The workers’ union in UP filed a motion for reconsideration appealing the contract of lease but it was negated when the BOR approved the lease contract in August 2009. From October to November last year, the union studied the new UP Charter (RA 9500) and found out that UP had failed to comply with some basic processes on contracts and leases of UP properties.
The union then wrote the BOR requesting them to “remedy a serious oversight” and correct the “patent violation” of certain provisions of the UP Charter. Following the charter, they suggested having a “fairness opinion report by an independent third-party body” and approval or confirmation of the contract by ¾ of all the members of the BOR.
Until the requirements of the UP Charter are satisfied, the All-UP Workers’ Union also requested the “immediate cancellation of the said lease contract” in the November 2009 meeting of the BOR.
There was no response from Roman. Instead she, along with the three Malacañang-appointed regents, moved to extend Alfiler’s term, whose second term ended in December 2009. When it failed, they moved to replace the newly appointed PGH director, Dr. Gonzales.
The Director’s Stand
As new director, Dr. Jose Gonzales had declared that “because of its implications on the hospital operations, the FMAB should not have that capability,” referring to the pharmacy, laboratory, radiology and other diagnostic examinations.
The UP-PGH under renovation — and under fire. (Photo by Marya Salamat / bulatlat.com)
On the other hand, Dr. Enrique Domingo believes the FMAB and the lease contract should continue. “And it will continue unless the court says it must stop from proceeding,” he said. They are “awaiting solution of legal questions” posed by the union against the lease contract, Domingo added. When asked to comment on the opinion released by the Department of Justice (DoJ) early last month, Dr. Domingo said he has yet to see a copy of it.
In the eventuality of a court ruling on the contract, Dr. Domingo said, “We will abide with the court ruling.” But until there is no court ruling, he said, the signed contract and notice to proceed must be followed. “It’s going to be completed,” he emphasized.
Dr. Domingo told Bulatlat the lease contract has appropriate safeguards and would not disadvantage the PGH. “If there are similar functions, it should not compete. The hospital’s income will not be reduced,” he said. He also said the private pharmacy’s pricing will “not undermine PGH price.”
Dr. Domingo used to be deputy director under Dr. Carmelo Alfiler for three years.
The rehabilitation and construction work at the FMAB started last year. Its construction work is now “ongoing, full-blast,” said Dr. Domingo. FMAB is expected to be operational by 2011.
The Lease Contract and the UP Charter
The All-UP Workers Union and the chair of CHED, who both agreed that the UP Charter covers the lease contract for developing the FMAB, had asked the DoJ for a legal opinion late last year. The latter responded on February 9, but a copy of it made its way only recently to the UP and PGH unions.
In summary, the justice secretary rejected the UP’s claims that the non-impairment clause would not apply to the said lease contract, for the simple reason that UP was still in the middle of negotiations when the UP Charter of 2008 was passed. Even if UP has approved the Terms of Reference long before the new charter was passed, the DOJ noted that the situation now may be different, “there may be certain provisions in the TOR that are no longer applicable or needs to be revisited in order to be beneficial to all parties involved.”
Lastly, the DOJ pointed to Section 22(F) of the new UP Charter which states that, “any plan to generate revenues and other sources from land grants and other real properties entrusted to the national university, shall be consistent with the academic mission and orientation of the national university as well as protect it from undue influence and control of commercial interest: Provided, that such programs, projects or mechanisms shall be approved by the Board subject to a transparent and democratic process of consultation with the constituents of the national university; (underscoring by the DOJ).
Unfortunately, Justice Secretary Devanadera’s opinion is, as she herself said, “merely advisory, has no binding effect” on members of the UP community and DMMC. She commented on this matter “for information and guidance only” of the chair of CHED, Mr. Emmanuel Angeles, “because of the public interest involved in the issue.”
“Did UP comply with the law?” asked Ebesate and Benjamin Santos, president of All-UP Workers’ Union, Manila chapter. If not, UP, led by Roman, is liable for graft and corrupt practices, they said.
The PGH director’s role is crucial in the present FMAB project, said UP-PGH’s union leaders. It is, after all, the PGH who had proposed it, and it will likewise be the PGH who can first say whether the project should stop or proceed. Under Dr. Gonzales as PGH director, there is a possibility he would stop the FMAB project. Under Dr. Domingo, the project can only be impeded by a court ruling. (Bulatlat.com)
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