February 27, 2023 — The Office of Faculty Regent Carl Ramota called for his first systemwide faculty consultative meeting tagged “Tipunan: Konsultatibong Pagpupulong para sa Demokratikong Pamamahala sa Pamantasan” on February 2, 2023 at the UP Manila Board Room.

The faculty members from different UP constituent units who attended onsite and online discussed the three proposals that Ramota crafted on democratic governance. These proposals revolve around the creation of a Faculty Welfare Council (FWC), review of the Faculty Regent Selection Process (FRSP) guidelines, and the institutionalization of the Committee on the Promotion and Protection of Academic Freedom and Human Rights (CPPAFHR). After a thorough discourse, the members reached a consensus and adopted the proposals with several key takeaways.

The proposed FWC will cater to three major areas, namely academic and governance concerns, economic welfare, and faculty wellbeing. Meanwhile, the proposed CPPAFHR will protect and preserve the rights of UP faculty members given their vulnerability in the present national political climate.

Faculty Regent Carl Marc Ramota
 

On the review of FRSP guidelines, the following changes were decided: (1) transfer of the general supervision of the FRSP from the Office of the Vice President for Academic Affairs (OVPAA) to the Office of the Faculty Regent (OFR); (2) creation of FRSP CU-level committees across the system; and (3) permission for lecturers to nominate and vote, among others. Ramota will present these proposals soon to the UP Board of Regents and the incoming UP President Angelo Jimenez.

Organized by the UP Office of the Faculty Regent, Tipunan will become a regular consultative meeting according to Ramota.

“Nagpapatuloy ang kampanya ng ating academic union sa pagtataguyod ng kagalingan at kalusugan ng ating mga kaguruan at iba pang empleyado,” he remarked.

In the meeting, former All UP Academic Employees Union Chairperson Dr. Melania Flores urged the CUs to elevate the level of faculty discourse in the university by reinforcing the value of being critical in various national social issues. This, she added, will further calibrate the kind of education the university offers and the level of service rendered by its faculty to the community and beyond.

UP Manila Chancellor Carmencita Padilla, meanwhile, assured her administration’s support to the faculty regent’s endeavors, most especially those which concern the welfare of the faculty.

Francis Nicole Maga | Published in UP Manila Healthscape No. 48 (February 2023)