicalities while policies such as the academic calendar have not been subjected to the same. Motion for reconsideration on the academic calendar shift and the case of UP Diliman During the February 27 Board meeting, I submitted a letter to the Board filing for a motion for reconsideration on the academic calendar shift. Unfortunately, after some discussion, the Board decided not to entertain the motion. Aside from this, through a majority vote, the Board also approved the academic calendar shift for the flagship campus. We stood firm in our decision that we are against the academic calendar shift because this is a sham internationalization policy. It will further take away UP education from the poor but deserving youth in our country and it will lead them to take the path of competing for low paying jobs in the Southeast Asian region. (You can access the full position paper on the academic calendar shift via this link: http://bit.ly/1i9I2lT) Motion for reconsideration on the renaming of the UP Diliman CBA to Virata School of Business During the Februay 27 Board meeting, Staff Regent Ramirez submitted a letter to the Board filing a motion for reconsideration on the renaming of the UP Diliman College of Business administration to the Cesar E.A. Virata School of Business. Virata was former President Ferdinand Marcoss finance minister during the Martial Law years.

The Board discussed the points stated in the letter. Unfortunately, after the discussion, the Board decided to reaffirm its decision in renaming of the CBA to VSB through a majority vote. The OSR stands firm against the renaming with the rest of the UP community. We believe that reaffirming this decision disrespects the memory of the iskolars ng bayan who fought against the Marcos dictatorship and encourages further commercialization of education in the national university. On the proposed UP buget for FY 2015 President Pascual presented to the Board the UP budget proposal for fiscal year 2015. The budget proposal for next fiscal year amounts to Php 25.497 billion. Below is the breakdown for the budget proposal: Baseline budget, FY 2014 GAA Php 9,373,382,000 Additional requirements Php 16,123,601,000 Total Php 25,496,983,000

Table 1. Breakdown of the proposal for additional requirments.

PARTICULARS A. UP System and Constituent Universities 1. Personal Services 2. MOOE 3. Capital Outlays 4. Equipment Outlays 5. Land and Land Improvement Outlays Total, UP System and other CUs B. UP PGH 1. Personal Services 2. MOOE 3. Capital Outlays 4. Equipment Outlays Total, UP PGH GRAND TOTAL

AMOUNT (000) 1,820,971 4,373,802 3,560,314 669,457 187,000 10,611,544 698,363 443,779 3,150,037 1,219,878 5,512,057 16,123,601

We are yet to receive the breakdown of the particular items on the budget proposal and are still going to conduct an analysis upon the receipt of the breakdown. The OSR hopes that the increase in the budget proposal reflects the genuine needs of the students, faculty and staff of the University. On the appeal of graduating UPM Political Science students Together with the Faculty Regent, we reported to the Board that there are four UP Manila political science students whose appeals for late payment were disapproved by the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs. We brought this to the attention of the UP President and he told the Board that he has already talked to the Vice Chancellor and told her that he will give her the authority to waive the rules so that the students can pay their tuition balance and will be allowed to graduate.

The appeal of the students has been approved. The UP President is asking for a certification from the department chair certifying that the students have been attending their classes. Currently, we are asking the UP President and the Secretary of the University to put this into writing and copies will be furnished to UP Manila. The OSR condemns this act of the UP Manila administration in denying the right of these students to education. If UP is truly a public service university, these students should not be penalized, instead, the administration should be finding ways to help them finish their college education. The OSR stands firm that it shall continue to fight anti-poor and anti-student policies. On Representation On another note, In behalf of the iskolars ng bayan, I would like express great disappointment on the UP administrations thinking that I should not be a mouthpiece of the student sector and that I should consider myself only as an individual member of the student body. Unlike the other members of the Board, I am liable to the 55,000 iskolars ng bayan who, by the power vested in their student councils, selected me to be their Student Regent almost a year ago. My duties and responsibilities as Student Regent entail that I defend and forward the genuine interests of the students that I represent. And in every Board meeting, it is my duty to express the sentiments of the students to the Board. For the students and the people,

KRISTA IRIS V. MELGAREJO Student Regent University of the Philippines System

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