Wednesday, April 30, 2008 President signs new UP Charter
PRESIDENT Arroyo yesterday signed into law the new University of the Philippines (UP) Charter.
Arroyo signed the charter at the UP in the Visayas Cebu College (UPVCC). The new charter recognizes UP as the country’s national university.
“There’s no greater pleasure for a UP alumna and former UP faculty like me than to be able to sign into law what we confer in our alma mater, the enhanced capability to fulfill its mission and spread the benefits of knowledge to our people,” Arroyo said.
The signing was attended by senators, congressmen, UP officials and members of the alumni.
Arroyo described UP as the training ground of the country’s top leaders in government, including presidents, pillars of business and various professions and intellectuals.
A key provision of the new charter, one that was loudly applauded during Arroyo’s speech, was the exemption of UP personnel from the Salary Standardization Law.
Better pay
Sen. Francis Pangilinan, a principal author of the charter, said that right now, UP staff members receive only a third of the salary that their counterparts in private universities are receiving.
“How can you keep them with that kind of pay?” Pangilinan said, noting the exodus of some of the great minds in UP.
Pangilinan, himself a UP graduate, fought for the new charter for seven years.
“We hope to make UP globally competitive,” Pangilinan added.
Other key provisions of the new UP charter include:
* An additional P100 million for UP each year for the next five years.
* Recognition of UP as a university system—acknowledging the role of the chancellors as administrative leaders and of the university council as the highest policy governing body in each constituent university.
* Allowing flexibility in coming up with a competitive compensation package and the development of its assets.
* Exemption from taxes of academic awards.
* Exemption from customs duties of equipment to be used for academic purposes.
* Affirmation of democratic access and governance.
“Strengthening the UP charter now is timely not because the university turns a hundred years old this year but also because new challenges in the 21st century call for new ways of thinking and new approaches to modern challenges,” said Arroyo.
The President challenged the university to produce more engineers in the field of research and development.
More engineers
The United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco) said there should be 340 researchers, scientists and engineers for every million population in developing countries. The Philippines only has 48 per million Filipinos.
Arroyo said that her administration has invested P3 billion in engineering resource development technology, including a P500-million science and technology complex in UP Diliman, to propel economic growth.
“Modernization would need the critical mass of research and development-capable manpower that will attract technology-based investors to our country,” said Arroyo.
Historic
UPVCC Dean Enrique Avila called the signing of the UP charter at the Cebu campus a historic event. Avila said he was surprised by the choice of the venue, saying the President has always been very supportive of UPVCC, the oldest campus outside Luzon.
Arroyo said she chose Cebu since it was where her mother, Eva Macaraeg, graduated in 1933 for her preparatory to medicine course.
Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia described yesterday’s event as a many firsts for women. The charter was signed in Cebu with the first woman president and the first UP
President, Emerlinda Roman, and witnessed by the first woman governor of Cebu.
After the signing, President Arroyo then went to the port area to lend the sendoff ceremony of a roll-on, roll-off boat bound for Ormoc City.
The boat is owned by Lite Shipping Corp.
In yesterday’s sendoff, Arroyo shook the hands of passengers on their way to boarding the vessel at Pier 4.
Jonathan Imboy, owner of the Lite Shipping Corp., said his company has been supporting the President’s Strong Republic Nautical Highway project, which links the islands through Ro-ro facilities. (JGA/With JST)
