Flight of Ideas

Celebrity for Charity (UP Sagip Isko)

2009-11-01T09:49:00.000+08:00

With Typhoon Santi (Mirinae) promptly leaving the Metro at around 10:00 am yesterday, doubts went away with the dark skies on whether or not The White Hat Italian Frozen Yogurt would push through with its Celebrity for Charity Halloween event. Interestingly in relation to the weather risk, the beneficiary UP Sagip Isko happens to be a student-led group within UP Diliman that has successfully coordinated typhoon relief efforts for the victims of T.S. Ondoy and Pepeng.

More info and photos here.

UP Sagip Isko: Relief Operations for T.S. Ondoy (Ketsana) Victims

2009-10-03T14:00:00.000+08:00

Dear Professors, Colleagues, Classmates, and Friends,

Relaying to you these photo and video updates on UP Sagip Isko's student-led relief operations for T.S. Ondoy (Ketsana) victims:

Photos
Video 1 - Call to Action/HQ
Video 2 - On Site

Thank you very much to all donors, volunteers, and supporters. Our work however is not yet done, what with this new Typhoon Pepeng.

Please standby for updates at www.facebook.com/updusc as to UP Sagip Isko's plans for the upcoming week, in consideration of the new typhoon this weekend, and the resumption of classes on Monday. We can do this!

Maraming salamat po!

UP SAGIP ISKO

(Please forward this concise message of thanks and advisory to contacts who may be willing to help.)

UPM Constituents: URGENT Re: A(H1N1) Protocol

2009-06-12T17:50:00.000+08:00

Hello. I am Dr. Regina Berba of the UP-PGH Hospital Infection Control Unit and in charge of UPM response to H1N1. I am writing you to give some guidance on how we could best respond to the recent events.

It is very important that we all follow the guidelines below. I am also attaching the school policies related to influenza A (H1N1). Please take time to read through this letter and the attached document.

1. In this period of a pandemic, we should all take care of our own selves, our families and communities. While the infection seems to be currently presenting as a mild illness, we still want to reduce our risks of getting it and passing it on to others. As much as we can, let us take extra precautions to minimize the number of persons who will become ill.

Observe hand hygiene. Wash hands frequently. Buy a bottle of alcohol or alcohol based hand rub and keep in your pocket, Observe cough etiquette. Avoid crowded areas. Stay away from sick persons.

2. If you had travel to a country with confirmed cases - please stay at home (self-quarantine) for 10 days. That means if you arrived on June 7, the earliest you can go back to school is June 18- assuming you did not become ill.

3. If you had close contact with our index case within 6ft distance even for only a few minutes, please put yourself on quarantine. If the exposure was June 6, you should be on quarantine until June 16 and the earliest you can go back to school is June 17-assuming you did not become ill.

The purpose of quarantine is to reduce the interactions you have with other susceptible people so that in the event you develop the illness, there would be less contacts who can become ill later. Less contacts, less cases. Quarantine means staying by yourself in a well ventilated room in your house. If you will be in a common area with other family members, wear a mask even if you do not have symptoms. Its an inconvenience but it is important!

4. Whether you belong to #1 or #2 above and during this 10-day period you develop or now have any of: fever, cough, colds, sore throat- kindly consult. Begin to wear a disposable surgical mask even while you are at home so that you protect the other family members from possibly catching the virus if you have it already.

You and your parents may opt to go to: a) the Research Institute of Tropical Medicine (RITM) in Alabang, Lung Center of the Philippines in QC, San Lazaro Hospital Manila; b) a private medical center of your choice; c) UP-PGH.

If you decide to go to PGH, please call or text the UPM H1N1 Hotline 09197470570 before proceeding so we can prepare for your arrival. Give the anticipated time of your visit. The area we will see you at would be at the PGH H1N1 unit -previous AMBU in front of the ER.

The consultation will involve getting a thorough history, PE, respiratory specimens (nasopharyngeal swab and oropharyngeal swab) and decision making whether you need to be admitted. The specimens are brought to the RITM. Results of the RT-PCR for the influenza A(H1N1) will become available in 24-48 hours.

If your test will become positive for influenza A (H1N1) please inform me 09178926954 so we could do contact tracing. Please follow all the physician's advise and medications.

5. When you have symptoms, whether or not it is influenza A (H1N1) or the regular seasonal flu or other viruses, staying at home in isolation (the proper term now is not QUARANTINE anymore but ISOLATION) is very critical. Wear a mask. Practice the cough etiquette. Cover your mouth when you cough,

6. If you become ill, DO NOT GO TO SCHOOL until 24 hours after all your symptoms have disappeared. You would need clearance from the UPHS before the first day back to school.

7. Quarantine and isolation due to exposure or illness will be excused. Please call the College Secretary's office to notify them of your absence and reason behind and duration of the absence.

8. Any questions please call the Hotline 09197470570 (our IDS fellow will answer you) or my number (09178926954) .

In behalf of Chancellor Arcadio and Dean Roxas, I extend my sincerest hope to all of you that everyone will be well. We will be here to help you.

For your full compliance please.
Regina Berba

Upsilon Sigma Phi's statement on PGMA's clemency for Cochise's Murderer

2009-04-07T04:41:00.000+08:00

Joint Statement of the U.P. Upsilon Sigma Phi and Upsilon Sigma Phi Alumni Association, Inc.

We, the members of the U.P. Upsilon Sigma Phi and the Upsilon Sigma Phi Alumni Association, Inc. condemn in the strongest possible terms the commutation of the sentence of Rodolfo “Rudy” Manalili, the murderer of our dear fraternity brother Ernesto “Cochise” Bernabe II and his girlfriend Ana Lourdes “Beebom” Castanos.

As law abiding citizens and taxpayers of this country, we are appalled at the utter disregard by Her Excellency President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo of the rule of law and our time-honored system of justice.

Manalili and those convicted with him – Roberto Lising, Robin Manga, Enrico Dizon and Filemon Garcia slaughtered Cochise as if he were an animal, and then raped and slaughtered Beebom as well. Cutting short Manalili’s double life sentence for the kidnapping and murder of Cochise and Beebom will allow him to roam the streets within the next 3 years, thus exposing to serious danger the lives of the witnesses who testified against him.

The decision penned by then Quezon City trial judge Tirso Velasco stated that the crime Manalili et al committed was so heinous that he (Velasco) would have sentenced them to death had the death penalty been in place at that time. To the relatives of Cochise and Beebom, and to the public at large, the double life sentence was lean enough. Comes now President Arroyo who, probably having been misled by officials of the Board of Pardons and Parole, lessens the penalty to a ridiculous pittance of time in prison.

Based on the presidential prerogative, which we believe was grossly abused, Manalili may be out in 3-8 years time, too soon for those who testified against him or had anything to do with his prosecution. Was it because Manalili is from Pampanga, where President Arroyo hails? Was it because Manalili’s family is moneyed and the 2010 elections are near? Is the commutation of Manalili’s sentence connected with the commutations of the sentences of other rich heinous crime convicts like Claudio Teehankee, Jr. or wealthy child rapist Romeo Jalosjos? Who will the President free next – Mayor Sanchez?

We therefore appeal to President Arroyo to reconsider this travesty of justice. Setting free criminals like Manalili and his ilk sends a chilling message to law abiding citizens of this country – we can never feel safe – and gives hope to the criminals of this country – go ahead, commit a heinous crime, and get away with it. But if you do get caught – don’t worry… you can always get executive clemency for as long as you know people in the Board of Pardons and Parole and Malacanang.

Julian Rodrigo A. dela Cruz
Illustrious Fellow, U.P. Upsilon Sigma Phi (Diliman)

Jupiter Pante P. Nunez
Illustrious Fellow, U.P. Upsilon Sigma Phi (Los Banos)

Jacinto S. Puno
President, Upsilon Sigma Phi Alumni Association, Inc.

Noel Cruz
President, Upsilon Sigma Phi - North America

---
Letter to the Editor
Speaking in Tongues

Early this week, news broke on the pardon granted by Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to Rodolfo M. Manalili who masterminded the abduction and murder of Ernesto “Cochise” Bernabe II and Ana Lourdes “Beebom” Castanos in April 25, 1990.

In a year’s time, we would be commemorating the abduction, rape and murder of these two young and promising students and future leaders our nation will never have. After creating a maelstrom that saw the enactment of the death penalty and the creation of the witness protection program brought about by public outrage and condemnation of this crime, our President, in one stroke of her mighty pen appends closure to Cochise and Beebom’s deaths by rewarding the killers and re-opening the yet unhealed wounds it has brought to Bernabe’s and Castanos’ families, friends and colleagues.

Because Press Secretary Cerge Remonde is aware of the utter heinousness of Manalili’s crime, he hides under the oft repeated chorus that the recent pardons is yet just another part of the ministerial duties of the President. That murderers, rapists, and grafters are freed after spending time for their crimes while alleviated by credible good behaviour is purely hogwash. Nothing can be more revolting when our officials coax our anger with arrogance treating us like children. We are even led to the self induced refrain that these actions are part of the corrective nature of the modern penal system. In short, don’t blame the President, she was just doing her job.

But our beef is not on forgiveness and on the Board of Pardons and Parole. Our anger stems from the transactional politics of this administration. The common adherence to law and order is thrown at the waste bin to accommodate patronage and political accommodation. The President fails to realize that above-all the wheeling and dealing in the Palace, she is expected to raise the bar of presidential action and in this case, her application of her power to grant pardons.

We have and will continue to support the Constitution and the laws of this Republic. We have done so and continue to do so in the ninety decades of our existence. But what we abhor is the wanton capitulation of this Administration to interest groups or individuals exposing the lack of political will to enforce judicial decisions creating a shadow of doubt as to how this government will fight corruption and lawlessness when high profile and financially endowed murderers, rapists, thieves and plunderers are granted pardon and clemency at the beck of presidential prerogative.

We are aware that Arroyo’s record of pardoning and granting executive clemency to many prisoners run into the hundreds if not thousands by this time. But we reckon that such actions to release and award freedom to old, sickly convicts with deteriorating health conditions will be the same action of any other president. To argue here that the president chooses neither from power nor from lack of it is misleading, if not downright pretentious. And because the decision to grant pardons and clemency have been tainted , what we hear is the “process” rhetoric.

Why then would we not think that this government is biased for the privileged few and not for all when the President pardons the likes of Jaime Ponce de Leon, convicted of 27 counts of graft and sentenced to 203 years in prison but never saw even the mere shadow of his prison cell because he was pardoned on the day he was to serve his sentence. We have the bungled initial release and pardon of convicted rapist Romeo Jalosjos, an ex-Congressman who had to be “re-captured” in hometown Zamboanga only to be finally freed after a few months re-detention. The other equally famous Claudio Teehankee, son of a former Chief Justice who lived a pampered life inside Bilibid who was released even before media got wind of the news. And of course, most obvious and sensational of all, the granting of executive clemency to former president Erap Estrada who was convicted of plunder, more from being handed his sentence.

We are a nation of laws. We seek redress from the courts and we find its judgment the final arbiter of the gravity of one’s offense. Presidential pardon is a special privilege allocated to the President to use and exercise with utmost care and discretion. It is neither a magic wand nor a “free-pass” granted at whim. The Board of Pardons and Parole is a commendable government agency whose goal is to provide a venue for relief and executive action for humanitarian reasons. Its recommendations must not be the sole basis for judgment of pardons and clemency. Just like any other democratic process, the flip side of the coin must also be presented. The parties aggrieved must be reached and their assent secured.

We believe that Rodolfo M. Manalili deserves to serve his full sentence. The lives of Cochise and Beebom can at the very least be honored by making those responsible for their deaths serve their full sentence. We deplore the official statement that the pardon was an exercise in process and that the President’s signature is merely ministerial. We condemn the inclusion and even the mere allusion of “a changed man” as a primary basis for exacting pardons and the process used to bear these fruits. The serving of one’s sentence implicitly involves one’s repentance and remorse. No amount of good behaviour should be incorporated as a means to shorten one’s sentence for it depraves us of our own dignity and corrodes our trust and allegiance to our laws.

We ask the President to repeal the pardon and exact on Manalili and his cohorts that in the Philippines, crime does pay.

We also call on every decent and law-abiding Filipino to join our call.

For the memory of Cochise and Beebom, we remain steadfast.

For the Upsilon Sigma Phi Alumni Association (USPAA):
Eliseo M. Ilano, Chairman
Jacinto S. Puno, President

For the Upsilon Sigma Phi Los Banos Alumni Association (USPLBAA):
Arbie Bisenio, Chairman

For the Upsilon Sigma Phi North America (USPNA):
Noel Cruz, President

For the Upsilon Sigma Phi Resident Chapters:
Julian Rodrigo A. dela Cruz, Illustrious Fellow (Diliman)
Jupiter Pante P. Nunez, Illustrious Fellow (Los Banos)

Career Opportunity: Health Policy Fellowship Program

2009-02-08T03:36:00.000+08:00

The Health Policy Development Program

The Health Policy Development Program (HPDP) is a USAID-supported, 5-year initiative implemented by the UPecon Foundation, Inc.
It aims to assist the Department of Health (DOH) in its institutional role of shaping the policy environment towards achieving better health outcomes, a more responsive health system, and equitable health care financing. HPDP is providing assistance along the following
Program Components:

1) Contraceptive Self-Reliance, Family Planning/ Maternal, Neonatal and Child Health (CSR-FP/MNCH)
2) Standards and Regulations (S&R)
3) Local Health Systems (LHS)
4) Health Care Financing (HCF)
5) Capacity-Building, Sustainability and Institutionalization (CSI)

As part of the CSI component, HPDP is implementing the Health Policy Fellowship Program (HP).

HEALTH POLICY FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM

HPDP wishes to announce its Health Policy (HP) Fellowship Program for junior professionals below 35 years of age, interested to pursue a career in health policy work. The HP Fellowship Program provides exciting learning opportunities in policy work through internship with the DOH, and/or its attached agencies as HP Fellows. The HP Fellows will be provided opportunities to:

a. Perform regular and special technical staff work on a full-time basis;
b. Attend short courses on health policy;
c. Participate in various policy fora and workshops; and
d. Meet regularly with designated HPDP mentors to discuss progress of their policy work

Applicants must be graduates of degree programs in medicine or other health-related courses, public administration, economics and other social sciences, management, communications, information technology, statistics or mathematics. They must express interest in health policy and systems development work.

Successful applicants will be engaged for a minimum of six months. HPDP offers a highly competitive compensation package for the fellowship, depending on individual
qualifications.

To apply, please submit: (1) letter of application, (2) curriculum vitae, and (3) official transcript of records or true copy of grades, to Dr. Orville Jose C. Solon, Chief of Party, HPDP, Room 322, UP School of Economics, Diliman, Quezon City, 1101.

For inquiries, please write or call Dr. Loyd Brendan P. Norella, HPDP Program Associate, at Telefax +63 2 436 3677, Tel +63 2 927 9686 local 321 and 322, or e-mail at upecon.hpdp@gmail.com

UPOU Students: How to Vote (Referendum on CRSRS)

2009-01-26T11:26:00.000+08:00

From MyPortal:

The referendum on the Codified Rules for Student Regent Selection (CRSRS) is from January 26 to 31.

The UPOU will conduct the referendum using the UPOU Online Voting Booth. The Booth is an online poll developed for collecting votes via Internet for voters' approval or disapproval of the CRSRS as rules and qualifications for the selection of the Student Regent. This means that UPOU students can cast their votes anywhere through this system. A computer will be provided for this purpose at the Learning Center (LC) in Diliman for students visiting the LC.

Graduate and undergraduate students enrolled during the second semester of AY 2008-2009 are qualified to vote. Active participation is strongly encouraged.

For general information about the referendum, visit: http://upou.webs.com/

Voting procedure:

1. Register for your Voter ID and Voter PIN. Go to http://www.ambertechnica.com/live/register.php

2. Enter your name, student number and email address.

3. Check your registered email address for a confirmation message from automailer@ambertechnica.com with the title "Voter ID and PIN for UP Open University Poll". If you do not receive the email after an hour, please check your Bulk/Spam folder.

4. Once you have received your Voter ID and Voter PIN, go to http://www.ambertechnica.com/live

5. Sign in and cast your vote.

6. The system displays a message that the voter's choice has been counted and the window can be closed.

What happened to UP Activism? Is it now self-serving and undemocratic?

2009-01-18T04:34:00.000+08:00

In reply to the unsolicited online flyer discourteously posted below on my personal space, it is easy to point out the inconsistencies and hypocritical actions of a double standard that KASAMA sa UP and its affiliates have been banking on. And in doing so, I will use KASAMA's own words:

1) "As we move further into the historic week of the SR Referendum, in pursuance of the anti-democratic UP Charter provision requiring such, the Iskolars ng Bayan are bombarded with leaflets-upon-leaflets of positions by different student groups on the validity of their respective causes." and "It is in the pursuit of such an understanding of democracy that the Office of the Student Regent is vigorously fighting for the success of the SR Referendum, no other."

This is the ULTIMATE IRONY I have seen so far for 2009. While KASAMA et al sees the SR Referendum as coming from an "anti-democratic UP Charter provision", WHY ARE THEY FORCEFULLY CAMPAIGNING for a Yes vote and ergo, for PARTICIPATION? They are "vigorously fighting for the success" of the anti-democratic UP Charter provision on referendum?

Say what?

What ever happened to being pure, true, and the right way of seeing things? So now, KASAMA is willing to use methods it sees as corrupt JUST TO FURTHER ITS AGENDA?

Analogy: This morning I wanted to eat fried eggs for breakfast. As I was about to cook, I saw that the eggs were already rotten. I decided to no longer have fried eggs but eat something else instead. If I was KASAMA, based on their ironic statement above, I would go ahead and fry the rotten eggs and then eat them, just because I want fried eggs and cannot think of any other breakfast item.

2) "Their actions, at best, are the acts of desperate political groups who remain unyielding in defense of their already bankrupt positions on specific matters in the current CRSRS. Time and time again, their proposals have been rejected by a majority of student councils in the UP System through the GASC (General Assembly of Student Councils), a most effective democratic institution now created by statute."

This paragraph's validity depends on who it is directed to. Who are "they"?

The new UP Charter (RA 9500) gives the power to choose the means of SR selection DIRECTLY TO EACH AND EVERY STUDENT. After all, is it not right to presume that all of us are old and intelligent enough to decide on our own? Thus, when a student group, or even an individual speaks their/his/her mind, is it not an exercise of "FREEDOM" and "DEMOCRACY" that KASAMA so rabidly screams for whenever they attack the (any) establishment?

Look at the situation: the groups who are forwarding positions on the CRSRS (that are different from KASAMA's own) are actually STUDENT ORGANIZATIONS and FORMATIONS composed of several individuals. On the Choose2Know website (http://choose2know.multiply.com), it is HUMBLING and at the same time EMPOWERING to see that I am not alone, that although I have been in UP since 1999, there are many others WHOM I HAVE NEVER MET or WHO MAY NOT AGREE WITH MY POLITICS ALL THE TIME who have come together to collectively voice their sentiments.

In lumping "them"/us altogether into so-called desperate policital groups, I believe it to be the HEIGHT OF ARROGANCE to label A LOT OF UP STUDENTS as "desperate". Actually, to label even ONE UP student as "desperate" just because he/she decides to express his/her points of view is so not the way we are trained in UP. To be political is acceptable, because such is the nature of our dear University of the Philippines that allows us to THINK ON OUR OWN and in the process PARTICIPATE in politics, through our own ways.

Anyone or any entity who claims that he/she/they are the only way, the truth, and the life is committing BLASPHEMY not only in the Christian sense that God is the only one who can say that (don't bother arguing religion with me, it's just an example), but is blaspheming against the very fabric of the University of the Philippines which is INDEPENDENT THOUGHT.

While I itch to say that maybe the quoted paragraph should be referring to KASAMA, I refrain from declaring so, because I do NOT want to myself be a hypocrite in disrespecting KASAMA's views.

By the way, it is not entirely true that "time and time again, their proposals have been rejected by a majority of student councils...". Maybe KASAMA should refresh its memory, because their own affiliate the Hon. Raffy Jones Sanchez, Student Regent in 2006 was SELECTED using a CRSRS that was modified 1) to include academic requirements and 2) without KASAMA as Secretariat, among other changes that were ALLOWED by STUDENT COUNCILS.

3) "batches upon batches of student leaders through the years and across the UP System have consistently rejected their proposals..."

Again, this is NOT true. Remember GASC 2005? Maybe the Hons. Marco Delos Reyes, Ken Ramos, and Raffy Jones Sanchez (specially Raffy) can refresh your memory. Raffy, a KASAMA affiliate, STILL WON even under a CRSRS that required academic qualifications of the SR and did not have KASAMA as its Secretariat.

4) "To insinuate that there is greater democracy in subjecting questions directly to the electorate whilst forgetting the historic and democratic rejection of their proposals shows how clear the discourse on democracy is being peddled with great malice and vested interests."

A false statement again! Let's see... GASC 2005 anyone?

5) "To force the Office of the Student Regent to include their proposals in the ballot is to invalidate the existence of the current CRSRS as a genuinely democratic document, to be subjected to the approval of the greatest democratic body, the students themselves."

Apparently, the BIGGEST IRONY for 2009 has been replaced! Let's read this sentence at least five times:

current CRSRS as a genuinely democratic document (Ok, good so far)
to be subjected to the approval of the greatest democratic body (hmmmm, also ok.)

Doesn't this sound correct and consistent? "Genuinely democratic document approved by the greatest democratic body"

The SR is not being forced to invalidate the existence of the current CRSRS. She is just being asked to make available other options for the students to choose. When the "greatest democratic body" decides on a document (even if it's a new CRSRS), won't that document then become a "genuinely democratic document"?

Let's go back to the breakfast analogy. Say I went into a famous breakfast place at the Shopping Center and asked for a menu. The waiter then shows me a list to choose from. In the analogy, I would be the student body, the breakfast place would be the Referendum, and the menu the proposals. The order slip effectively becomes my ballot. The waiter is SR Abdulwahid.

The way KASAMA wants it, the menu would contain nothing else but fried eggs (present CRSRS) on the menu.

What if for that morning I wanted Danggit to go with my fried eggs? Danggit being an amendment, Waiter Shan would tell me, "Sorry, fried eggs only." But what if I really want Danggit to go with the fried eggs?

We are not asking for Shan to get rid of the fried eggs (present CRSRS). It will still be on the menu, alongside Danggit and perhaps, Sinangag. (Sarap!) At noon when the breakfast place closes and does an inventory (counts the order slips which are the ballots), it is still possible that Fried Eggs was the most ordered item.

6) "There is no debate that the Office of the Student Regent remains despite a failed referendum. But what we are clearly fearful of in such an eventuality is not the non-existence of an Office but the absence of a Student Regent to represent the Iskolars ng Bayan during the monthly Board of Regents meeting. The UP Administration can assure us all they want that Regent Abdulwahid shall continuously be recognized, but in the eventuality that she does vacate the Office due to whatever contingency such as her imminent graduation, among others, it is clear that there shall be no mechanism by which the next Student Regent can be chosen for as long as no referendum to approve the rules is validly approved by the students."

One person to think of in this example: the Hon. Terry Ridon (SR 2007).

Before becoming SR, Terry ran for and won as the USC Chair of Manila immediately after my term. His term was AY 2006-2007. A question on his being a UP Manila student was raised: Terry was already graduating from UPM when he ran for USC Chair in 2006. He was already accepted in UP Law and would start at the same time his USC term would. What did he do to maybe circumvent the rule? He enrolled for a masters' degree in UPM CAS. Thus UP Manila had a USC Chair whose primary course was in UP Diliman.

Moral of the story: Shan can always pull off a Terry. If she wants to. If she really is Pro-student, Pro-SR.

Also, the old UP Charter upon which the OSR exists (up to this day, prior to the scheduled referendum) was itself not clear/had no mechanism by which the next SR could be chosen. But still, the OSR existed, and an SR was chosen annually. The admin, throughout the years, respected our autonomy as students.

What KASAMA is doing by the above-quoted paragraph is using SCARE TACTICS. So un-UP. Whatever happened to "makibaka, wag matakot?"

7) "The test of democracy and its unrelenting pursuance is not merely the physical act of providing venues by which the greatest number of persons may participate in the creation of policy, but also, whether rights of already underprivileged sectors are expanded and realized through the exercise of democratic processes and the establishment of democratic institutions."

Here we go AGAIN. Irony again. Statement-by-statement:

a) democracy is not the physical act of greatest number participating (hmmm, ok let's say yes for now)
b) democracy is also when rights of underprivileged are expanded (of course, yes)
c) through the exercise of democratic processes (huh? I thought "a" is not true...)
d) and the establishment of democratic institutions (huh? but "a" is supposedly false...)

So which is which? That we exercise democratic processes and establish democratic institutions WITHOUT a physical act of the greatest number participating? This sounds inconsistent.

8) "The other road is one that is created and built by the laborious and historic struggle of Iskolars ng Bayan past and present, with the clear direction and destination of bringing us closer to the realization of our rights by ensuring the unhampered functioning of the Office of the Student Regent through the triumph of the SR Referendum and the immediate selection of a new Student Regent."

I agree with this 99%, the 1% disagreement because I have to clarify who is that "other road". That other road belongs to the numerous UP Students out there who now, although having the power BY LAW to decide for themselves on how to select their Student Regent, are being restricted to only one method of selection by SR Abdulwahid et al.

How sad.

It is true that over the years the OSR has been a struggle - from the day of the very first Student Regent (Kiko Pangilinan). It is therefore not coincidence that Senator Kiko Pangilinan HIMSELF is the lead author in the Senate of the New UP Charter, RA 9500, that has sponsored the referendum.

An Open Letter to the UP Student Regent

2009-01-03T13:26:00.000+08:00

This is a reposted piece from the incumbent Law Representative to the UPD USC. Very straight to the point, factual, and rational in approach.

Albert Francis E. Domingo, MD
Former Chairperson (AY 2005-2006)
UP Manila University Student Council

-----------------------
An Open Letter to the Student Regent

I speak now no longer as a member of the General Assembly of Student Councils but as a constituent. Ms. Abdulwahid, as a courtesy to your constituents, our duly elected representatives at least deserved to be informed that the proposals we submitted will never see the light of day in your special meeting. We deserved to be given notice that the entire day of deliberations was merely recommendatory. We deserved to know, prior to the day itself that our representatives will be stripped of their right to vote, because the meeting was a special meeting and not a regular meeting.

Shan, as a Student Regent, many student councils look to you for guidance. As late as September 30, 2008, you yourself were not certain of the import of the new law requiring a referendum, thus you sought the opinion of the Vice President for Legal Affairs. Why did you seek those clarifications only on September 30, the day before the deadline for submission of amendments, when the law was passed as early as May? How can you expect your constituents to proceed accordingly if you did not know how to proceed? Why did we not receive a memo informing us that despite the new law, we are still adviced to submit amendments to the CRSRS prior to October 1, 2008 as was customary? Why did you break away from this tradition? Is it not your sworn mandate to extensively conduct information campaigns in the interest of maximum participation? You were not elected to sit in a watch tower and watch your constituents as they amble along uncertain. You were elected to lead and pave ways, and to take initiatives when there are none.

But you would be happy to note that these are all water under the bridge. And now you can rest easy knowing that the perceived threats to the student regent, which is nothing more than a call by your constituents to be recognized and be heard, has been stifled by technicalities borne by your own inaction.

You consider the referendum as a threat to student democracy, autonomy and representation and claim that the GASC and the CRSRS is democratic and yet you would allow in your own house legitimate voices to be muted by technicalities of no more than the Roberts Rules on Parliamentary Proceedings, which at best is merely directory for a body that was not served a copy thereof (you even sought the help of a resource speaker, knowing that you are not an expert on those rules, and yet you presume that we are aware of its contents). You worry about a house that stands divided as we approach the day of referendum. Ms. Abdulwahid, that is democracy for you. That is UP for you.

But like I said, that is water under the bridge. Fait accompli.

However, you can be sure that on January 19, 2009, one ballot will be cast with a “no” vote.* That ballot will be the voice of one silenced dissenter. That ballot will be my expression of democracy. Because inasmuch as I want to defend the Office of the Student Regent because of the high ideals for which it was created, your performance as our leader has shown me how the Student Regent under the Codified Rules of Student Regent Selection cannot, and in many instances has failed, to defend me.

SOPHIA MONICA V. SAN LUIS
2002-14849
COLLEGE OF LAW, UP Diliman

__________________________________

To my fellow UP Law Students:

The campaign as it stands now calls for a vote of "Yes." But it is prudent to ask: a vote of yes to what? The question was drafted as follows:

"Do you approve of the CRSRS as rules and qualifications for the selection of the Student Regent? Yes or No."

Please note that the Vice President for Legal Affairs, Prof. Theodore Te has not yet issued an opinion as to the effect of a failed referendum. However, we can be sure that in the event of a failed referendum, the Office of the Student Regent will not be abolished as it is an office mandated by law. The only question is what will happen in the interim (i.e. whether or not we will have a student regent then, and if so, how will the said student regent be selected).

The question as drafted did not take into consideration the proposals submitted by six student councils which included a proposal to include a minimum academic requirement for the selection of the Student Regent, a proposal to exclude Kasama sa UP from the existing rules, a proposal to widen the voting base for a more democratic and representative selection process and a proposal to add specific duties to the office of the Student Regent. Attached below is the Official Memo of the Student Regent with the final question and the reasons for not considering the proposals which can be summarized as follows--

1. The GASC was not convened as a policy making body as it was a special meeting and not a regular meeting.*
2. The period for submitting proposals has lapsed and the proposals were submitted after the deadline.**

Attached also is a copy of the current CRSRS. I suggest that you peruse it before voting in the referendum.

SOPHIA MONICA V. SAN LUIS
College of Law Representative
Chairperson, Student Legal Aid and Action Committee
UPD University Student Council

*The fact that the assembly was a special meeting was announced only during the discussion of the house rules approved on the same date (and which ironically provided for a voting mechanism), via a point of inquiry/clarification raised by the USC Vice Chairperson, Ms. Airah Cadiogan. On a point of inquiry, UPD-USC Chairperson, Mr. Third Bagro asked what the import of a special meeting is. The inquiry was not answered. It was only much later, after lengthy debate and deliberations, and several caucuses to attempt to arrive at a consensus that the body was informed that the import of having a special meeting was that the body could not vote.

**On this matter, the LSG EB as represented by our Secretary and PRO submits that the proposals could not be governed by the CRSRS which has yet to be approved by a referendum. They also argued that the CRSRS is to be considered as one proposal and the amended CRSRS as another proposal. Additionally, I (as member of the USC) argued that the proposals are submitted not to amend the CRSRS per se but to have them included in the drafting of the ballot which is entirely different from amendment. However, no vote was made on this issue as the assembly was merely a special meeting.

Eat your Donuts

2008-12-13T03:06:00.000+08:00

There was a certain Professor of Religion named Dr. Christianson, a studious man who taught at a small college in the western United States.

Dr. Christianson taught the required survey course in Christianity at this particular institution. Every student was required to take this course their freshman year, regardless of his or her major.

Although Dr. Christianson tried hard to communicate the essence of the gospel in his class, he found that most of his students looked upon the course as nothing but required drudgery. Despite his best efforts, most students refused to take Christianity seriously. This year, Dr. Christianson had a special student named Steve. Steve was only a freshman, but was studying with the intent of going onto seminary for the ministry. Steve was popular, he was well liked, and he was an imposing physical specimen. He was now the starting center on the school football team, and was the best student in the professor's class.

One day, Dr. Christianson asked Steve to stay after class so he could talk with him. "How many push-ups can you do?" Steve said, "I do about 200 every night."

"200? That's pretty good, Steve," Dr. Christianson said. "Do you think you could do 300?"

Steve replied, "I don't know.... I've never done 300 at a time".

"Do you think you could?" again asked Dr. Christianson.

"Well, I can try," said Steve.

"Can you do 300 in sets of 10? I have a class project in mind and I need you to do about 300 push-ups in sets of ten for this to work. Can you do it? I need you to tell me you can do it," said the professor.

Steve said, "Well... I think I can...yeah, I can do it." Dr. Christianson said, " Go do ! I need you to do this on Friday. Let me explain what I have in mind."

Friday came and Steve got to class early and sat in the front of the room. When class started, the professor pulled out a big box of donuts. No, these weren't the normal kinds of donuts, they were the extra fancy BIG kind, with cream centers and frosting swirls. Everyone was pretty excited it was Friday, the last class of the day, and they were going to get an early start on the weekend with a party in Dr. Christianson' s class.

Dr. Christianson went to the first girl in the first row and asked, "Cynthia, do you want to have one of these donuts?"

Cynthia said, "Yes."

Dr. Christianson then turned to Steve and asked, "Steve, would you do ten push-ups so that Cynthia can have a donut?"

"Sure!" Steve jumped down from his desk to do a quick ten. Then Steve again sat in his desk. Dr. Christianson put a donut on Cynthia's desk.

Dr. Christianson then went to Joe, the next person, and asked, "Joe, do you want a donut?"

Joe said, "Yes."

Dr. Christianson asked, "Steve would you do ten push-ups so Joe can have a donut?"

Steve did ten push-ups, Joe got a donut. And so it went, down the first aisle, Steve did ten push-ups for every person before they got their donut.

Walking down the second aisle, Dr. Christianson came to Scott. Scott was on the basketball team, and in as good condition as Steve. He was very popular and never lacking for female companionship.

When the professor asked, "Scott do you want a donut?"

Scott's reply was, "Well, can I do my own push-ups?"

Dr. Christianson said, "No, Steve has to do them."

Then Scott said, "Well, I don't want one then."

Dr. Christianson shrugged and then turned to Steve and asked, "Steve, would you do ten push-ups so Scott can have a donut he doesn't want?"

With perfect obedience Steve started to do ten push -ups. Scott said, "HEY! I said I didn't want one!"

Dr. Christianson said, "Look! This is my classroom, my class, my desks, and these are my donuts. Just leave it on the desk if you don't want it." And he put a donut on Scott's desk.

Now by this time, Steve had begun to slow down a little. He just stayed on the floor between sets because it took too much effort to be getting up and down. You could start to see a little perspiration coming out around his brow.

Dr. Christianson started down the third row. Now the students were beginning to get a little angry. Dr. Christianson asked Jenny, "Jenny, do you want a donut?"

Sternly, Jenny said, "No."

Then Dr. Christianson asked Steve, "Steve, would you do ten more push-ups so Jenny can have a donut that she doesn't want?"

Steve did ten....Jenny got a donut.

By now, a growing sense of uneasiness filled the room. The students were beginning to say, "No!" and there were all these uneaten donuts on the desks.

Steve also had to really put forth a lot of extra effort to get these push-ups done for each donut. There began to be a small pool of sweat on the floor beneath his face, his arms and brow were beginning to get red because of the physical effort involved.

Dr. Christianson asked Robert, who was the most vocal unbeliever in the class, to watch Steve do each push up to make sure he did the full ten push-ups in a set because he couldn't bear to watch all of Steve's work for all of those uneaten donuts. He sent Robert over to where
Steve was so Robert could count the set and watch Steve closely.

Dr. Christianson started down the fourth row. During his class, however, some students from other classes had wandered in and sat down on the steps along the radiators that ran down the sides of the room. When the professor realized this, he did a quick count and saw that
now there were 34 students in the room. He started to worry if Steve would be able to make it.

Dr. Christianson went on to the next person and the next and the next. Near the end of that row, Steve was really having a rough time. He was taking a lot more time to complete each set.

Steve asked Dr. Christianson, "Do I have to make my nose touch on each one?"

Dr. Christianson thought for a moment, "Well, they're your push-ups. You are in charge now. You can do them any way that you want." And Dr. Christianson went on.

A few moments later, Jason, a recent transfer student, came to the room and was about to come in when all the students yelled in one voice, "NO! Don't come in! Stay out!"

Jason didn't know what was going on. Steve picked up his head and said, "No, let him come."

Professor Christianson said, "You realize that if Jason comes in you will have to do ten push-ups for him?"

Steve said, "Yes, let him come in. Give him a donut." Dr. Christianson said, "Okay , Steve, I'll let you get Jason's out of the way right now. Jason, do you want a donut?"

Jason, new to the room, hardly knew what was going on. "Yes," he said, "give me a donut."

"Steve, will you do ten push-ups so that Jason can have a donut?"

Steve did ten push-ups very slowly and with great effort. Jason, bewildered, was handed a donut and sat down.

Dr. Christianson finished the fourth row, and then started on those visitors seated by the heaters. Steve's arms were now shaking with each push-up in a struggle to lift himself against the force of gravity. By this time sweat was profusely dropping off of his face, there was no sound except his heavy breathing; there was not a dry eye in the room. The very last two students in the room were two young women, both cheerleaders, and very popular. Dr. Christianson went to Linda, the second to last, and asked, "Linda, do you want a doughnut?"

Linda said, very sadly, "No, thank you." Professor Christianson quietly asked, "Steve, would you do ten push-ups so that Linda can have a donut she doesn't want?"

Grunting from the effort, Steve did ten very slow push-ups for Linda.

Then Dr. Christianson turned to the last girl, Susan. "Susan, do you want a donut?"

Susan, with tears flowing down her face, began to cry. "Dr. Christianson, why can't I help him?"

Dr. Christianson, with tears of his own, said, "No, Steve has to do it alone; I have given him this task and he is in charge of seeing that everyone has an opportunity for a donut whether they want it or not. When I decided to have a party this last day of class, I looked at my grade book. Steve here is the only student with a perfect grade. Everyone else has failed a test, skipped class, or offered me inferior work. Steve told me that in football practice, when a player messes up he must do push-ups. I told Steve that none of you could come to my party unless he paid the price by doing your push-ups. He and I made a deal for your sakes."

"Steve, would you do ten push-ups so Susan can have a donut?"

As Steve very slowly finished his last push-up, with the understanding that he had accomplished all that was required of him, having done 350 push-ups, his arms buckled beneath him and he fell to the floor.

Dr. Christianson turned to the room and said, "And so it was, that our Savior, Jesus Christ, on the cross, plead to the Father, 'Into thy hands I commend my spirit.' With the understanding that He had done everything that was required of Him, He yielded up His life. And like some of those in this room, many of us leave the gift on the desk, uneaten."

Two students helped Steve up off the floor and to a seat, physically exhausted, but wearing a thin smile.

"Well done, good and faithful servant," said the professor, adding, "Not all sermons are preached in words. "

Turning to his class, the professor said, "My wish is that you might understand and fully comprehend all the riches of grace and mercy that have been given to you through the sacrifice of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He spared not only His Begotten Son, but gave Him up for us all, for the whole Church, now and forever. Whether or not we choose to accept His gift to us, the price has been paid."

"Wouldn't you be foolish and ungrateful to leave it lying on the desk?"

-------
I got this from an e-mail forward. Moral of the story? Eat your Donuts.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

My Classroom's Online

2008-11-20T04:59:00.000+08:00

In this Firefox tab is Multiply's blog interface, while in another tab is my classroom. There are around sixty of us taking a common subject - Introductory Economics (Econ 11) - the class being composed of a variety of individuals ranging from the fresh high school graduate, to a paramedic somewhere in Cebu City, to the IT Systems Administrator somewhere abroad. Our professor is literally chillin in the City of Pines that is Baguio.

On the showbiz and celebrity side, some of our schoolmates are actually kapamilyas (ABS-CBN Television Talents) or kapusos (GMA Talents). We were informed that Senator Loren Legarda is also part of the UPOU, taking a degree in Environmental Studies.

We are all part of the University of the Philippines Open University, or UPOU.

The UPOU has been called "Open" because the often-heard UP saying that "learning is not confined in the four walls of a classroom" is literally implemented in this Constituent University of UP. It is truly self-directed study, which is kept in check quality-wise by the structured system of UP. While we are almost 90% of the time not together in a classroom, we are still required to meet ijn online study sessions at least four times for the semester, and in learning centers near us for our proctored/supervised examinations.

I for my part am rather motivated in browsing through the written modules for Introductory Economics. The last time I was taught this subject was in High School, where we never went beyond the Supply and Demand curves in brief in our Social Science subject. My enrollment as a non-degree student seeking nothing more but credit units in Econ 11 is also in season, what with phrases like "Economic Slowdown" or "Upcoming Recession" making their way into our newspaper's front pages.

Of course I don't expect to start talking shop when it comes to the money market, among other things. All I'm doing is trying to gain a fundamental understanding of the world of Economics in all its complexity. :-)

Yuppie MD, with a Twist

2008-11-17T07:58:00.000+08:00

Back in medical school, our teachers always told us to be the best possible doctors that we can be, and to aim to become a "five-star physician" in accord with the World Health Organization model of the same name. I'd like people to use that model to understand my present job, what I do for that job, and what I'm looking forward to in the long term.

The Classic Q&A

Case in point: during friendly conversation initiated between myself and someone I haven't met before, it is but natural for both of us to ask each other (or sometimes, volunteer) what we do for work. Mine is easy to relate to - or so I thought.

Upon mentioning that I am a doctor, the next question for me becomes either "What hospital do you work in?" or "What's your specialization - internal medicine, surgery?"

If I happen to be in a light social situation when asked that question, I would simply reply that I just graduated from medical school, and that I am aiming for a career in Internal Medicine, or even Family Medicine. That is my standard, run-of-the-mill reply, which saves time in small talk. I use it whenever my work circumstances do not really matter in my relationship with the person who asked. It may not be an accurate answer, but it is not a lie either - note that I simply said that I just graduated, and that I am aiming for a career in IM or FamMed.

However, if there is the luxury of time, and the person I'm talking to has a little background info on me (or is sincerely/necessarily interested in my occupation), then I answer with the full details: I work with the UP Econ - Health Policy Development Program, or HPDP, as a Health Policy Fellow.

I started work with the HPDP last Wednesday, November 12, and I'm fast beginning to like what I'm doing.

Am I still a Doctor?

After giving my HPDP answer, some would awkwardly ask if I still "heal" people/patients. My straightforward answer is Yes. Being a registered Physician at the Professional Regulations Commission (PRC), I am a holder of a Philippine Medical License, and that allows me to practice medicine - to see patients, to interview and examine them, to arrive at a diagnosis of their illness, and to prescribe/perform the appropriate treatment. In case the question of my medical practice still persists, I refer the inquisitor to my short stint as a Resident-on-Duty at the Ospital ng Muntinlupa, where I worked at the medical wards and at the Emergency Room.

There actually is what I'd like to refer to as the Doctor Stereotype. Because most of us are acquainted with the doctor being a 30ish to 40ish white-coated healthcare professional working in a clinic or hospital, it is easy for the general public to think of the doctor in terms only of a Clinician, or a physician that sees and treats individual patients. I'm also one of them clinicians, in the sense that I am capable of and legally licensed to practice General Medicine.

But I have decided that I can't limit myself to clinical practice. I'm not saying that clinical practice is just that - something that is limited. No, I have the deepest respect and highest regard for the expert clinicians - doctors who heal individual people. Their training is very technical and rigid, because they literally are entrusted with individual lives.

The Five-Star Model

The WHO Model of the Five-Star Physician envisions a physician to be 1) a clinician, 2) an educator, 3) a researcher, 4) a manager, and 5) a social mobilizer each at some point in his career, or perhaps be a combination of any of the five at the same time.

The doctor stereotype everyone knows is at least #1; if s/he belongs to a training hospital with a medical school, s/he can also be #2 and 3; if s/he is part of administration, s/he can also be #4. Sometimes when there's an advocacy, or in the case of the practitioners of Community Medicine, #5 comes into strong play.

Health Policy Fellow

HPDP Health Policy Fellows (HP Fellows) can either be medical doctors or not, but all the same they work under a United States Agency for International Aid (USAID)-funded project that helps the Philippines' Department of Health come up with health policies that seek to improve healthcare in the country, in general. Think of the HPDP as a "think tank". In my work as an HP Fellow, initially the educator, researcher, and social mobilizer roles come into play:

Educator, because when HP Fellows provide technical assistance to their assigned Department of Health (DOH) agencies, we make new concepts (or rediscovered ones) available for use. We give this knowledge to our agencies not as the classic classroom teacher, but all the same we still impart new concepts.

Researcher, because in the course of our work, we need to turn to scientific literature to have hard evidence as the basis for our policy recommendations.

Social Mobilizer, because our work results in policies that are bound to be used for programs and projects on a public health scale.

Multiple Levels of Care

To drive home the point, allow me to use the example of one of our HPDP Consultants - Mario M. Taguiwalo.

Let's say that an expectant mother dies of severe hemorrhage on the delivery table. Who's at fault? It's may not be just the Obstetrician who attended the delivery. The patient may have not availed of pre-natal check-ups, which makes the Primary Care delivery system also at some fault. And higher up, perhaps it's the lack of funding for the Primary Health system that's causing the inability to make pre-natal check-ups available. The bottomline is there are multiple levels of care in our health system.

In the clinical scenario above, I may not be the clinician (Obstetrician), but I'm part of a team who is analyzing the policy factors surrounding the scenario - the systems, so to speak. And in doing my work, I hope to contribute towards a future wherein the above mortality would be avoided, on a larger scale.

Is your Prescription (Rx) Computerized?

2008-11-10T09:41:00.000+08:00

With the license to practice medicine comes the responsibility of communicating directions (medical orders) to the appropriate health professionals who participate in the care of a patient. These include but are not limited to other physicians, nurses, midwives, physical & occupational therapists, and pharmacists. In outpatient or office clinic practice, the pharmacist (or pharmacy assistant, as the case may be) is the one most communicated with by way of the Prescription Order.

While there is formal training in the subject Pharmacotherapeutics as to how one should write a Prescription, the actual practice of individual physicians do vary somewhat, depending on their clinical experiences while in training, and even in actual medical practice.

When it comes to patients, the Prescription does matter a lot - because it is tangible proof that the doctor cares for the patient, and wants something to be done regarding the illness. Which is why as early as clerkship (4th year Medicine Proper), I took to heart the tip of one of my residents in the Philippine General Hospital. She told me not to use medical shorthand (such as, "1 tab PO BID x 7d"), but to spell out my instructions in plain English (same instruction: "take one tablet by mouth two times a day, for seven days") or even in Filipino/Tagalog, on a patient-to-patient basis (translation: "uminom ng isang tableta dalawang beses sa isang araw, sa loob ng isang linggo").

Yes, some colleagues have lightly joked that I'm being too obsessive-compulsive in writing my Prescription instructions in Filipino. But I'm not changing the way I do it - I find that patients comply more when they understand.

Lately I've taken on a relatively new trend - issuing computerized/typewritten Prescriptions. I first saw such Prescriptions last May 2006 when I rotated at a Family Practice Clinic in Houston, Texas. Little did I realize that locally, they were also already doing it - at least in the bigger medical centers/hospitals. Now that I am licensed to write my own Prescriptions, I decided to give it a try.

A little academia: in the book Goodman & Gilman's The Pharmacological Basis of Therapeutics (Hardman and Limbird, Eds., 2001), there is an entire Appendix dedicated to the "Principles of Prescription Order Writing and Patient Compliance". In it, authors Edwards and Roden stated the obvious: "The clear communication of a prescription order to other members of the healthcare team and to the patient is a vital step in drug therapy."

Regarding typing Prescriptions, the same authors wrote: "All prescriptions should be written in ink or typed ... as erasures on a prescription easily can lead to dispensing errors or diversion of controlled substances" (emphasis supplied).

I set out to write this blog post because earlier today, a patient of mine approached me for a prescription of Phenobarbital, an anti-epileptic drug. In summary, she needed a new Prescription for her previous one was already completely dispensed (Phenobarbital being a controlled substance, the local pharmacy is strict on counting the amount dispensed). After her consultation with me, I decided to give her a computerized Prescription for her medication.

A few minutes later, I received a phone call from the local pharmacy, verifying if I indeed wrote the Prescription. I appreciate the fact that they do conduct such verification, for the drug in question is a controlled substance. However, what perplexed me was when the pharmacist/pharmacy assistant mentioned that his basis for verification was not the drug per se, but the fact that the Prescription was computerized.

As I earlier pointed out, the textbooks are quite clear that Prescriptions should either be written in ink, or typed. Is a computerized Prescription not better than a handwritten one in terms of medical errors avoided, and eye strain? My handwriting is the classic so-called "doctor's handwriting" - not so clear. Again it was nice of them to call, but I think pharmacists/pharmacy assistants should be oriented that so long as a computerized/typewritten Prescription bears the handwritten signature of the physician, it should be accepted.

On the Third (Working) Day

2008-08-22T01:53:00.000+08:00

The Medical Board Exam was one sure way of testing your emotions to the limits. For four days after the last day of exams I, along with my classmates, friends, and now colleagues from across all the different medical schools languished in the uncertainty of fate. But GOD in his goodness did not forget us. Rather than rely on fate, he taught me to have FAITH.

On the eve of the first day of exams, on that same night when the Olympic torch was lit in Beijing, China, text messages of encouragement came in droves. One particular message that struck me reads thus:

"My child, you've done your part in this fight and now it's time you rest and take a break. Trust not only in your own capabilities but in ME fully. I AM with you always, have been so from day one up to now, and I can feel your worries, fears, and uncertainties. Drop them and take My Hand... I won't leave you until it's over. You'll make it through the board exam. All you have to do is to BELIEVE. With ME, nothing is impossible."

Another said:

"Reach up as high as you can today, and God will reach down the rest of the way. After months of preparation, it's finally time. Good luck and God bless."

Now I am averse to passing on forwarded text/SMS jokes or quotes. I however took exception to the above two and passed them along to fellow examinees. We needed the morale boost that night.

Part of my preparation in terms of prayer included a trip to Our Lady of Manaoag in Pangasinan, along with visits to the Holy Spirit Adoration Sisters (aka Pink Sisters) in Tagaytay and to the Parish of St. Jude near Malacanang Palace. Perhaps God above smiled through it all, looking at me tormented and running about desperate to offer the most prayers at different earthly shrines dedicated to Him.

It was all an exercise in medical knowledge, but for me it was also a test of FAITH. Everything became spiritually significant and imprinted on my mind and heart.

I could not forget one Sunday's homily wherein the priest-presider emphasized that what we routinely say before communion: "Lord, I am not worthy to receive you, but only say the word and I shall be healed." The homilist said that healing in this case was only one of infinite things that God can do for us. What is important, he said, is that God only has to say the word.

On the Sundays of the Board Exams, I felt the Gospel to be quite relevant. Maybe it was also because Fr. Francis Gustilo, our regular priest of the 5:00 pm Youth Mass, is a very good homilist.

On August 10, the first Sunday in the Board Exam period, the Gospel was about Jesus walking on the water and Peter coming out of the boat to join Him. A part of it reads thus:

"And Peter answered him, 'Lord, if it is you, bid me come to you on the water.' He said, 'Come.' So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus; but when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, 'Lord, save me.'"

After that first weekend of exams wherein Anatomy reared its difficult head, I felt that I was also already sinking. I was crying out repeatedly: Lord, save me! Now that the results have come out, the next line to the above paragraph touched me at my very core:

"Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him, saying to him, 'O man of little faith, why did you doubt?'"

It is really humbling how God makes himself felt during the most trying times of our lives.

On the second Sunday of the Board Exam period, specifically last August 17, the Gospel was about a Canaanite woman who, in spite of the cultural boundary set-up distinguishing Jews from non-Jews, persisted in asking Jesus to cure - from a distance - her daughter who was tormented by a demon. Jesus tested the woman's sincerity and even rejected her initially:

"But she came and knelt before him, saying, 'Lord, help me.' And he answered, 'It is not fair to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs.'"

I could feel that like that woman in the Gospel story, I was desperate specially after that Surgery Exam that seemed to come from hell. The Canaanite woman did not relent in her prayer:

"She said, 'Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table.' Then Jesus answered her, 'O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire.' And her daughter was healed instantly."

There again is the scriptural reference to what we always say before communion: "only say the word, and I shall be healed".

Now I feel that this coming Sunday (August 24), the Gospel again applies to this chapter of my life. In the upcoming Gospel, Jesus will ask:

"'Who do men say that the Son of man is?' And [the disciples] said, 'Some say John the Baptist, others say Eli'jah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.'"

I feel that God is also asking all of us Board passers now, as he did when he asked again his disciples:

"But who do you say that I am?"

I would like to answer that question now, as Simon Peter did:

"You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."

THANK YOU to everyone who joined me physically and spiritually in this journey. Congratulations to my colleagues!

"He's just too fast!" -David Diaz

2008-06-29T08:01:00.000+08:00

"I can't punch him, he's just too fast!" said David Diaz, dethroned WBC lightweight champion, of his hard-hitting opponent Emmanuel "Manny" Pacquiao a few minutes ago - during the break between the sixth and seventh round. The two slugged it out at the Mandalay Bay Casino and Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Thanks to my broadband internet service provider, we were able to watch here at home a live stream. Dad and a family friend went out to watch the same fight live on the bigscreen.

Manny never fails to stir passions in his audience whenever he fights. Galing!

Brazil! Serendra: A Senior-Citizen Unfriendly Churrascaria?

2008-06-09T11:05:00.000+08:00

Today is my parent's 40th Wedding Anniversary. Dad, a retired electrical engineer, is still going strong at 71, while Mom still works part-time as a Realtor at her 62. She'll probably frown at me for revealing in public her chronological counter, but it's necessary to reveal that both of them are already senior citizens for this piece to make its point.

Fortunately and coincidentally for their celebration, Malacanang declared June 9 this year as the non-working holiday in observance of Philippine Independence Day come June 12. And with me in the middle of board exam review, our family decided to have a simple gastronomic celebration of sorts by having lunch at an eat-all-you-can restaurant.

A chinese buffet was out of the question because chinese food has become such a family favorite that we often dine out on weekends at the popular (and sometimes "secret" but delicious) chinese cuisine places. The same went for Japanese, because if dimsum was not our fare of the moment, we'd go for tempura and the like.

We wanted something relatively new, and Mom and Dad's experience with the churrascarias (Brazilian BBQ restaurants) in Houston, Texas had us decide on trying the so far only local equivalent - Brazil!, which has branches in Alabang Town Center (ATC), Metrowalk Pasig, Powerplant Mall Makati, and Serendra Fort Bonifacio. We chose the one at Serendra's The Piazza, because last night when we searched online for a nearby Southern Metro branch, ATC's branch still didn't have an internet listing.

The food was good and the service highly commendable. Friendly waiters and waitresses served us initially with bowls of warm garlic and egg soup, and guided us to the buffet counter that had four types of salads, some rice dishes, seafood pasta, a tasty sole fish fillet dish, and some dessert.

Of course the highlight of the place is the Brazilian barbecue in its different forms - grilled and tastily marinated beef tenderloin, beef brisket, pork belly, pork tenderloin, chicken legs, sausages, corn, and pineapple (yes, grilled pineapple). Very good (and filling) food, perfect for the meat-lovers in Dad and myself. Mom, not to be outdone, also sampled everything.

We were practically the only diners at the time. I thought that the holiday would bring in more guests, but maybe people would come it later tonight.

Thus we were attended to with gusto, and we were so comfortable with the place and its staff that it practically felt like eating at home. We were relating to the staff how the churrascarias in the US had more choices on their skewers, but all the same we agreed that for the first churrascaria in the Philippines, Brazil! was doing well.

Our check was closed around an hour and a half after we arrived, and Mom paid for it by credit card. As was our routine, before the bill arrived we always gave the staff Dad and Mom's valid Office of Senior Citizen Affairs (OSCA) ID cards to avail of a discount due senior citizens eating in restaurants, among other things. For the record and based on the original official receipt we have in our possession, our particular transaction was covered by OR No. 7313 Dated 6/9/2008, at Brazil! Serendra branch. The receipt says that the establishment is operated by "Rio Grande Foods Corp.", with VAT/TIN 229-996-373-004.

What I'm trying to say is that I'm not making this incident up, and I have the documents to prove it.

Pertinent in law to the transaction that took place is Republic Act No. (RA) 7432 (An Act to Maximize the Contribution of Senior Citizens to Nation Building, Grant Benefits and Special Privileges, and for other purposes) approved on April 23, 1992, as amended by RA 9257 (Expanded Senior Citizens Act of 2003) approved on February 26, 2004.

The law defines a senior citizen to be "any resident citizen of the Philippines at least sixty (60) years old", and decrees for them - among other privileges - "the grant of twenty percent (20%) discount from all establishments relative to the utilization of services in hotels and similar lodging establishment, restaurants and recreation centers, and purchase of medicines in all establishments for the exclusive use or enjoyment of senior citizens, including funeral and burial services for the death of senior citizens" (emphasis supplied).

Our receipt detailed our transaction as follows (until I figure out how to optimize the faint purple ink typical of cash register tape receipts, please bear with me for not uploading an image):

Light Buffet PC 1,154.54 V
2.00 @ 577.27
Light Buffet PC 1.00 577.27 V
Royal D Can 1.00 80.00 V
Coke Light Can 1.00 80.00 V
Senior Discount -16.00
Ice Tea GLS 1.00 70.00 V
Senior Discount -14.00
---------------
Subtotal 1,931.81
Service Charge 10% 193.18
---------------
Total 2,124.99

Indulge me as I interpret the cash register's shorthand. Each one of us three ordered three buffets at P577.27 per plate. Dad got a Royal Dalandan Soda in can for his drink, Mom chose a Coke Light in can for hers, and I took a bottomless glass of Iced Tea for myself.

Everything seems to be in order as per the receipt's items, yes? Of course.

Now pay attention to how the "senior discount" was given. Recall that both Dad and Mom gave their own official OSCA-issued Senior Citizen ID Cards. The best, most commendable food establishments we've eaten in apply a single 20% discount to the entire bill regardless of whether a non-senior citizen ate with the party. Some would strictly apply a discount only to the food items visibly eaten by the senior citizen(s). Both are, in my humble opinion, okay as far as the law is concerned.

Some would not grant a senior citizen discount at all, or make it difficult to avail of the same.

Brazil! Serendra, on the other hand, discounted only the following items: Mom's can of Coke Light (P80.00, discount = P16.00) and my glass of Bottomless Iced Tea (P70.00, discount = P14.00). Thus for a gross bill of P1,931.81 exclusive of 10% service charge, only P30.00 (1.55%) was discounted.

Dad and Mom's buffet plates were not discounted, and so was Dad's can of Royal Dalandan Soda. The discounted Bottomless Iced Tea glass was not even consumed by a senior citizen! It was consumed by a 25 year-old trying to lose weight.

We found this out as we were on the way out of the mall. In Mom's disappointment, she called up the restaurant at its number (856-0671) and got to talk to an initially abrasive individual named "Noel", who later on introduced himself as the branch manager.

Mom told Noel about the above alleged infraction, and the latter called up the receipt and was overheard to bark out to someone in the room "Hindi niyo diniscountan yung senior citizens? (Didn't you give a discount to the senior citizens?)". Mom told Noel to call her back as to what the latter would think of as a solution.

Still no call up to this time.

I pity the courteous and friendly floor staff who attended to us that they have to work in a restaurant that, by the above account, may not be senior-citizen friendly. Perhaps someone in authority or with considerable influence should look into this.

Why be bothered? Because my Mom and Dad could might as well be your own parents, or grandparents/loved ones unjustifiably not given the twenty percent discount due them by law.

In our particular case, Mom and Dad should have received discounts in the amount of P131.45 each. In other well-meaning establishments who do follow the law to the letter, we would have done a habit that my Mom and Dad formed in gratitude to the law's compassion for their age. We would have given half of what we would get as a senior discount to the staff as a tip.

What a shame in Brazil! Serendra's case.

A Mother's Journey

2008-05-11T03:27:00.000+08:00

The young mother set her foot on the path of life. "Is this the long way?" she asked. And the guide said: "Yes, and the way is hard. And you will be old before you reach the end of it.. But the end will be better than the beginning."

But the young mother was happy, and she would not believe that anything could be better than these years. So she played with her children, and gathered flowers for them along the way, and bathed them in the clear streams; and the sun shone on them, and the young Mother cried, "Nothing will ever be lovelier than this."

Then the night came, and a storm, and the path was dark, and the children shook with fear and cold, and the mother drew them close and covered them with her mantle, and the children said, "Mother, we are not afraid, for you are near, and no harm can come."

Morning came, and there was a hill ahead, and the children climbed and grew weary, and the mother was weary. But at all times she said to the children, "A little patience and we are there." So the children climbed, and when they reached the top they said, "Mother, we would not have done it without you."

The mother, when she lay down at night looked up at the stars and said, "This is a better day than the last, for my children have learned fortitude in the face of hardness. Yesterday I gave them courage. Today, I've given them strength."

On the next day came strange clouds which darkened the earth with war, hate, and evil, and the children groped and stumbled. The mother said: "Look up. Lift your eyes to the light." The children looked and saw above the clouds an everlasting glory, and it guided them beyond the darkness. That night the Mother said, "This is the best day of all, for I have shown my children God."

The days went on, weeks, months, and years, and the mother grew old and she became little and bent. But her children were tall and strong, and walked with courage. And when the way was rough, they lifted her, for she was as light as a feather; and at last they came to a hill, and beyond they could see a shining road and golden gates flung wide. And mother said, "I have reached the end of my journey. And now I know the end is better than the beginning, for my children can walk alone, and their children after them."

The children said, "You will always walk with us, Mother, even when you have gone through the gates." They stood and watched her as she went on alone, and the gates closed after her. And they said: 'We cannot see her but she is with us still. A Mother like ours is more than a memory. She is a living presence."

Your Mother is always with you. She's the whisper of the leaves as you walk down the street; she's the smell of bleach in your freshly laundered socks; she's the cool hand on your brow when you're not well. Your Mother lives inside your laughter. And she's crystallized in every tear drop. She's the place you came from, your first home; and she's the map you follow with every step you take. She's your first love and your first heartbreak, and nothing on earth can separate you. Not time, not space... not even death!

[I got this from an e-mail forwarded to me. I seldom do pass on e-mail forwards as they clog up internet bandwidth - but once in a while these well-written articles do get my attention. Happy Mother's Day to all of our mothers, and grandmothers too!]

Anatomy of the New UP Charter

2008-05-04T17:11:00.000+08:00

“Act No. 1870, as amended, and all laws, decrees, orders, rules, and regulations or other issuances or parts inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are hereby repealed or modified accordingly” (Sec. 30, RA 9500).

While a repealing clause is a standard part of new laws placed there so as to avoid legal confusion, the repealing clause written as part of the New University of the Philippines (UP) Charter can arguably be viewed as a form of political and perhaps emotional closure in the long wait for a law that shall strengthen UP. It has effectively declared a revolutionary ideal: that after one hundred years on paper of being under the defunct American Governor General’s office by virtue of the archaic University Charter (Act No. 1870), UP can finally say that it is truly the Filipino’s National University under a New UP Charter.

A Struggle to Change a 100-year Charter

On ten o’clock in the morning of April 29, 2008, a Tuesday, at the UP Visayas Cebu College, Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo exercised her Constitutional duty and signed into law Republic Act (RA) No. 9500, formally known as “An Act to Strengthen the University of the Philippines as the National University,” or in short “The University of the Philippines Charter of 2008.” This finally came to be after a colorful 20 plus-year history of drafting, revision, filibustering, and suspension in Congressional sessions that has seen UP constituents agree and disagree (in classic UP habit) with several provisions in the draft law, not to mention the political maneuvering of certain solons who held the draft law hostage to see their personal motivations through.

With its many origins in various bills filed in several Congressional sessions, it has had different versions, each with its own name after their respective sponsor solons: the Tanada Bill, the Liban-Belmonte Bill, the Nachura Bill, and the Casino Bill. Ultimately however it was the Pangilinan Bill - named after former UP Student Regent and now Senator Francis N. Pangilinan - that paved the way, with amendments, to RA 9500. To all UP constituents alike, it is simply known as the New UP Charter.

The National University

An Autonomous University System

From its title alone and supported by the Declaration of Policy (Sec. 2.), the New UP Charter strongly asserts UP’s primacy as the Philippines’ own National University. The dominant policy of RA 9500 is for the State to strengthen UP in consideration of this status. Furthermore, the university’s institutional autonomy shall be respected by government service-wide agencies.

It recognizes the present set-up of a University System that spans the nation’s islands, currently with seven autonomous Constituent Universities (Baguio, Diliman, Los Banos, Manila, Mindanao, Open University, and Visayas) physically distributed among twelve campuses nationwide. The Board of Regents, upon recommendation by the UP President, may establish more Constituent Universities in the future.

Redefining UP’s Mandate

UP is envisioned to be a unique and distinctive leader in higher education and development. It shall lead in setting academic standards and initiating innovations, serve as a graduate university for advanced studies and specialization, promote research and the dissemination of knowledge, conduct public service, protect and promote the rights and welfare of all its personnel, facilitate learning in academics including sports and nationalism, network with regional and global institutions, and provide avenues for democratic governance.

Academic freedom will be UP’s right, and it will have the responsibility to protect it as it has always done. Academic excellence shall not just be a goal but will be a norm.

Iskolar para sa Bayan (Scholar for the Nation)

The university is now formally committed to national development in that it is directed to regularly study the state of the nation in politics and economics, among others, and in so doing it shall formulate responsive policies and give recommendations to government. Government, in turn, may request the university research or advice on any matter concerning public policy, and any such government agencies who will request for this service will also shoulder the costs.

Notable is the New UP Charter’s implication that more than being Iskolar ng Bayan (national scholar), a UP student must be Iskolar para sa Bayan (scholar for the nation), by its Sec. 8 that obligates the university’s activities to be related to the needs of Filipinos and the latter’s aspirations for social progress and transformation. To this end, the university has been authorized to provide venues for student volunteerism.

A Democratic Board of Regents

The Board of Regents (BOR) has been retained in essence, with revisions that shall make it more democratic and dynamic in its governance. The UP President is no longer just a Vice-Chair of the BOR; s/he is now a Co-Chair, on equal footing with the Chair of the Commission on Higher and Technical Education (CHED). There is also now the inclusion in the BOR of a new Staff Regent who shall represent full-time permanent research, extension, and professional staff (REPS) and administrative personnel.

Instead of the original five Malacanang appointees, the Philippine President’s voting power by extension has been reduced to three, and these three Presidential appointees must be distinguished in their professions or fields of specialization, in consideration of the BOR’s own recommendations. Two out of the three should be alumni of UP.

Sectoral Regents (Faculty, Student, and Staff Regents) are also now held more accountable to their constituents – their membership in the BOR ends in cases of suspension, separation, or recall by their own sectors.

Discussion through Consultative Assemblies

While the University System Assembly - an idea of the UP-Wide Democratization Movement (UP-WIDEM) - was not adopted as the highest university governing body in place of the BOR, Sec. 3. (h) provides for the holding of such assemblies of students, faculty, REPS, staff, and alumni for the discussion of non-academic issues affecting the university.

Balanced Admissions Policy

Admission to the University as a student is to be made democratically accessible. The university is allowed to have an alternative and equitable admissions process for disadvantaged students such as indigenous peoples, poor but deserving students, including (but with no limitation to) valedictorians and salutatorians of public high schools, and students from depressed areas. Religious freedom is reaffirmed, and as such the university shall not discriminate on the basis of religion.

Strengthening through Sports Development

Sports programs that promote physical education, uphold excellence and encourage competitive participation shall be undertaken by UP. These programs shall be meant to instill school identity and solidarity, in addition to cultivating pride, self-discipline and teamwork as a foundation for participation in university affairs, and in nation building.

Competitive Salaries and Benefits for Employees

What has long made it challenging for UP to retain its brightest is now about to end. The lure of higher compensation and benefits for faculty and staff working in other academic institutions (notably the private ones) can now be addressed, what with the exemption of UP employees from the Salary Standardization Law. As stated in Sec. 13 (k), the BOR can now, “any law to the contrary not withstanding,” fix and adjust the salaries and benefits of faculty and employees, “provided that [these] shall be equivalent to those being received by their counterparts in the private sector…”.

Empowered and Truly Democratic Student Institutions

The Charter of the national university is also unique amongst several other university charters that govern the establishment of other state colleges and universities in that it has an entire section (Sec. 21) on student affairs, and other supporting sections throughout the law that contributes towards empowered and truly democratic student institutions.

While tuition and other fees can be fixed by the BOR, they can only do so after mandatory comprehensive consultation with students concerned by proposed changes in the said fees.

The office of the Student Regent, which supposedly has long been controlled by an elite group of student councils with similar ideologies, is now subject to genuine participation and approval by the general student body, as provided for by law. Those who seek to maintain a specific selection process that can be easily controlled by vested political interests now have to submit their selection rules and qualifications as proposals alongside other possible variants, ultimately for the entire UP student body to choose from in a referendum.

Student Councils are guaranteed their existence by law. Every college and degree-granting institute shall have a College or Institute Student Council, while every constituent university will have a University Student Council. In that same line, the entire UP System will have a general assembly of all student councils. The student council shall serve as the primary student body that shall the interests of its respective student constituents, and is now authorized by law to adopt its own internal rules of procedure.

Student Publications are to be established in every constituent university and college, to be funded by student fees. It is a must, however, that students of the particular units covered by the student publications are to be comprehensively consulted on their operations. Established student publications are guaranteed the freedom of expression and autonomy in all editorial and fiscal policies.

Fiscal Autonomy with State Commitment

In response to the alleged deterioration of the university brought about by inadequate government funding, the New UP Charter has effectively granted UP enough fiscal autonomy to augment State Subsidy which, incidentally, is still mandatory as guaranteed by law in Sec. 28: “… such lump sum representing the responsibility of the national government for the continued growth, operation and maintenance of the national university shall be included in the annual General Appropriations Act (GAA).”

The new charter allows UP to retain its unused income or government subsidy (which before is returned to the national government) for future use. The specific provisions on this (Sections 13 (m) and 28) even allow the BOR to, in the case of funded projects that for reasons beyond its control was not pursued, reprogram budget allocations. There is also a guarantee that funds collected from students for a specific purpose cannot be diverted to other expenditures.

Section 22, on “Land Grants and Other Real Properties of the University”, allows UP to productively use its vast idle assets to generate income that shall be geared towards the academic mission and orientation of the university. Land owned by the UP may be lease to interested tenants for financial returns, but the lands that may be leased exclude those of the academic core zones of the UP campuses.

There is also an entire provision (Sec. 23) that outlines the safety nets for the university’s productive use of idle assets. The outright sale of UP’s lands shall not be allowed, except for the sale of donated property meant to be sold (as indicated by the donor), given to the university after the effectivity of RA 9500. Long-term leases (more than five years) are subject to the protection offered by consultation, careful planning by experts, competitive and public bidding, and the advice (not directive) of an advisory board composed of experts in monetary management. Also, transactions involving more than fifty million pesos in value will require a three-fourths vote of all members of the BOR, and splitting said transactions into smaller amounts to get around this safety net is explicitly forbidden.

A monetary management provision is also in place (Sec. 24). An independent trust committee chaired by the UP President and composed of representatives from the country’s lead finance organizations will be in charge of recommending to the BOR how the university’s money should be managed, with the ultimate goal of securing investing returns for UP’s academic mission.

The New UP Charter also has a provision on tax exemptions for certain aspects of UP’s operations (Sec. 25). In particular, revenues and assets used for educational purposes, gifts and donations (which are now also deductible from the donor’s gross income), and academic awards shall all be tax-free. The importation of books, supplies, materials, computer hardware and software for academic use shall also from now on be customs duty-free. Lastly, the university shall no longer need to pay any value-added tax (VAT) for all transactions subject to VAT.

Lastly, as a gift to UP, government has seen it fit for the law to grant a centennial fund in addition to the regular government subsidy, totaling five hundred million pesos (P500,000,000) to be given to the university as one hundred million pesos (P100,000,000) annually for five years.

Vigilance is Key

As with any law, the New UP Charter will only be in effect after a certain period of its publication in newspapers of general circulation or in The Official Gazette (a government publication). In reality, its full force and effect will only be felt over the span of a few to even more years depending on how easy it is to logistically implement the changes it contains.

It may also be difficult for certain university groups to set aside their political and ideological differences in so far as the New UP Charter is concerned. To the very end of the legislative process, there were groups – individuals even – who went to the extent of getting personal with UP administrative officials just to delay the passage of RA 9500.

Everyone was given a chance to be heard, to speak in Congress, and to demonstrate either support or disdain. The issues have been extensively examined, studied, and even rewritten in some cases. What is more important now is that we all have a new law that is waiting to be implemented. As one university community facing the next one hundred years of UP, it is imperative on us to be vigilant, no matter which side of the UP Charter debate we used to belong to. We must make sure that this new law will work for the good of the university, and in so doing for the good of our nation.

What is a law’s letters worth if its spirit is not carried out anyway? We must, therefore, seek to strengthen our beloved UP ourselves, with this New UP Charter as our starting point.

The University of the Philippines Charter of 2008 (Full Text of RA 9500)

2008-05-04T02:58:00.000+08:00

S. No. 1964

H. No. 2845

Republic of the Philippines

Congress of the Philippines

Metro Manila

Fourteenth Congress

First Regular Session

Begun and held in Metro Manila, on Monday, the twenty-third day of July, two thousand seven.

[ REPUBLIC ACT NO. 9500 ]

AN ACT TO STRENGTHEN THE UNIVERSITY OF THE

PHILIPPINES AS THE NATIONAL UNIVERSITY

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress assembled:

SECTION 1. Title. – This Act shall be known as “The University of the Philippines Charter of 2008.”

SEC. 2. Declaration of Policy. – The University of the Philippines is hereby declared as the national university.

The State shall promote, foster, nurture and protect the right of all citizens to accessible quality education. Toward this end, it is the policy of the State to strengthen the University of the Philippines as the national university.

SEC. 3. Purpose of the University. – As the national university, a public and secular institution of higher learning, and a community of scholars dedicated to the search for truth and knowledge as well as the development of future leaders, the University of the Philippines shall perform its unique and distinctive leadership in higher education and development. The University shall:

(a) Lead in setting academic standards and initiating innovations in teaching, research and faculty development in philosophy, the arts and humanities, the social sciences, the professions and engineering, natural sciences, mathematics, and technology; and maintain centers of excellence in such disciplines and professions;

(b) Serve as graduate university by providing advanced studies and specialization for scholars, scientists, writers, artists and professionals, especially those who serve on the faculty of state and private colleges and universities;

(c) Serve as a research university in various fields of expertise and specialization by conducting basic and applied research and development, and promoting research in various colleges and universities, and contributing to the dissemination and application of knowledge;

(d) Lead as a public service university by providing various forms of community, public, and volunteer service, as well as scholarly and technical assistance to the government, the private sector, and civil society while maintaining its standards of excellence;

(e) Protect and promote the professional and economic rights and welfare of its academic and non-academic personnel;

(f) Provide opportunities for training and learning in leadership, responsible citizenship, and the development of democratic values, institutions and practice through academic and non-academic programs, including sports and the enhancement of nationalism and national identity;

(g) Serve as a regional and global university in cooperation with international and scientific unions, networks of universities, scholarly and professional association in the Asia-Pacific region and around the world; and

(h) Provide democratic governance in the University based on collegiality, representation, accountability, transparency and active participation of its constituents, and promote the holding of for a for students, faculty, research, extension and professional staff (REPS), staff, and alumni to discuss non-academic issues affecting the University.

SEC. 4. The University System. – The University of the Philippines is a university system and shall be composed of constituent universities established solely by its Board of Regents upon the recommendation of the President of the University. The University of the Philippines System is composed of its existing constituent universities, as follows: University of the Philippines Diliman; University of the Philippines Manila; University of the Philippines Los Baños; University of the Philippines Visayas; University of the Philippines Mindanao; University of the Philippines Baguio; University of the Philippines Open University; and those that may be created in the future. It is referred to in this law as the “National University.”

SEC. 5. Academic Freedom. – The national university has the right and responsibility to exercise academic freedom.

SEC. 6. Academic Excellence. – The national university has the responsibility to maintain and enhance its high academic standards in the performance of its functions of instruction, research and extension, and public service.

SEC. 7. Commitment to National Development. – The national university shall harness the expertise of the members of its community and other individuals to regularly study the state of the nation in relation to its quest for national development in the primary areas of politics and economics, among others, identify key concerns, formulate responsive policies regarding these concerns, and give advice and recommendations to Congress and the Philippines.

The Congress of the Republic of the Philippines, the Supreme Court and other lower courts, other government agencies and instrumentalities as well as any constitutional body may request the national university to conduct research or provide advice on any matter involving public policy. The budget for such research or request for advice shall come from the appropriation of these public agencies.

SEC. 8. Social Responsibility. – The national university is committed to serve the Filipino nation and humanity. While it carries out the obligation to pursue universal principles, it must relate its activities to the needs of the Filipino people and their aspirations for social progress and transformation. The national university may provide venues for student volunteerism.

SEC. 9. Democratic Access. – The national university shall take affirmative steps which may take the form of an alternative and equitable admissions process to enhance the access of disadvantaged students, such as indigenous peoples, poor and deserving students, including but not limited to valedictorians and salutatorians of public high schools, and students from depressed areas, to its programs and services.

No student shall be denied admission to the national university by reason solely of age, gender, nationality, religious belief, economic status, ethnicity, physical disability, or political opinion or affiliation.

The national university recognizes the separation of Church and State. It shall guarantee religious freedom and shall not discriminate on the basis of religion.

SEC. 10. Sports. – The national university shall undertake and support comprehensive sports programs that promote physical education, uphold excellence and encourage competitive participation in sports activities, instill school identity and solidarity, cultivate pride, self-discipline and teamwork which serve as a foundation for fostering active participation in the national university, as well as in nation building.

SEC. 11. Institutional Autonomy as the National University. – To provide greater flexibility, it shall be treated in a manner consistent with its institutional requirements as the national university by the service-wide agencies in the exercise of their respective jurisdiction. Taking into account national goals and priorities, it shall exclusively determine its teaching, research and extension thrusts, plans, policies, programs and standards, and, on the basis of such determination, the national university shall recommend its annual budget to the President of the Republic of the Philippines and Congress.

SEC. 12. The Board of Regents. –

(1) Composition – The governance of the national university is vested in a board of regents known as the “Board of Regents of the University of the Philippines System,” hereinafter referred to as the “Board,” composed of:

(a) The Chairperson of the Commission on Higher Education as Chairperson;

(b) The President of the University of the Philippines System as Co-Chairperson;

(d) The Chairperson of the House Committee on Higher and Technical Education

(e) The President of the U.P. Alumni Association, to serve as Alumni Regent during his or her incumbency in that position;

(f) One Faculty Regent representing all teaching personnel, chosen in accordance with the rules and qualification set by the constituent university councils to serve for a term of two (2) years;

(g) One Student Regent, to serve for a term of one (1) year, chosen by the students from their ranks in accordance with rules and qualifications approved in a referendum by the students;

(h) One Staff Regent representing the full-time permanent research, extension, and profession staff (REPS) and administrative personnel, and chosen by them from their ranks in accordance with the rules and qualifications set by their duly recognized organizations, to serve for a term of two (2) years; and

(i) Three other Regents who have distinguished themselves in their professions or fields of specialization, to be appointed by the President of the Philippines, considering the recommendation of the Board. At least two (2) of these Regents should be alumni. All these Regents shall each serve for a term of two (2) years: Provided, That the Regents holding office as members of the Board at the time of the effectivity of this Act shall continue to serve until the expiration of their appointments as provided in Executive Order No. 204-A, issued by the President of the Philippines on July 15, 1987.

(2) Vacancy – In case of vacancy in the Board, except for the President of the University, such vacancy shall be filled in the same manner as provided for the predecessor, and such appointee shall hold office for the unexpired portion of the term. In case of a sectoral Regent, membership in the Board ceases upon suspension, separation, or recall.

(3) Compensation – Members of the Board shall serve without compensation other than reimbursement for actual and necessary expenses incurred in attendance to meetings of the Board or other official business authorized by the Board.

(4) Meetings; Quorum – The Board shall convene regularly. The Chairpersons of the Board may call a special meeting whenever necessary: Provided, That members are notified in writing at least ten (10) working days prior to the meeting: Provided, further, That the notice shall contain a brief description of the agenda items to be discussed.

A majority of all members of the Board holding office at the time the meeting is called shall constitute a quorum for Board meetings.

In no case shall any and all members of the Board appointed representatives to act on their behalf: Provided, That the ex-officio members of the Board coming from Congress may participate and vote through teleconferencing or equivalent verifiable means of communication.

SEC. 13. Powers and Duties of the Board of Regents. – The administration of the national university and the exercise of its corporate powers are vested in the Board of Regents.

The Board shall exercise the following specific powers and duties:

(a) To define in general terms the thrusts of the national university and adopt broad policy guidelines to ensure their implementation;

(b) To preserve the integrity of the national university;

(c) To approve the institution, merger or abolition of academic programs, upon recommendation of the University Council of the constituent university concerned, through the President of the University;

(d) To approve the graduation of students and grant of honors, as recommended by their respective University Council through the President of the University;

(e) To confer honorary degrees upon persons in recognition of learning, statesmanship, or eminence in literature, science, or are, upon recommendation of a committee created by the President of the University; Provided, That such degrees shall not be conferred in consideration of any payment, gift or other valuable consideration;

(f) To approve the rules on student discipline recommended by the University Councils through the President of the University, with the Board retaining the power to review and pass final judgment on student disciplinary cases;

(g) To create, organize, reorganize, merge or abolish constituent universities, colleges, institutes and other academic and administrative units of the national university;

(h) To establish professorial chair awards;

(i) To provide fellowships, scholarships and grants, including athletic grants and to award the same to faculty, staff and students having special evidence of merit, especially those who are poor and deserving students;

(j) To elect the President of the University for a single term of six (6) years following a process of democratic consultation with the university community based on standards and guidelines set by the Board. In the event of a vacancy, the Board shall elect a president who shall serve a full term. A Chancellor chosen by the Board may act as Officer-in-Charge of the national university when the search process is in progress. In no case shall the search and election of the next President be loner than ninety (90) days from the date when the vacancy occurs;

(k) To appoint faculty members and other officials and employees to draw up a position classification and compensation plan for its faculty and staff, and, any law to the contrary notwithstanding, to fix and adjust salaries and benefits of the faculty members and other employees. Provided That salaries and other benefits of the faculty shall be equivalent to those being received by their counterparts in the private sector; to determine the hours of service of faculty and staff, and such other terms and conditions of employment as it may deem proper; to grant leave of absence under such regulations as it may promulgate, any other provisions of law to the contrary notwithstanding; and to remove them for cause as provided by law after due investigation and proper hearing;

(l) To extend, with their consent, the tenure of faculty members of the national university beyond the compulsory retirement age, any other provision of law to the contrary notwithstanding, on recommendation of the units upon endorsement of the President of the national university, whenever their services are especially needed: Provided, however, That no extension of tenure shall be made beyond the age of seventy (70);

(m) To fix the tuition fees and other necessary school charges, as the Board may deem proper impose, after due and comprehensive consultation with students concerned. Such fees and charges, including government support and other income generated by the national university shall constitute special trust funds and shall be deposited in an authorized government depository bank. Any and all interest that shall accrue therefrom shall form part of the same funds for the use of the national university.

Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, all incomes generated by the national university or by its subsidiaries shall, upon their collection, be retained by the national university and disbursed at the discretion of the Board for the professional growth and development, health, welfare, and other benefits of the students, faculty members and other personnel; for the acquisition, construction, maintenance and repair of urgently needed instructional and auxiliary facilities, equipment, buildings and other infrastructure; and for expenses necessary for the attainment of its purposes under its approved program of expenditures;

If the national university, for reasons beyond its control, shall not be able to pursue any project for which funds have been appropriated and allocated under its approved program of expenditures, the Board may authorize the use of said fund for any reasonable purpose for which it deems necessary and urgent for the attainment of the objectives of the national university: Provided, That funds collected from students for a specific purpose shall not be reprogrammed to other expenditures;

(n) To receive and appropriate all sums as may be provided by law for the support of the national university to the ends specified by law, and all other sums in the manner it may, in its discretion, determine to carry out the purposes and functions of the national university;

(o) To authorize the construction, maintenance and repair of its buildings, machinery, equipment and other facilities, and the purchase and acquisition of real and personal properties, including necessary supplies, materials and equipment;

(p) To receive in trust legacies, gifts and donations of real and personal property of all kinds and to administer and dispose the same when necessary for the benefit of the national university and subject to the instructions of the donor, if any;

(q) Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, to authorize its faculty and staff to travel abroad to study, deliver papers, attend conferences and disseminate research: Provided, That the fellowship, scholarship or grant is authorized by the Board: Provided, finally, That research and other activities funded by the national university shall likewise undertake research in fields or topics that have promising commercial applications, and that the faculty and staff involved in said research be allowed to participate in its financial or economic benefits;

(r) To exercise the general powers set out in the Corporation Code;

(s) To delegate any of its powers to the President of the University or other officials or officers as it may deem necessary;

(t) To prescribe rules for its own government and the discipline of the faculty and other personnel and to enact for the government of the national university such general policies, rules and regulations, not contrary to law, as are consistent with its purposes; and

(u) To exercise such powers as may be proper and necessary to carry out the objectives of this Act.

SEC. 14. The President of the University. – The President of the University is the chief academic officer, head of the university faculty and the chief executive officer of the University. The President of the University shall exercise the powers specifically provided for in this Act, those determined by the Board, those which pertain to the office of the president of a university, and those which are related or necessary to its functions. The Board shall determine the compensation of the President of the University.

The President of the University shall be appointed by the Board and shall serve for a single term of six (6) years.

SEC. 15. The Secretary of the University and of the Board of Regents. – There shall be a Secretary of the University appointed by the Board, who shall also be the Secretary of the Board, and who shall keep such records of the University as may be designated by the Board.

SEC. 16. The University Council. – There shall be in each constituent university a University Council consisting of the Chancellor as Chairperson, and all faculty members in the constituent university holding the rank of assistant professor and higher as members.

SEC. 17. Powers of the University Council. – The University Council shall be the highest academic body of each constituent university and shall exercise the following powers:

(a) Fix the requirements for admission to any college or unit, graduation, and the grant of honors subject to the minimum system-wide requirements;

(b) Prescribe the academic programs including their institution, revision, abolition and merger, subject to the approval of the Board;

(d) Exercise disciplinary power over the students, through the Chancellors or their appropriate committees, subject to review by the President of the University according to the limits prescribed by system-wide rules on student discipline;

(e) Undertake the periodic review of academic courses, programs, standards, thrusts and policies; and

(f) Adopt internal rules of procedure consistent with the provisions of this Act.

SEC. 18. The Chancellor of the Constituent University. - The Administration of each constituent university is vested in the Chancellor insofar as authorized by the Board and the President of the University. The Chancellor of the constituent university shall be elected by the Board upon nomination of the President of the University, following a process of consultation with the constituents of the constituent university based on standards and guidelines set by the Board. The Chancellor shall report to the President of the University and shall perform the duties and functions elsewhere stated in this Act, and all the usual, necessary and related functions of the Office of the Chancellor, subject to the policies and rules prescribed by the Board. The Board shall determine the term and compensation of the Chancellor. If a Chancellor fails to complete his/her term, the President shall appoint an acting Chancellor while a search process is in progress. In no case shall the search and election of the next Chancellor be longer than sixty (60) calendar days from the date when the vacancy occurs.

SEC. 19. The Faculty. - The teaching staff of each college shall constitute its faculty. The College Faculty shall be presided over by a Dean. The Dean shall be elected by the Board upon nomination of the President of th University and recommendation of the President of the University and recommendation of the Chancellor of the constituent university, following a process of consultation with the constituents of the college based on standards and guidelines set by the Board. If a Dean fails to complete his/her term, the Chancellor shall appoint an acting Dean while a search process is in progress. In no case shall the search and election of the next Dean be longer than sixty (60) calendar days from the date when the vacancy occurs.

SEC. 20. Appointment Requisites and Practice of Profession. - Faculty members as well as research, extension and professional staff (REPS) of the national university, shall be exempt as such to many civil service examination or regulation as a requisite to appointment. The provisions of existing law to the contrary notwithstanding, licensing requirements for professional regulatory boards shall not affect appointments to faculty positions. In the appointment of faculty members, no religious test shall be applied, nor shall the religious or political opinions or affiliations of the faculty members of the national university be made subject of examination or inquiry.

SEC. 21. Student Affairs. - (a) There shall be established in the national university the following student councils: for every college and degree-granting institute, a college or institute student council; and for every constituent university, a university student council; and for the University System, a general assembly of all student councils.

The student council shall be composed of elected students of a definite academic unit of the national university. Each member of the student council shall serve for a term of one (1) year, without prejudice to reelection.

The student council shall serve as the primary student body that shall advance the interests, welfare, and aspirations of the students of the national university. It shall have the power to adopt internal rules of procedure consistent with the provisions of this Act.

(b) Subject to due and comprehensive consultation with the students, there shall be a student publication established in every constituent unit and college to be funded by student fees. Freedom of expression and autonomy in all matters of editorial and fiscal policy shall be guaranteed especially in th selection of its editors and staff.

SEC. 22. Land Grants and Other Real Properties of the University. -

(a) The state shall support the University of the Philippines System as the national university in the form of lump sum amount, through general appropriations and other financial benefits, and in kind, through land grants and donations and use of other real properties. To carry out the intent of these grants, income derived from the development of all land grants and real properties shall be used to further the ends of the national university, as may be decided by the Board;

(b) Such parcels of land ceded by law, decree or presidential issuance to the University of the Philippines are hereby declared to be reserved for the purposes intended. The absolute ownership of the national university over these landholdings, including those covered by original and transfer certificates of title in the name of the University of the Philippines and their future derivatives, is hereby confirmed. Where the issuance of proper certificates of title is yet pending for these landholdings, the appropriate government office shall expedite the issuance thereof within six months from the date of effectivity of this Act: Provided, That all registration requirements necessary for the issuance of the said titles have been submitted and complied with;

(c) The Board may plan, design, approve and/or cause the implementation land leases: Provided, That such mechanisms and arrangements shall sustain and protect the environment in accordance with law, and be exclusive of the academic core zone of the campuses of the University of the Philippines: Provided, further, That such mechanisms and arrangements shall not conflict with the academic mission of the national university;

(d) The Board may allow the use of the income coming from real properties of the national university as security for transactions to generate additional revenues when needed for education purposes;

(e) The Board may approve the implementation of joint ventures: Provided, That in the event real properties of the national university are involved, only the income derived by the University from the use of the real properties shall be the subject of its participation or obligation in the joint ventures: Provided, further, That no joint venture shall result in the alienation of the real properties of the national university; and

(f) 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: Provided, further, That funds generated from such programs, projects or mechanism shall not be meant to replace, in part or in whole, the annual appropriations provided by the national government to the national university.

SEC. 23. Safeguards on Assets Disposition. – The preservation of the value of the assets of the national university shall be of primordial consideration.

The sale of any existing real property of the national university shall be prohibited: Provided, That the Board may alienate real property donated after the effectivity of this Act if the terms of the donation specifically allow it.

Notwithstanding the provision of this Act or any other law to the contrary, the lease of more than five (5) years of the assets of the national university and any transaction referred to in Section 22 shall be subject to the following conditions and procedures:

(a) The transactions shall be discussed with the members of the Board, in any of its formally convened regular or special meeting, at least one (1) month before a decision is to be made;

(b) The transactions shall be based on a multi-year comprehensive development plan, crafted and developed by qualified urban planning professionals having at least five (5) years experience, with prior consultations with and concurrence of third-party experts and duly approved by a majority vote of all the members of the Board;

(c) The transactions shall be subject to competitive and public bidding as provided under Republic Act No. 9184, otherwise known as the “Government Procurement-Reform Act”;

(d) In the case of two (2) failed biddings and negotiated transactions, if undertaken, the Board, when considering the approval of any such transaction, shall secure a fairness opinion report from an independent third-party body. This body shall have five (5) members, three (3) of which shall be nominated by the Bankers Association of the Philippines (BAP), Investment Houses Association of the Philippines (IHAP), Trust Officers Association of the Philippines, or the Financial Executive Institute of the Philippines (FINEX). The members shall be entitled to a reasonable per diem as the Board may specify.

The fairness opinion report shall contain a statement expressing the opinion of the body as to the fairness to the national university of the terms of the proposed transaction, particularly its financial terms. The report shall include, but not limited to, a review and analysis of the proposed transaction, financial statements, industry information, economic conditions assumptions using management projections and the assumptions used therein and a comparison of similar transactions: Provided, That if the Board differs with the fairness opinion report they shall justify their decision in writing and make this available to the community of the national university.

This provision shall not apply to leases granted to faculty and staff as part of their benefit and those for academic purposes; and

(e) If the contract or transaction involves an amount more than Fifty Million Pesos (P50,000,000.00), it shall be approved by three-fourths (3/4) of all the members of the Board: Provided, That the splitting of contracts, which is by breaking up a contract into smaller quantities or amounts or dividing contract implementation into artificial or arbitrary phases or subcontracts for the purpose of circumventing this provision, shall not be allowed.

SEC. 24. Management of Funds. – (a) There shall be an independent trust committee to be composed of the President of the University, as Chairperson, one (1) representative each nominated by the Bankers Association of the Philippines (BAP), the Investment Houses Association of the Philippines (IHAP), the Trust Officers Association of the Philippines (TOAP) and the Financial Executive Institute of the Philippines (FINEX). The members shall be entitled to a reasonable per diem as the Board may specify. (b) The independent trust committee shall recommend to the Board five (5) universal banks selected on a prudent basis which trust departments shall manage the corporate and other funds through trust agreements of the national university on a non-directed basis: Provided, That any such agreement shall be for a period of not more than two (2) years. (c) The independent trust committee shall provide the Board with direction on appropriate investment objectives and permissible investments with the view to preserving the value of the funds while allowing the University to earn a reasonable return thereon.

SEC. 25. Tax Exemptions. – The provisions of any general or special law to the contrary notwithstanding:

(a) All revenues and assets of the University of the Philippines used for education purposes or in support thereof shall be exempt from all taxes and duties;

(b) Gifts and donations of real and personal properties of all kinds shall be exempt from the donor’s tax and the same shall be considered as allowable deductions from the gross income of the donor, in accordance with the provisions of the National Internal Revenue Code of 1997, as amended: Provided, That the deductions shall be equivalent to 150 percent of the value of such donation. Valuation of assistance other than money shall be based on the acquisition cost of the property. Such valuation shall take into consideration the depreciated value of property in case said property has been used;

(c) Importation of economic, technical, vocational, scientific, philosophical, historical and cultural books, supplies and materials duly certified by the Board, including scientific and educational computer and software equipment, shall be exempt from customs duties;

(d) The University shall only pay 0% value-added tax for all transactions subject to this tax; and

(e) All academic awards shall be exempt from taxes.

SEC. 26. Reportorial Requirements and Auditing of Accounts. – The national university shall submit an annual report to Congress containing the financial statements, statement of assets and liabilities, actual projected income from tuition fees and other revenue sources, contracts and investments entered into pursuant to Section 22 (c) hereof and programs of expenditure. All accounts and disbursements of the national university shall be audited by the Commission on Audit.

SEC. 27. Rules of Construction. – No statutory or other issuances shall diminish the powers, rights, privileges and benefits accorded to the national university under this Act or enjoyed at present by it under other issuances not otherwise modified or repealed under this Act, unless subsequent legislation expressly provides for their repeal, amendment or modification. Any case of doubt in the interpretation of any of the provisions of this Charter shall be resolved in favor of the academic freedom and fiscal autonomy of the University of the Philippines.

SEC. 28. Appropriations. – The amount needed to carry out the implementation of this Act shall be charged against the lump sum appropriation of the current fiscal year and other internal funds of the national university. Thereafter, such lump sum representing the responsibility of the national government for the continued growth, operation and maintenance of the national university shall be included in the annual General Appropriations Act (GAA).

The national university may use unexpended balances in any appropriation for purposes that the Board determines.

In addition to the regular appropriations and increases for the university under the annual GAA, a centennial fund shall be appropriated in the amount of One Hundred Million Pesos (P100,000,000.00) per year for a period of five years, which shall likewise be included in the annual GAA.

SEC. 29. Separability Clause. – Should any provision herein be declared unconstitutional, the same shall not affect the validity of the other provisions of this Act.

SEC. 30. Repealing Clause. – Act No. 1870, as amended, and all laws, decrees, orders, rules, and regulations or other issuances or parts inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are hereby repealed or modified accordingly.

SEC. 31. Effectivity. – This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication in the Official Gazette or in any newspaper of general circulation in the Philippines.

Approved,

PROSPERO C. NOGRALES

Speaker of the House of Representatives

MANNY VILLAR

President of the Senate

This Act which is a consolidation of Senate Bill No. 1964 and House Bill No. 2845 was finally passed by the Senate and the House of Representatives on March 5, 2008 and March 4, 2008, respectively.

MARILYN B. BARUA-YAP

Secretary General

House of Representatives

EMMA LIRIO-REYES

Secretary of the Senate

Approved: April 29, 2008

GLORIA MACAPAGAL-ARROYO

President of the Philippines

Do you agree with my handwriting analysis?

2008-04-26T05:58:00.000+08:00

From http://www.handwritingwizard.com

Albert uses judgment to make decisions. He is ruled by his head, not his heart. He is a cool, collected person who is usually unexpressive emotionally. Some may see him as unemotional. He does have emotions but has no need to express them. He is withdrawn into himself and enjoys being alone.

The circumstances when Albert does express emotions include: extreme anger, extreme passion, and tremendous stress. If someone gets him mad enough to tell him off, he will not be sorry about it later. He puts a mark in his mind when someone angers him. He keeps track of these marks and when he hits that last mark he will let them know they have gone too far. He is ruled somewhat by self-interest. All his conclusions are made without outside emotional influence. He is very level-headed and will remain calm in an emergency situation. In a situation where other people might get hysterical, he has poise.

Albert will work more efficiently if given space and time to be alone. He would rather not be surrounded by people constantly. In a relationship, he will show his love by the things he does rather than by the things he says. Saying "I love you" is not a needed routine because he feels his mate should already know. The only exception to this is if he has logically concluded that it is best for his mate to hear him express his love verbally.

Albert is not subject to emotional appeals. If someone is selling a product to him, they will need to present only the facts. They should present them from a standpoint of his sound judgment. He will not be taken in by an emotional story about someone else. He will meet emergencies without getting hysterical and he will always ask "Is this best for me?"

People that write their letters in an average height and average size are moderate in their ability to interact socially. According to the data input, Albert doesn't write too large or too small, indicating a balanced ability to be social and interact with others.

Albert is secretive. He has secrets which he does not wish to share with others. He intentionally conceals things about himself. He has a private side that he intends to keep that way, especially concerning certain events in his past.

In reference to Albert's mental abilities, he has a very investigating and creating mind. He investigates projects rapidly because he is curious about many things. He gets involved in many projects that seem good at the beginning, but he soon must slow down and look at all the angles. He probably gets too many things going at once. When Albert slows down, then he becomes more creative than before. Since it takes time to be creative, he must slow down to do it. He then decides what projects he has time to finish. Thus he finishes at a slower pace than when he started the project.

He has the best of two kinds of minds. One is the quick investigating mind. The other is the creative mind. His mind thinks quick and rapidly in the investigative mode. He can learn quicker, investigate more, and think faster. Albert can then switch into his low gear. When he is in the slower mode, he can be creative, remember longer and stack facts in a logical manner. He is more logical this way and can climb mental mountains with a much better grip.

Albert's true self-image is unreasonably low. Someone once told Albert that he wasn't a great and beautiful person, and he believed them. Albert also has a fear that he might fail if he takes large risks. Therefore he resists setting his goals too high, risking failure. He doesn't have the internal confidence that frees him to take risks and chance failure. Albert is capable of accomplishing much more than he is presently achieving. All this relates to his self-esteem. Albert's self-concept is artificially low. Albert will stay in a bad situation much too long... why? Because he is afraid that if he makes a change, it might get worse. It is hard for Albert to plan too far into the future. He kind of takes things on a day to day basis. He may tell you his dreams but he is living in today, with a fear of making a change. No matter how loud he speaks, look at his actions. This is perhaps the biggest single barrier to happiness people not believing in and loving themselves. Albert is an example of someone living with a low self-image, because their innate self-confidence was broken.

Albert will take action on his thoughts. He is positive that his views are correct for him. He has the ability to seem as if he is positively correct when answering a question, even if he does not have the slightest idea of the answer. Albert displays a self-confidence that makes everyone else sure he is correct. He is positive of his own views, but not necessarily stubborn.

Albert has a tendency to put things off, Albert procrastinates. He sometimes pretends to be busy, so he will not have to do whatever he is putting off. He is often late to appointments or deadlines. This usually leads to a great amount of effort at the last minute to meet the deadline. Procrastination is an important factor as it relates to his output on the job or at school. Remember, Albert will put it off until later. Procrastination is easily overcome through a simple stroke adjustment in the handwriting.

Albert has a healthy imagination and displays a fair amount of trust. He lets new people into his circle of friends. He uses his imagination to understand new ideas, things, and people.

For a graphologist, the spacing on the page reflects the writer's attitude toward their own world and relationship to things in his or her own space. If the inputted data was correct Albert has no white space or margins on a typical sheet of paper. Albert fills up every last inch on the top, right, left, and bottom. Hmmm. If this is true, then Albert has a very aggressive personality toward others and quite frankly lacks a bit of respect for the space and property of other people. I would be surprised if Albert just comes into someone's home and helps himself to a drink in the refrigerator. This can be both an obnoxious personality trait and it can be assertive and effective in getting what you want. There isn't much fear of getting in trouble here, Albert finds plenty of reasons to break the rules and get in trouble. (Okay, perhaps when he was younger, not anymore?) Basically, people with no margins are a handful.

THIRD BAGRO: Credentials. Competence. Character.

2008-03-01T06:00:00.000+08:00

What are we looking for in the next UP Diliman USC Chairperson:

1. He should be able to LEAD and SERVE; not momentarily, not for credentials, not for show.

2. He should be able to transcend political lines and boundaries. His understanding of the varying and shifting political terrain is crucial in order to get things done. He should be able to work harmoniously with his co-officers and councilmates to provide a clear direction for the whole council.

3. His claim to LEADERSHIP and SERVICE should be backed by HARD EVIDENCE -- A track record of impeccable character, competence and credentials that should equip him of the fundamentals of running the position and the council.

4. He is open and ready to listen; consensus driven and not imposing, multi-perspective and not dogmatic.

5. He should be HUMBLE and PASSIONATE. Humility comes with a firm resolve to work together; with willingness to cross boundary lines but not compromising principles.

6. He should be BOLD in approaching issues. He is not afraid to tow the line just so to provide adequate, concrete and practical solutions without letting go of principles.

Therefore:

THIRD BAGRO
UP Diliman USC Chairperson

COMPETENCE, CHARACTER, CREDENTIALS are not earned overnight. They cannot be packaged in good words. With nearly 4 years of student council experience... He is the most equipped to lead the USC. No nonsense, no empty positions.

Actions speaking louder than words.

>From http://votethirdbagro.com/wordpress/

Bachelor of Laws * Cum Laude Graduate, BA Philosophy, UP Diliman 2005, Number One Councilor, University Student Council (USC) 2007-2008 * Chairperson, ALYANSA ng mga Mag-aaral Para sa Panlipunang Katwiran at Kaunlaran * Chairperson, College of Social Sciences and Philosophy (CSSP-SC) 2004-2005 * Co-Head, USC Centennial Committee 2006-2007 * Project Coordinator, USC UP Centennial Planner Committee 2006-2007 * Coordinator USC Camp Out Protest Against the Dormitory Admission Policy 2007 * Project Co-Head USC Students' Legal Aid and Action Center (SLAAC) Human Security Act Forums 2007 * Vice Chairperson, USC Committee on Culture and the Arts (CCA) 2007-2008 * Member, UP Student-led Alliance Watch Against Hazing (SAWA) 2007-Present * President, UP Law Block 2009D, 2005-2006 * Head, Talks and Events Committee, UP Freshman Law Orientation Program (FLOP) 2006 * Lounge Committee Coordinator, UP Law Bar Operations 2006 * Councilor CSSP-SC 2003-2004 * Head, CSSP-SC Education, Training and Popular Struggles' Committee 2003-2004 * Convenor, CSSP Academic Circle 2003-2004 * Recipient CSSP Leadership Award 2005 * Senior Noble Fellow, Upsilon Sigma Phi 2005 * Head, Public Relations Committee, UP Kabataang Pilosopo Tasyo (UP Kapitas) 2002-2003 * Volunteer, Gawad Kalinga 2004-2005 * Member, Akbayan! Youth UP Diliman 2004-Present * Member, UP Sirkulo ng mga Kabataang Artists (UP SIKAT) 2003-2005 * Member, UP Law Charivar 2006-Present * Valedictorian, Juan Sumulong Memorial Junior College (JSMJC) 2001 * Recepient, Gerry Roxas Leadership Award

Who's to Blame?

2007-11-07T02:45:00.000+08:00

Jasper Santos* is a 15 year-old male who weighs in only at 22 kg, well below the expected average weight for Filipinos his age.

Yesterday morning, orange urine, the color of which is because of anti-tuberculosis medications, flowed down my right leg as it spurted forth from Jasper's urethra. He was urinating on me. Backing off immediately, blood pressure at an all time high, I looked at the patient and sternly asked what he was doing and why. He just shut his eyes and looked away.

Who is to blame for the above situation? More on my website at http://AlbertDomingo.com.

*names and circumstances other than the author's have been changed to protect privacy.

Herald the Bedans coming...

2007-10-06T18:14:00.000+08:00

...may their fellowship never cease.

A few days ago my list of bedans (yes, we were from Benedictine Abbey School/St. Benedict College but we still call ourselves "Bedan") apart from myself in the Philippine General Hospital was pleasantly expanded.

These are physicians currently training in the UP-PGH, who all went through the same hexagonal classrooms of yester years followed by the four-floored Christ the King building sans the aircons of today.

Dr. Ryan Cablitas (HS '96) - 1st year, Surgery
Dr. Samantha Dino (HS '96) - Intern
Dr. Jaimie dela Cruz (HS '95) - 1st year, Internal Medicine
Dr. Jethro Macallan (HS '99) - Intern
Dr. Porquez (HS '96) - 1st year, ENT
Dr. Charina Reyes (HS '99) - Intern
Dr. Patricia Salvador (HS '94?) - 2nd year, Internal Medicine
Dr. Mark Sandoval (HS '94) - Chief Resident, Internal Medicine
Dr. Josephine Santos (HS '99) - Intern

If I missed anyone, please tell me.

Desperate Scriptwriter

2007-10-02T17:41:00.000+08:00

It was a desperately written script seeking to eke a laugh out of housewives. As pathetic as my attempt to make a literary instrument out of the immediately-preceding sentence in this composition.

In a recent Desperate Housewives episode titled "Now You Know", a segment goes with this script. The scene is that of Teri Hatcher's character Susan Mayer questioning her (apparent) obstetrician-gynecologist, to wit:

--
Doctor: Susan, I know for a lot of women the word menopause has negative connotations. They hear aging, brittle bones, loss of sexual desire...

Susan Mayer: Before you go any further, can I check those diplomas? I would just like to make sure that they're not from some med school in the Philippines...
--

Some writer must have been pressured into coughing up quips for the episode. Was his/her job on the line? Was s/he beating a producer's deadline?

In the American concept of Land of the Free, I think it not the norm for people to have absolute freedom of expression to the point of racially insulting others. Try to crack even a seemingly harmless joke using the wrong expression negro towards black americans and you'll get a political beating. Try inappropriately saying redheads to native american-indians and you'll be persona non-grata if you happen to be a tourist.

It just leaves a bad taste in the mouth.

Last 2006 I had my off-campus elective in Family Practice at a branch of a large multispecialty practice in Houston, TX - and I found the work environment quite harmonious. No patient was out discriminating against a physician of non-American descent, and no staff member found it funny to even joke about another healthcare worker's ethnic origins.

In fact, that same clinic where I rotated in had two Filipinos among the physician staff, one of them being the clinic's Managing Physician. She, the manager, being from "a med school in the Philippines".

I do hope that sense will get knocked into the people behind Desperate Housewives for them to realize their mistake.

I also hope that in the unfortunate event that they figure in a medical crisis, they will receive the best possible care from a Filipino Physician, and in their realization of whose hands their lives are in, they will come to appreciate that medical care is no laughing matter for us Filipinos.

Conflicting Medical Opinion

2007-09-26T04:08:00.000+08:00

(Reposted from an email forward.)

When the hospital Board of Directors asked a panel of doctors to vote on adding a new wing to their hospital, the Allergists voted to scratch it and the Dermatologists advised no rash moves.

The Gastroenterologists had a gut-feeling about it, but the Neurologists thought the administration had a lot of nerve, and the Obstetricians stated they were all labouring under a misconception.

The Ophthalmologists considered the idea shortsighted; the Pathologists yelled, "Over my dead Body" - while the Paediatricians said, "grow up!"

The Psychiatrists thought the whole idea was madness, the Surgeons decided to wash their hands of the whole thing, and the Radiologists could see right through it.

The Internists thought it was a bitter pill to swallow; the Plastic Surgeons said, "This puts a whole new face on the matter."

The Podiatrists thought it was a step forward, but the Urologists felt the scheme wouldn't hold water.

The Anaesthesiologists thought the whole idea was a gas, and the Cardiologists didn't have the heart to say no.

... and in the end, the Proctologists left the decision up to some asshole.

Image or Personality Look-alikes?

2007-09-15T17:29:00.000+08:00

COMEDY. From Mark Bautista... to Megawati Sukarnoputri? Saan ka pa?

Listening Spells Harry Potter

2007-09-15T12:26:00.000+08:00

NO SPOILERS. :-)

At exactly 4:17 pm today after a marathon two months (coinciding with my Internship in Surgery), I finished absorbing all seven books of Harry Potter written by J.K. Rowling. Absorbing - because I read through the first two and part of the third, before finishing the third up to the seventh by listening to Jim Dale's animated narration of the unabridged text.

Getting Potter-ized suddenly and in so short a time frame is a unique experience. I never thought that I would actually get hooked onto the series, let alone be driven to finish it all fast.

I enjoyed the way Half-Blood Prince and Deathly Hallows complemented each other, the former spinning a lot of mysteries that would, after a great deal of suspense, be resolved in the latter.

I also agree with the school of thought that perhaps J.K. Rowling's work should not have been classified entirely as "children's" books, even as the first three do spin a sort of magical, feel-good tale appropriate for the magical thinking of young ones and those who have controlled episodes of regression into youth. The moment Goblet of Fire starts weaving its plot, suddenly Harry Potter seems to have breached into the shelves of Teen Romance, ultimately ending up in Adult Fiction by the time Deathly Hallows wraps up.

Did Ms. Rowling plan Harry from the beginning as a market-winning franchise capable of adapting to the growth of its readers? The ideal reader in this line of reasoning should therefore have started Sorcerer's Stone when s/he was thirteen, give or take a few years. Maybe the appeal of the series is precisely in that style of "growing with the story"; older readers like myself find that we are once more brought into the innocence of pre-puberty, the angst of adolescence (Order of the Phoenix!), and the maturation expected of those "who have come of age" - seventeen for wizards and witches, eighteen for us muggles, but in truth not quantifiable and manifest in different ways among different cultures.

My experience being different in that the novel was read to me (thanks Jim Dale) by today's modern storyteller of an mp3 player also played a role in my enjoying the story.

A sequel would be pushing Harry too much...

...but I'll definitely be going to the planned Harry Potter theme park once it opens.

A Benign Rotation

2007-09-09T16:18:00.000+08:00

Spot the not: what's wrong with this picture?

But the picture's not the point. There's a whole bunch of 'em weird PGH scenes though here.

This past week, I've been snapping away at those scenes among other things, and I've finished Books 1 to 6 of J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series.

I'm now at Chapter 12 of HP and the Deathly Hallows, still as read aloud by Jim Dale. So far, Book 4 (Goblet of Fire) has been my favorite, followed perhaps by Book 6's revelations and explanations on the world of Harry and its vindication of my distrust against Severus Snape.

Anyway.

This past week also saw me buying a lot of medical "review books", select titles from each of the following sets: High Yield, First Aid, Board Review Series, Blueprint, Recall, etc. It was more of a bandwagon effect, after having seen my classmates buying copies in preparation for the Medical Board Exams come August 2008.

Yes, after hearing a few weeks back the success stories of UP Medicine Class 2007 members who are now licensed physicians, the pressure has shifted to our class. I have this fear of not passing the boards (Who doesn't? Ah, maybe the topnotchers...), most notably because I'm not the "regular reader" type of student.

Let's see - I'm running out of things to write about. Which brings me to the point of this post - I'm relatively benign at this point in my Internship.

Harry Potter Audiobooks by Jim Dale

2007-08-12T14:52:00.000+08:00

Alright then. Maybe boredom mixed with curiosity and a recently watched Harry Potter movie can drive me to do things such as acquire Jim Dale's fantastic (say it with a stiff upper lip!) unabridged narrations of J.K. Rowling's books.

They conveniently fit into my mp3 player, allowing me to spend idle time in our hospital interns' callroom listening to a wicked (say it like Fred and George Weasley do!) narration of, currently, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.

Already done reading books one to three now, mind you. And Dale does a fine job of changing his voice to suit the different characters - from the house elves to the Hogwarts teachers.

It's confirmed. Delayed Harry Potter mania. That bad that I just had to get DVD copies of all the Harry Potter movies - one to four, and now I understand that those productions did away with a lot of the details that Rowling put in her books.

Squaring Off: The Hospital Detention Law

2007-05-30T19:05:00.000+08:00

I just came home from guesting on ABS-CBN News Channel (ANC)'s debate program, Square Off.

The proposition: Resolved, that Republic Act 9439 (Hospital Detention Law) should be repealed.

A backgrounder: Last April, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo (PGMA) signed into law RA 9439 also known as "An act prohibiting the detention of patients in hospitals and medical clinics on grounds of nonpayment of hospital bills or medical expenses", or the Hospital Detention Law for short.

It prohibits hospitals or clinics from detaining charity patients who have recovered (or corpses) but still have financial obligations or unpaid bills. It allows for these poor patients/families of deceased indigents to execute promisory notes in lieu of payment, for the former to be released from the hospital.

The Private Hospital Association of the Philippines (PHAP) is strongly against the law and is calling for its repeal, citing financial losses that private hospitals will allegedly sustain due to charity patients freely leaving the hospital without payment in cash.

For the program, I chose to side with the negative to the proposition. The proposition being to repeal the above law, my position thus translated to being pro-charity patient, anti-private hospital as far as detaining patients is concerned.

Want full details? Please watch Square Off's replays of the episode on any of the following: Thursday (May 31), 1:00 pm; Saturday (June 2), 7:00 am or 2:00 pm; and Sunday (June 3) 1:00 am. I sparred words with Niko Tuazon, an incoming 4th year BS Computer Science student at DLSU-Taft.

The Power of a Lie

2007-05-27T17:22:00.000+08:00

In the town of Tarnopol lived a man by the name of Reb Feivel. One day, as he sat in his house deeply absorbed in his Talmud, he heard a loud noise outside. When he went to the window he saw a lot of little pranksters. "Up to some new piece of mischief, no doubt," he thought.

"Children, run quickly to the synagogue," he cried, leaning out and improvising the first story that occurred to him. "You'll see there a sea monster, and what a monster! It's a creature with five feet, three eyes, and a beard like that of a goat, only it's green!"

And sure enough the children scampered off and Reb Feivel returned to his studies. He smiled into his beard as he thought of the trick he had played on those little rascals. It wasn't long before his studies were interrupted again, this time by running footsteps. When he went to the window he saw several Jews running.

"Where are you running?" he called out.

"To the synagogue!" answered the Jews.

"Haven't you heard? There's a sea monster, there's a creature with five legs, three eyes, and a beard like that of a goat, only it's green!" Reb Feivel laughed with glee, thinking of the trick he had played, and sat down again to his Talmud.

But no sooner had he begun to concentrate when suddenly he heard a dinning tumult outside. And what did he see? A great crowd of men, women and children, all running toward the synagogue. "What's up?" he cried, sticking his head out of the window.

"What a question! Why, don't you know?" they answered. "Right in front of the synagogue there's a sea monster. It's a creature with five legs, three eyes, and a beard like that of a goat, only it's green!"

And as the crowd hurried by, Reb Feivel suddenly noticed that the rabbi himself was among them. "Lord of the world!" he exclaimed. "If the rabbi himself is running with them surely there must be something happening. Where there's smoke there's fire!"

Without further thought Reb Feivel grabbed his hat, left his house, and also began running. "Who can tell?" he muttered to himself as he ran, all out of breath, toward the synagogue.

[From A Treasury of Jewish Folklore, Nathan Ausubel, Ed., 1948]

Guazon Hall

2007-05-23T15:15:00.000+08:00

This is how we med interns look like every 7:00 am of Monday to Saturday.

This is how the residents look like when they don't get the right answer from us.

And of course, this is the bust of Dr. Potenciano C. Guazon, for whom the PGH hall where morning endorsements are held is named.

Kartagener's Syndrome

2007-05-18T18:26:00.000+08:00

...is what I'm going to be reading on for tonight, in preparation for morning endorsements (aka Intern Breakfast Combos for Medical Residents) tomorrow.

Don't get me wrong - I AM TOXIC.

It's just that writing this Blog entry is my way of telling the Hospital - I still have freedom to do what I want, when I want! Of course, so long as my schedule permits it...

Darn. I'm not so free after all.

Proof of Participation

2007-05-14T20:00:00.000+08:00

I just came home from Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) Medic/Pollwatching Duty at our voting center in BF Homes Multipurpose Hall Phase I, Barangay BF Homes, Paranaque City.

Patient Census: two (2). One who came in due to "palpitations", and another due to fatigue. Turns out that both were stable and just tired of the morning heat.

With nothing much to do on the medical aspect and the "action", so to speak, being more at the voting center front lines, I decided to double up as a pollwatcher.

Lucky for me that my home precinct's Board of Election Inspectors (BEI) were courteous and of the peaceful kind, as were many others. The image of teachers out to cheat is so unfair to these men and women who slave away from 7:00am to midnight or even past, just to facilitate our democratic exercise.

When it came to the counting, our precinct finished somewhat earlier than the others, thanks in part to the BEI's third member being a college student perhaps a few years younger than me.

In all, it was an experience that was more relaxed than in 2004, maybe because back then I was Voting Center Manager (VCM) for NAMFREL, a job with more responsibilities than those expected of me this time around.

I hope and pray that the inconvenience and sacrifice felt by BEI members, pollwatchers, and support staff nationwide were all not in vain. Still, as one of the BEI members quipped (and to which I agree) - the cheating is not done in the precinct level. It's at the Canvassing where the likes of Garci do operate.

How to Vote

2007-05-12T05:11:00.000+08:00

Are you a first time voter? Or veteran who wants to review the steps in voting? In any case, knowing in advance how to go about the process will save you time by making your visit to the polling place more efficient and orderly.

This has been adapted from the Pollwatcher's Handbook of the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV).

Pointers:

- Find out what your precinct number is preferrably at least a day before the elections. The PPCRV offers a free and fast computerized search at your local Parish Church. For non-Catholic Filipinos, the same may be done at your local Barangay Hall. (Tip: Your precinct number will not be far from your family's or neighbor's precinct number.)

- Voting starts at 7:00 am and ends at 3:00 pm on Monday, May 14, 2007, but if there are still voters in queue within thirty (30) meters from the polling place, they will be accommodated. (Tip: Avoid the Filipino tendency to procrastinate. Vote in the morning for your convenience.)

- You are encouraged to list down on paper your preferred candidates/choices even before election day, and you're allowed to bring this list with you to the polling place. Unless you have a photographic memory, it is hard to remember 12 Senators, 1 Partylist, and a whole bunch of local city/town officials.

- Bring at least the following: Ballpen, Your list of candidates/choices, Identification Card

- From the moment you are handed a ballot, keep your eyes on it until it is finally dropped into the ballot box

- If you have any questions, do not hesitate to ask any member of the Board of Election Inspectors (BEI), PPCRV, or NAMFREL. While there will also be helpful pollwatchers from political parties in the area, be wary of their advice as it may be biased towards their candidates.

Steps in Voting

1) Proceed to your polling place (usually a public school or government building, may be a public basketball court/gymnasium sometimes). If you have not yet done so, look for your name in the alphabetized and posted Computerized Voters' List. Take note of your precinct number.

2) Go to your precinct (denoted by an alphanumeric combination, such as "523" or "523-A"). There will be three COMELEC-appointed officials (known as the BEI) seated directly in front of the ballot box. Ask who the BEI Chair is, and then give your name and address to him/her. (Tip: There may be some instances when someone will "challenge" your identity. Simply present your ID card to the BEI and there will be no problem.)

3) Present your right index finger to the BEI. They will check (NOT yet apply ink) if it is already stained with indelible ink. The BEI Chair will then announce your name and ask you to sign in the Election Day Computerized Voter's List (EDCVL).

4) The BEI Chair will then process your ballot. He/she will a) announce the serial number and sign behind the ballot to authenticate it; b) write the ballot serial number in the EDCVL; c) fold the ballot before giving it to you; and d) make sure you have signed in the EDCVL.

5) With ballot in your hand, go to the designated area where you can find COMELEC Ballot Secrecy Folders. Write down on your ballot your choices. Just like using an ATM, do NOT ask for help from anyone while casting your vote, unless you are physically challenged (in which case the BEI or your relatives may help you). Do NOT make any stray marks anywhere else on the ballot. (Tip: You are allowed to abstain. To do so, simply mark the position you're abstaining from with a line or an "X". Do NOT leave any positions blank.)

6) After writing, fold the ballot in the same way that you received it. Go back to the BEI of your precinct. You will be asked to affix your thumb mark on the ballot coupon.

7) Return the ballot to the BEI Chair (he will be the one to drop it in the ballot box later). He/she will check if the serial number of your ballot matches the serial number issued to you.

8) The BEI Chair will apply a drop of indelible ink at your right index fingernail. You MUST allow your right index fingernail to be inked; if you will refuse, your ballot will be marked as spoiled (it won't be accepted) and you will be asked to leave (shame!).

9) The BEI Chair will sign in the EDCVL, remove the coupon from your ballot, and drop your ballot into the ballot box compartment for valid ballots.

10) Quietly leave the polling place. Unless you are a pollwatcher or authorized by the COMELEC, you're not allowed to loiter in the polling place.

You're done!

Sample Ballot Update

2007-05-10T02:09:00.000+08:00

Election Day is already on Monday. I've been updating my sample ballot. From the last time I posted it, I took out Alan Cayetano (sorry, but Sen. Pia's already there - no to dynasties!) and added Sonia Roco.

Three slots left to fill-in, or maybe leave blank. Ang Kapatiran's candidates seem to be a good choice, but I'm not yet fully convinced. They are, at this point and in medical parlance, "to consider".

For Senators:
1) Kiko Pangilinan
2) Joker Arroyo
3) Ping Lacson
4) Manny Villar
5) Edgardo Angara
6) Ralph Recto
7) Noynoy Aquino
8) Sonia Roco
9) Chiz Escudero
10) -undecided-
11) -undecided-
12) -undecided-

For Partylist:
Akbayan

For Congressman (Pque 2nd Dist):
Roilo Golez

For Mayor (Pque):
Jun Bernabe

For Vice Mayor (Pque 2nd Dist):
Gus Tambunting

For Councilors:
-undecided-

Dermassage

2007-05-04T15:05:00.000+08:00

This morning I was posted at the PGH Outpatient Department's Section of Dermatology.

From a medical intern's standpoint, interviewing and examining patients with skin diseases is like a highly intellectual game of show-and-tell: the patient shows you what's on his/her skin, you tell the resident what the patient has.

It would not be worth blogging a daily encounter if there was nothing special, of course:

One of my patients was a 27 year old female who, to fast track, was diagnosed with something akin to skin darkening after using too much skin whitening products and then exposing yourself to the sun.

She came in, very particular about these black macules (spots) on her face.

Yes, she was thorough in telling me everything - down to the last detail about her concerns on bad breath.

Being the compassionate student physicians that we are (or are supposed to be?), I listened.

After taking down her disease's history, I invited her over into the examination cubicle for better positioning and lighting. Inside was a recliner chair similar to that used by dentists, draped with green hospital linen and lighted well, as it should be.

On seeing the set-up, my patient's eyes light up. She looks at me with great expectation, and asks...

..."Wow Doc, may libreng massage?" (Wow doctor, there's a free massage?)

It was an "oops, ay..." moment. Oops, because she saw the shock in my face; Ay..., because I tried to be most tactful in telling her that a massage is not part of my job description.

But wait, there's more!

In the course of presenting her case to my resident, the patient is told to use sunblock lotion every morning as part of her prescribed regimen. Training institution setting as it is, the detailed advice is expected to be delivered by me, while the resident moves on to check other patients.

I told Ms. Massage-me-Doc that she should apply sunblock lotion of any brand, so long as it is at least SPF Factor 30. The lotion was to be applied in the morning at least 30 minutes before going out into the sun.

I was expecting the usual follow-up question "Doc, ano yung SPF?" (Doc, what is SPF?) When, perky as ever, she asks me:

"Ah, thirty minutes ilalagay ang sunblock bago maarawan sa umaga." (Oh, sunblock should be applied thirty minutes before sun exposure in the morning.) She understood. Then... "Eh paano siya gamitin sa gabi?" (Umm, how do you use it at night?)

Arrghh... she was serious in asking me.

I just had to look around and check for hidden gag show cameras.

Quotable Text Quotes

2007-05-02T08:30:00.000+08:00

Look at the world as a big fruitcake.
It would not be complete without a few sweets and nuts...
Sweets like me, and nuts like you.

-----

Host: Ms. Philippines, what is your stand on premarital sex?
Ms. Philippines: Ladies and gentlemen, the question is easy.
I do NOT stand... I lie down. Thank you, thank you!

-----

Why do you want to be a Doctor?
Here are some reasons...

1) You don't like sleeping
2) You love caffeine
3) You like to play with dead bodies
4) You love hospital food (yummy!)
5) Your handwriting sucks
6) You want to stay in school forever!
7) You look good in white
8) Your parents have an extra million bucks lying around
9) You like to memorize without understanding
10) and of course... You want to help mankind! (Awww...)

-----

Mga anak (triplets na lalaki): Itay, itay - bili mo kami ng baril!
Itay: Wow naman! Paglaki niyo palagay ko sundalo kayo.
Pagkabigay ng baril...
Mga anak: Get ready girls, Charlie's calling!

-----

Let us maintain a balanced life:
Be strong, but not rude
Humble, but not weak
Kind, but not timid
Confident, but not arrogant
and best of all...
Gorgeous, pero kungyari hindi aware!

-----

It's sad how busy we can get sometimes
and forget to keep in touch with each other.
But I want you to know that nothing's changed...
I still look great!

-----

My nights are becoming sleepless,
my days are becoming restless,
So I asked God, "Is this love?"
and God said,
"Love? Anak, it's your Finals Week."

-----

Alone walking, I slipped and fell
not noticing a hump on the way.
Naiiyak na ako... kung kasama sana kita,
may magsasabi...
May humps, may humps, may humps,
Check it out!

Doctor, Doctor I am Sick...

2007-05-01T16:30:00.000+08:00

...call the Fellow very quick!

My first day as a medical intern was overrated. Too much hype. It's either that, or it's my so-called "benign powers" at work.

There was this plump, pregnant cat lounging around the intern's area (more of an intern's window with a view of lush green vegetation in the form of mango tree branches). The way she lazed around the callroom is akin to how I was doing. No one was "codeable", and the steady stream of procedures became routine after a while.

Still, everything felt comfortably weird. This newfound responsibility accentuated by a red nameplate - cool in that it says "Dr. Albert Francis E. Domingo" for real, gave me a sense of guarded authority: confident that medical rank was conferred upon us already, but humble enough to realize that we are still students under the direct supervision of licensed physicians.

The way the Cancer Institute was endorsed to me can be summarized by this statement: "You're the only MD in the building, and the nearest code team (dedicated team of senior resident physicians tasked with advanced cardiac life support) is around 10-15 minutes away at running pace. Be prepared to take charge and do tracheal intubation, CPR, and initial steps in life support."

Gray's Anatomy? Somewhat.

Intership Begins

2007-05-01T02:00:00.000+08:00

In exactly one hour, my nameplate shall henceforth be color red.

Along with several of my classmates, 7:00 am of today marks zero hour - that time wherein the outgoing interns of UP-PGH Class 2007 shall endorse their patients (for the last time as interns) to the incoming interns of UP-PGH Class 2008.

No more excuses of blissful ignorance. Well, in a lot of instances maybe there's still our option to "refer" to a doctor higher up in the medical food chain. Still, unlike medical clerks, tolerance for mistakes will not be so high.

I feel queasy. Or maybe this is just overrated?

My Sample Ballot

2007-04-29T18:03:00.000+08:00

With more or less two weeks left before Election Day, it's about time I reflect on what I shall be writing in my ballot. So far, this may be what I shall write:

For Senators:
1) Kiko Pangilinan
2) Joker Arroyo
3) Ping Lacson
4) Manny Villar
5) Edgardo Angara
6) Ralph Recto
7) Noynoy Aquino
8) Chiz Escudero
9) Alan Cayetano
10) -undecided-
11) -undecided-
12) -undecided-

For Partylist:
Akbayan

For Congressman:
Roilo Golez

For Mayor:
Jun Bernabe

For Vice Mayor:
Gus Tambunting

For Councilors:
-undecided-

Clinical Comedy (PGH Version)

2006-10-19T07:16:00.000+08:00

I got this from a forwarded e-mail in my medical class' egroup. Enjoy!

------

ACTUAL SENTENCES FOUND IN PATIENT'S MEDICAL CHARTS

1. Patient has chest pain if she lies on her left side for over a year.
2. On the second day the knee was better, and on the third day it disappeared.
3. She has no rigors or shaking chills, but her husband states she was very hot in bed last night.
4. The patient is tearful and crying constantly. She also appears to be depressed.
5. The patient has been depressed since she began seeing me in 1993.
6. Discharge status: Alive but without permission.
7. The patient refused autopsy.
8. The patient has no previous history of suicides.
9. She is numb from her toes down.
10. While in ER, she was examined, X-rated and sent home.
11. The skin was moist and dry.
12. Occasional, constant, infrequent headaches.
13. Patient was alert and unresponsive.
14. Rectal examination revealed a normal size thyroid.
15. She stated that she had been constipated for most of her life, until she got a divorce.
16. The lab test indicated abnormal lover function.
17. The patient was to have a bowel resection.
18. Skin: somewhat pale but present.
19. Patient has two teenage children, but no other abnormalities.

IT'S ANOTHER FULL WEEK AHEAD! HERE'S TO A FUN-FILLED ONE!
Sa PGH, may tinatawag na Central Block. Nandoon ang Radiology Department kung saan ginagawa ang mga X-rays, Ultrasound, CT Scan at Radiotherapy.
Dito ko naobserbahan ang evolution ng mga pinoy medical terms. May mga pasyente o bantay na aking nasasalubong, ang madalas magtanong ng direksyon.

Mga Versions ng CT Scan: (Ganon na rin yon, no!)
1. "Dok saan po ba ang Siete Scan?"
2. "Doc saan po ba magpapa-CT Skull"
3. "Doc saan po ba CT Scalp"
4. "Doc saan po ang CT Scam?"

Madalas akong mapagtanungan ng direction papunta sa Cobalt Room.
"Doc saan po ba ang Cobal"
Yes, laging walang T, marami na ang ginagamit na term ay Cobal. Saan napunta ang "T". Marami din kasing nagtatanong,
"Doc, saan po ba ang papuntang X-Tray?"
Conclusion: Ang "T" ng Cobalt, ay napunta sa X-Tray.

7:00 am. Nagbigay ang kasamahan kong doktor ng instruction sa bantay ng pasyente, "Mister, punta po kayo sa Central Block at magpa-schedule kayo ng X-ray ng pasyente ninyo."
3:00 pm. Kadarating lang ng bantay. Nagalit na ang doktor, "Mister, bakit namang napakatagal ninyong bumalik? Pina-schedule ko lang naman ang X-ray ah." Sumagot ang bantay, "Eh kasi po Doc, ang tagal kong naghintay sa gate, haggang sabihin ng guwardiya na sarado daw po ang Central Bank kasi Sabado ngayon." (Nasa Roxas Blvd
ang Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, at sarado nga naman yon kapag Sabado.

Nang mag-rotate ako as intern sa Pediatrics ng PGH, mahal na mahal talaga ng mga nanay ang kanilang mga anak na may sakit. Pilit nilang tinatandaan ang mga gamot at tawag sa sakit ng kanilang anak.
Doktor: "Mrs. ano po ang mga gamot na iniinom ng anak niyo?"
Mrs 1: "Doc phenobarbiedoll po."
Doktor: "Ah baka po phenobarbital. " (Gamot sa convulsion ang phenobarbital)
Doktor: "Mrs. ano po ba ang antibiotic na iniinom ng anak ninyo?"
Mrs 2: "Doc metromanilazole po."
Doktor: "Ah baka po metronidazole. " (Gamot sa amoeba ang metronidazole)

Ang tawag sa recovery room ng PGH ay PACU (Post-Anesthesia Care Unit)
Doktor: "Mrs., tapos na po ang operasyong ng anak ninyo, punta na po kayo sa PACU.
Mrs 3: "Eh Doc, saan po sa Paco? Sa may simbahan po ba o sa may palengke?

Doktor: "Mrs. ano po ba ang sinabi ng dating doctor kung ano daw ang sakit ng inyong anak?"
Mrs 4: "Eh Doc sabi po niya Tragedy of Fallot.
Doktor: "Ah baka po Tetralogy of Fallot (Isang congenital Heart Disease ang Tetralogy of Fallot)

Biglang nagtatarang ang isang nanay at sumigaw.
Mrs. 5: "Scissors! Scissors! Nag-sciscissors ang anak ko, Doc!"
Doktor: "Nurse, diazepam please, nag-seizure ang pasyente!

Doktor: "Mrs. ano daw po ba ang sakit ng anak ninyo?"
Mrs. 6: May ketong daw po.
In-examine ng doktor ang balat ng pasyente. Wala siyang makitang senyales ng ketong. Tumawag pa siya ng isang dermatologist para mag-examine nang husto. Wala talaga.
Doktor: "Mrs. sigurado po ba kayong ketong ang sakit ng bata?"
Mrs 6: "Eh iyon po ang sabi ng doktor niya dati.Mataas daw po ang ketong sa ihi dahil may diabetes."
Doktor: "Ah ketone po yon! (Ang positive ketone sa ihi ay senyales ng kumplikasyon ng diabetes.)

Doktor: (Sa buntis na mrs. na nagle-labor)
"Mrs.pumutok na po ba ang panubigan mo?"
Mrs 7: "Eh Doc, wala naman po akong narinig na pagsabog. " (Hanep!)

Synthesis

2006-06-03T07:55:00.000+08:00

(Last Part of Stateside Healthcare: Art, Science, and Commerce?)

Even with the professional capabilities, technical considerations, and scientific advances of medical practice in the clinical setting, a US physician cannot dissociate him/herself from the material realities of cost and production in healthcare delivery.

What is important is that no matter how strong the market forces are across all team players in US healthcare, the eons-old goal of healing the patient – the art and science, not commerce – of medicine, should never be forgotten.

Health as Wealth: Managed Care

2006-06-03T07:54:00.000+08:00

(Part 7 of Stateside Healthcare: Art, Science, and Commerce?)

Coming from that issue on medical malpractice and physicians practicing defensive medicine, it then becomes important for someone to be able to pay for all services rendered. This is where healthcare insurance comes in, and managed care systems such as the one KSC is practicing takes center stage.

Managed care in the US has a history dating back to 1929 when the first health plan in the country was established for farmers in Oklahoma. Baylor Hospital in Texas followed in the same year, providing care to teachers on a prepaid basis. Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs) then began operations in the 1940’s. The first Independent Practice Associations (IPAs) followed in 1954, wherein individual physicians would join a group to provide medical care with a health plan.

With the Federal HMO Act legislated in 1973, government then provided financial assistance to start up new HMOs, and federal law pre-empted local State laws that restricted HMOs. Furthermore, employers with over 25 employees were required to offer two federally qualified HMOs (a statute that was rescinded in 1975). Through this concept of “capitation”, the US health industry was shifted from a cost plus environment to that of a market environment, where competition and accountability for cost versus quality control governed.

The years between 1985 to 1997 saw a paradigm shift from traditional methods of care to managed care. A continuum of care was established between inpatient and outpatient facilities. The care of the individual was undertaken to prevent episodes of illness in high-risk populations, a primary prevention practice. The fragmented care system was integrated: from the absence of quality measures, outcomes became monitored. Collegial relationships between healthcare professionals turned into contractual relationships bound in law.

Lately in the US national perspective however, Preferred Provider Organization (PPO) growth has been greater than HMO growth. This may have had an impact on primary care, because PPO members are not required to get referrals from a PCP (acting as gatekeeper) for specialty consultations .

Nongovernmental/private payers in the meantime have been consistently demanding quality medical care for less cost. With healthcare purchasing coalitions forming to achieve more economic leverage and physicians responding in turn by forming alliances to compete for managed care contracts , healthcare has definitely become market forces-driven.

Because they cater towards patients seeking to avoid all the confusing and costly aspects of US medical care as discussed above, health insurance companies themselves have had leverage in the healthcare decisions of individual patients. As may be gleaned in patient interviews parallel with this paper, patients do not care any more on their preference of PCP type – be it an internist, family practitioner, or pediatrician in the case of children – so long as their healthcare insurance will cover the costs and they get well. The same goes with selecting a generalist versus a specialist – whatever the insurance company dictates is followed.

Even the therapeutic aspect of healthcare – pharmacotherapy in particular – is influenced by insurance; certain drugs prescribed may not be covered by insurance plans, and the pharmacist is forced to dispense cheaper drugs that may be generics of the prescription or in some cases, equivalents. Where a brand-name medication is deemed to be medically necessary yet still not covered by insurance, the patient is left with no recourse but to pay for the drugs or have another consultation with his/her physician for alternative therapy options.

It is therefore not surprising that physicians must have a basic grasp of the healthcare insurance system, because patients usually ask outright during the consultation if the treatment plan determined by the physician is covered by their insurance.

This intense interaction of healthcare and economics has even been used as a tagline to the advantage of a US Air Force advertisement recruiting doctors, because military physicians do not deal with insurance. The probable frustration of physicians over this complexity is highlighted by the said tagline: “No one goes through medical school to practice insurance.” The advertisement further states: “Today’s financially driven managed care environments make having a practice difficult. Hurrying patients in and out of the office to make a quota and going into negotiations to prescribe treatments that don’t coincide with a patient’s policy aren’t practicing medicine.”

Next: Synthesis

Legalities

2006-06-03T07:51:00.000+08:00

(Part 6 of Stateside Healthcare: Art, Science, and Commerce?)

While the Filipino patient’s legal rights may be similar or have equivalents to his/her US counterpart, there still are medical issues bordering with law that should be explored, and the most prominent of this (with a great effect on how US physicians practice) is medical malpractice.

Given the available knowledge and skills of practitioners, with patients highly aware of their disease and probably its management, the constant apprehension on being sued for medical malpractice has physicians practicing defensive medicine. A common example is a patient with abdominal pain which, given a thorough history and physical examination, could be easily diagnosed as having appendicitis. While the impression of appendicitis might as well be written down by the keen physician, he/she would probably order imaging studies all the same in order to “properly document” the case for future reference. It would not be surprising that some US physicians would proceed to order CT imaging of the abdomen for what could as well be a straightforward surgical problem.

This defensive behavior has led to a higher cost of healthcare in comparison with the Philippines’ own, with defensive medicine estimated to account for up to 20% of medical costs (total medical costs in 1995 were estimated to be at US$ 900B) . Several diagnostics are ordered with the intention of preparing in advance for the possibility of being sued.

Next: Health as Wealth: Managed Care

Medical Informatics: Streamlined Efficiency or Rigid Technology?

2006-06-03T07:03:00.000+08:00

(Part 5 of Stateside Healthcare: Art, Science, and Commerce?)

Perhaps the most striking of all aspects of US healthcare is the heavy use of information technology. Thus is posed this question: is medical informatics a boon or a bane in clinical practice?

As part of the elective rotation, shadowing with a KSC hospitalist-internist was undertaken at the Methodist Willowbrook Hospital , a part of The Methodist Hospital System. This would perhaps best illustrate the extensive use of medical informatics, which is also the case in the KSC Copperfield Clinic. The following were seen:

About a half hour before going on call, the hospitalist receives via electronic mail “check-out information” from the physician on call immediately prior to his/her shift. This would serve as virtual endorsement rounds, bearing clinical abstracts of patients on the service. On arrival at the hospital, the triage nurse would key in the physician’s schedule at a computer terminal, and a patient census would then be printed.

Barcodes bearing patient-identifiable numbers are used everywhere – sheets in the charts, medication containers, lab specimens collected, etc. Medical records/charts, while still on paper and filled-in by hand, are scanned (digitized) into electronic images within a short time, which can be digitally signed from anywhere an attending physician is physically located by simply logging onto the internet and using the appropriate security codes.

Each nurse at the nurse station has a computer terminal assigned to him/her. Nursing flowcharts bearing the vital signs and nursing notes of a patient are electronic. Telemetry can be easily availed of if indicated, and a centralized console at the nurse station provides a continuous monitor of vital signs including electrocardiogram traces if necessary. Laboratory and imaging results are typically accessed by the nurse and printed onto paper only for the physical convenience of having a hard copy, but the records are primarily electronic.

Radiology is a technological advance on its own. Radiological transparencies are no longer the norm – entire plates/films are digitized the moment a patient undergoes imaging, and the same are instantly made available for the attending physician who might want to make a preliminary impression by accessing the system anywhere there is high-speed internet access. The films are also transmitted electronically to the radiologists who would then make interpretations at a different location via dictation, the transcriptions of which would be available within the same day or the morning after the examination. It goes without saying that given the technology, physicians viewing films online can alter the brightness, contrast, and magnification of the radiological images. Details not previously seen on traditional x-ray transparencies can be studied in detail, allowing for a more accurate interpretation.

This connective nature of information flow is also the case for other diagnostic examinations. Electrocardiogram traces, while still printed on strips for rapid bedside or outpatient interpretation, are also sent to another location where cardiologists interpret them and return the results to the attending physician in the same way that the radiologist returns reports.

Patients themselves can have access to their own diagnostic information. In cases wherein imaging or laboratory results are normal, KSC has a system called “TeleVox” wherein two days after an examination (some special tests taking perhaps a week at most), the results can be obtained by the patient through a convenient website on the internet or via phone call. Otherwise, if the results may indicate an ongoing disease process, the physician himself makes the call to inform the patient and suggest further treatment plans such as follow-up consultations.

Since records can be transferred with ease, continuity of care is maintained. This is the case when a patient admitted into the hospital is discharged for follow-up at a KSC branch with a PCP. The PCP simply asks that the patient sign a release waiver authorizing the transmittal of confidential medical information, and the same is sent via fax to KSC’s medical records section. The same is true when a new patient previously cared for by another physician outside of the KSC system comes for consultation – the prior physician, upon request, promptly transmits the patient’s medical record to the new KSC doctor.

The professional sharing of medical information, seldom seen in the Philippines wherein patients have to narrate their entire medical history almost always when seeing a new physician, allows for the avoidance of duplicate or unnecessary diagnostic examinations or treatments. It also has a bearing on the PCP’s role – who, as the gatekeeper, has to see the patient in his/her entire context.

As posed earlier, this raises a few doubts however as to the reliability of the entire system. Power outages pose a threat to the information stored, and the dependency on computers may be a downside. The risks associated with technology and power supply fluctuations are minimized, however, by the proper infrastructure that involves back-up systems. That translates to an improved quality of care for the patient and efficiency on the part of the physician.

Next: Legalities

To Choose, not just to Consent

2006-06-03T06:59:00.000+08:00

(Part 4 of Stateside Healthcare: Art, Science, or Commerce?)

Patient awareness of diseases is high in the US. The typical source of information is the internet. This poses an interesting scenario to the physician: on one hand, his/her patient is highly aware of what to report and may later on have a higher compliance rate; at the same time however, the physician must keep abreast of the latest information in medicine. The physician’s role however cannot be replaced by the amateur research performed by the patient because it is usually the case that the patient becomes biased towards reporting symptoms found in a disease’s information sheet. Furthermore, diagnostics and therapeutics are still best interpreted and recommended, respectively, by the trained clinician.

In the event however that the patient has not accessed information on his/her symptoms before the encounter with the physician, the role of patient educator then becomes that of the physician him/herself with the aid of take-home instructional materials using lay language. There also again is the nurse who can further educate the patient immediately after the encounter with the physician or at a later date, as earlier mentioned via a centralized call center staffed by registered nurses.

Next: Medical Informatics: Streamlined Efficiency or Rigid Technology?

Allied Forces

2006-06-03T06:58:00.000+08:00

(Part 3 of Stateside Healthcare: Art, Science, and Commerce?)

During observation duty, it was noted that the healthcare system in the US maximizes staff members by getting them to work to the “top of their license”, as was described in an American College of Physicians publication . It is asserted there that “all office staff members should be ‘working to the top of their license,’ doing what they are qualified to do, no more and no less. That means doctors, the most skilled and highly compensated members of the team, should stick to those tasks they are uniquely qualified to do and delegate the rest.”

Nurses observed in particular have shown that they help significantly in patient care, not just in clerical aspects but also in certain medical decisions. To illustrate, a KSC patient typically calls a centralized number which would have him/her connected to the Customer Contact Center. This call center is actually manned 24 hours by registered nurses who are capable of eliciting a concise medical history over the phone and, in their professional judgment, advising the caller one of several options from immediately going to the nearest emergency room for urgent cases to scheduling an appointment with the appropriate physician in outpatient cases. In calls wherein home interventions can be performed by laypersons, the nurse goes ahead and instructs the caller what to do.

The above concept of telephone triage saves time and resources, allowing the physician to see those who need professional care more than those who can be instructed the appropriate treatment. This has been a principle of KSC, wherein its manuals for managed care state that “when a consultant will not need to interview or examine the patient, a telephone consultation may save time and serve the patient better.”

Apart from triage, nurses are also maximized in that they perform several tasks otherwise delegated to other paramedical personnel in the Philippines. It was observed that nurses also do extensive patient education (e.g. diabetes education, wherein nurses can be certified by the American Diabetes Association to be a “Diabetes Educator”) in addition to explaining therapeutic regimens to patients and calling-in routine prescription refills to the pharmacy, on behalf of the physician.

Pharmacies in the US are also active members of the patient’s healthcare team. A registered pharmacist, while not part of the KSC system (in the Copperfield Clinic’s case because it doesn’t have an on-site Pharmacy), would see to it that the physician’s prescription is explained through counseling to patients making a purchase. Drugs are dispensed securely and with great care. Prescriptions are documented and kept on record, and physicians or their nurses are routinely called in cases of doubt. While this may seem routine, it is of sad notice that the Philippine Pharmaceutical Industry, at this point in time, may benefit from adopting some of the practices noted here in the US (because currently, for instance, antibiotics and certain restricted drugs can still be easily acquired without a prescription from Philippine pharmacies).

On the matter of drugs, it can be viewed either positively or with disdain that the US healthcare system is heavily influenced by marketing. Whether it be the general tendency of physicians to use brand names in prescribing drugs or the aggressive strategies employed by pharmaceutical representatives in getting physicians to write out prescriptions for advertised drugs, marketing dominates. It was explained however that sometimes it is better to tell patients about drugs using brand names, because using both the brand and the generic name may cause confusion. It must be remembered however that later on, when healthcare insurance is called upon to answer for the expenses of the prescribed medications, there is a tendency for the generic brand of less cost to be filled by the Pharmacist.

Next: To Choose, not just to Consent

Family Practice

2006-06-03T06:53:00.000+08:00

(Part 3 of Stateside Healthcare: Art, Science, and Commerce?)

As one of the primary care fields, Family Practice (FP) has an important place in the healthcare delivery system. Its versatility of being able to diagnose and treat conditions classifiable under various specialties (seen during the elective rotation were cases falling under orthopedics, psychiatry, gynecology, internal medicine, pediatrics, ophthalmology, and minor surgery) gives it a role that allows patients to receive immediate care and not wait long for a specialist. In the event however that a condition proves to be beyond the training of the family practitioner, an educated referral is made, with the FP physician ordering preliminary diagnostics and administering basic treatment – easing the illness of the patient and the work that the specialist has to do.

There is of course the question of what differentiates a family practitioner from a general practitioner (GP). While a GP in essence has the same scope of patient age (from womb to tomb) with that of FP, the latter lays claim to post-graduate residency training of three years. Typically, the first year includes rotations in major medical disciplines with time for outpatient services; while the second and third years involve rotations in major specialty and subspecialty services and increased outpatient time . This gives FP practitioners familiarity with and experience on management of commonly encountered diseases, equipping them with the knowledge and skills to do primary care to patients of virtually any age. In underserved areas wherein certain specialties cannot be found, FP provides diagnosis and treatment (e.g. emergency appendectomy).

Alternative practices also abound for FP physicians. A 2001 essay in the American Academy of Family Physician (AAFP)’s publication Family Practice Management lists fourteen alternatives to the often construed outpatient practice style of the FP Physician: resort doctor, prison doctor, free-range physician , medical director, locum tenens , legislator, urgent care and emergency medicine, hospitalist , administrator, focused practices , public health and epidemiology, research, private business , and education. Considering individual practitioner variations, FP income on the average ranges from approximately US$ 140,000 to 163,000 (PHP 7.23 to 8.42 million, at US$1 = PHP51.65) per annum.

Next: Allied Forces

Kelsey-Seybold: the McDonald's of Medicine

2006-06-03T06:51:00.000+08:00

(Part 2 of Stateside Healthcare: Art, Science, and Commerce?)

With apologies to the food magnate, the Kelsey-Seybold Clinic (KSC) in Houston, Texas is comparable in accessibility and convenience to the McDonald’s fast food chain. It has been, for more than half a century now, a pioneer and key player in managed care in the city of Houston. It is the largest, community-based physician group caring for more than 300,000 patients, with active service to the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) since 1966. It also has a research arm, the Kelsey Research Foundation. Currently it is under the supervision of the St. Luke’s Episcopal Health System.

KSC founders Drs. Mavis P. Kelsey, William D. Seybold, and William V. Leary established the group practice in 1949. The clinic’s mission includes highlights on 1) improvement on community healthcare quality and value, 2) provision of comprehensive medical care for patients through a multi-specialty group practice, and 3) provision of exceptional opportunities for personal and professional growth. It currently has twenty locations all over the city of Houston, allowing for convenience to patients who would prefer locations close to home or work .

KSC Specialties and Sub-specialties include fields from Aerospace Medicine to Vascular Surgery.

Central to the theme of KSC is the founder’s original goal to “combine the expertise of physicians in a variety of medical specialties, with the close personal care of the general practitioner, or family doctor. ” This is attributed to an original Mayo Clinic concept, an idea of primary care in the named institution where KSC’s founders originally came from in the 1950’s. KSC is thus a pioneer in the sense that it first brought the concept of primary care into the state of Texas.

Next: Family Practice

Stateside Healthcare: Art, Science, and Commerce?

2006-05-30T22:18:00.000+08:00

(Last April 17-May 12, I rotated in an off-campus Family Practice elective at the Kelsey-Seybold Clinic Copperfield in Houston, TX, USA. My output included a paper on Primary Care and Family Practice as observed at the site, submitted to my UP Preceptor Dr. Josefina Isidro-Lapena and to my KSC Preceptor Dr. Peter S. Halvorson. I'm posting the same in full here at my blog, in installments.)

Outline

I. Introduction
II. Generalist versus Specialist
III. Kelsey-Seybold: the McDonald’s of Medicine
IV. Family Practice
V. Allied Forces
VI. To Choose, not just to Consent
VII. Medical Informatics: Streamlined Efficiency or Rigid Technology?
VIII. Legalities
IX. Health as Wealth: Managed Care
Synthesis

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Introduction

In a healthcare system, the interplay of factors such as practitioners, patients, facilities, government, and economics can be used to illustrate how the system works. Rather than attempt to discuss public health in general, this paper chose to scrutinize the five factors mentioned above at the micro level, with emphasis on the day-to-day patient encounter and the working relationships of healthcare professionals at the point of service. This paper involves a small snapshot of the United States of America (USA)’s primary healthcare system – both at the outpatient and hospital settings as practiced within the Kelsey-Seybold Clinic/St. Luke’s Episcopal Health System (KSC) in the city of Houston, State of Texas. Its perspective is that of a fourth-year foreign medical student from the Republic of the Philippines.

The highlighted specialty is Family Practice, with consideration for its main role as a primary care specialty. However, to better appreciate the norms of primary care, two other generalist areas were observed: Internal Medicine, and Pediatrics. The three did not differ much in coverage except for an age-dependence in triage. As expected, Pediatrics handled no one over eighteen years of age, while Internal Medicine preferred approximately forty years old and up. Family Medicine’s patient age, on the other hand, was dependent on the individual practitioner’s choice.

Generalist versus Specialist

It was observed that generalists have regained significance in the United States of America (USA)’s delivery of health services. Primary Care Practitioners (PCPs) – generalists in essence – provide close-in personalized healthcare and act as gatekeepers to the various medical specialties and vast health resources.

Health-seeking behavior in patients also shows a demand to be seen by PCPs. As may be discussed later, however, this preference may be mostly due to the health insurance requirement that the insured must seek treatment by a PCP first before a specialist comes on board. Still, to most of those interviewed, it really didn’t matter; what works for them is what they return to. With the ability of the PCP to be flexible in scope as a generalist and because of more frequent contact, the tendency is for rapport to be established mostly between the patient and his/her PCP rather than a specialist. This may allow an improved therapeutic relationship that provides for ease of treatment.

PCPs as gatekeepers could not be emphasized any more than it as being an established phenomenon. Acting as coordinators of the professional team that cares for a patient, the PCP often has the over-all view of a patient’s health. This allows for him/her to sufficiently recommend to the patient what course to take or choices to make as regards the treatment plan, and gives specialists the convenience of truly focusing on their particular field of interest rather than bother in-depth with patient co-morbidities not related to the disease for which they were consulted.

It is also of importance to cite this early in this paper that the PCP saves the whole healthcare system a significant amount of money (to be discussed in detail later). The PCP’s use of wellness checks and focus on preventative medicine may indeed have an impact on future spending, assuming satisfactory patient compliance with advice given. Furthermore, with the PCP coordinating the specialist team and acting as gatekeeper, resources are saved by making educated and appropriate referrals to the correct specialists.

Notable also is the fact that as observed, PCPs attend not only to the physical concerns of patients but also to their mental health. This is not to say that the Psychiatrist has no role; rather, the PCP unburdens the Psychiatrist and allows the latter to focus on more complex mental diseases as befits his/her specialty training. Common psychiatric diagnoses such as depression and anxiety are successfully managed by the PCP, and in the course of management the PCP is not hesitant to use the appropriate psychotropic pharmacotherapy.

Next: Kelsey-Seybold, the McDonald's of Medicine

Political SPAM

2006-04-02T19:25:00.000+08:00

Have you ever received spam e-mail from some leader in a far-away African country claiming to have millions of dollars in hidden funds, and that he needs your help to withdraw it? When I do get such a message, it goes straight to the trash bin on account that it's a hoax designed to get your private contact details for nefarious purposes.

This version below however got me laughing - because its setting is quite close to home. I've reposted it unedited (save for the numbers and e-mails which I deleted lest someone be duped into contacting "Dr. Mrs. Luisa Pimentel Estrada".

---------

From:

Dr. Mrs. Luisa Pimentel Estrada
Metro-Manila
Philippines
Tel/Fax:632-8******

Hello Friend,

Greetings and peace of the lord unto your household.

This email correspondence may come to you as a surprise due to the fact that we have not met. . The message could be strange but real, if you pay some attention to it. I could have notified you about it at least for the sake of your integrity. Please accept my apologies in bringing this message of goodwill to you; I have to say that I have no intention of causing you any pain or harm.

I am Dr Luisa Pimentel Estrada, the wife of Joseph Ejercito Estrada, former president of Philippines. I have children with my husband, Jose, Jacqueline and Jude. Two sons and a daughter. This mail may be coming to you as a surprise or an article but it is very real. I will want you, the receiver to read through it and think very well if you can help or render us any assistance.

My husband Joseph Ejercito Estrada was elected as the 13th President of the Philippines in May 1998 by the people of Philippines due his popularity in the film industry made him to win the largest popularity in the history of election in Philippines. He attained the position of Senate in 1987,then vice-president in 1992 and later become the president 1998.My husband was made mayor of his home town, San Juan in 1969 but it was 1972 that he had a string of public successes. My husband was named one of the ten Outstanding Young Men in Public Administration. He was also named Most Outstanding Mayor and Foremost Nationalist and Most Outstanding Metro Manila Mayor. My husband is recently accused of illegally acquiring the some of four Billion Peso (80Million Dollars)during his 31 months in office as President backed up by an uprising of mass Demonstrators and Senate traitors. They also said that he has skimmed off tobacco excise Taxes benefiting from government business deals. Most of them benefited from my husband's generosity when he was in office. But they just turned around to be the ones to impeach him. I have tried every possible means to get him out of Detention without success. The Despotic forces in power appear bent in deriding him rubbishing his achievements while freezing all his known Bank accounts. He has been accused of economic plunder carrying the maximum penalty of death. To the worst of it all, all other wives of my husband especailly Guia Gomez and some of her children born outside wed lock are testifying against us. In conjunction with the PCGG funded by the recent President Arroyo Macapagal Gloria.

These are some of the allegations filed before my husband in the impeachment trial;

1. Gov. Luis Singson, a longtime friend of my husband, said he provided my husband with more than 8million in payoffs from illegal gambling and 2.7million dollars from tobacco taxes.

2 Witnesses testify one of an account in the Philippines third largest bank held millions of dollars in bribes collected by my husband. Equitable PCI Bank President George Go resigns. The banks senior vice president, Clarissa Ocampo, said she saw my husband sign a false name to documents withdrawing 10 million dollars from a secret personal account.

3.On Dec 31 Five synchronized bomb attacks kill 22 people and injure more than 120 in Manila, days before the trial is to return from holiday recess. Police accuse Muslim rebels but many fear the bombs may be linked to the trial.

4.That my husband received about 8.5 million dollars in pay-offs from illegal gambling operators.

5.That my husband participated in a real estate business controlled by me and my son Jose despite a prohibition on outside business interests while in office.

My husband is presently suffering from bronchitis and emphysema and he is been detained at the Veterans Memorial Medical Center in Quezon City in hospital prison outside Manila where the life of my husband is in danger .I will let you to know that it is political motivated by Gloria Arroyo. Meanwhile, the government has said that it may drop rebellion charges against my husband allies Senator Juan Ponce Enrile and the former ambassador to the United State Ernesto Maceda because they were on the side of my husband, both men were later jailed by the government of Gloria Arroyo that they instigated a march on the presidential palace by 50,000 supporters of my husband. These are all political. All these are done to have my husband dead. Presently life has not been easy for my children and I, my traveling documents have been seized by the government and they restricted me and my children to have access to my husband. You will get more details on the story through this links

http://www.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/asiapcf/southeast/04/22/estrada.profile/

Haven seen the way things are going with us. He decided to let me know that he deposited some money with security companies in Asia and Europe. He said that he deposited the sum of Eighteen Million United states Dollars (18million Dollars )in my name (Luisa Pimentel Estrada) in Europe, the money was deposited with a security firm that transports valuable goods and consignments through diplomatic means. He declared that the consignment was solid gold and owned by his foreign business partner. Now I have decided to start a new life with the money. I want to invest the money outside Philippines. What I am begging you is to assist me in receiving the money on my behalf. You will have to represent me in receiving the money from the security company. I have discussed with the security company about this arrangement. I can not leave manila for now and they assured me that the money will be released to my representative. In this regards, I have gone to collect the documents needed from Gomez Carlos who my husband kept the documents with. If you are willing to assist me in receiving the money.

I am contacting you because I want you to go to the security company and claim the money on my behalf since I have declared that the consignment belong to my foreign business partner. You shall also be required to assist me in investment in your country. I hope to trust you as a God fearing person who will not sit on this money when you claim it, rather assist me properly, I am willing to offer you 25% of the funds for your sincere assistance. When I receive your positive response I will let you know where the security company is and also my son (Jude) will contact you with the details of this project. For now, let all our communication be by e-mail because my lines are right now connected to the Philippines Telecommunication Network services. But you can send me a fax on my number-63-2-******* or call my son Jude Carlito Estrada on his mini-satellite phone +88*********** for further communication. Please do send me your private telephone/ fax number so that we can have a smooth communication. Please treat this vital information with maturity and sincerity.

Your due cooperation in this regards, will be duly appreciated. I look forward to your urgent reply.

Thank you and god bless us all.

Warmest Regards

Dr. Mrs. Luisa Pimentel Estrada.

My movie star double is Ethan Hawke

2006-03-18T20:11:00.000+08:00

An intellectual like you needs to be played by someone who understands how to be deep without being boring, someone who can grasp complicated subjects and make them seem clear cut, someone like Ethan Hawke. Whether bringing Hamlet to life or getting published himself, Ethan has shown the world that being smart can be sexy.

Were you sometimes the kid in class who realized when the teacher made a mistake — even if you didn't always point it out? Now that you're grown up, it wouldn't surprise us if you still liked the challenge of banter or enjoyed staying up late talking about the latest in political, social, or celebrity circles.

Your glamour comes from your head first and radiates out through your looks.

So keep that confidence up. Ethan's a natural to star as you because he, like you, has a good head on his shoulders. And isn't afraid to use it.

Take the test here and get a feel-good evaluation, free! Haha.

Labor Pains

2006-01-18T06:00:00.000+08:00

(This was my speech delivered in my capacity as the USC Manila Chairperson at a Public Hearing on the UP College of Medicine's proposed Tuition Fee Adjustment, an event held yesterday, 17 January 2006 at the BSLR-East.)

For a century now, the UP College of Medicine has been giving birth to almost a hundred children – the medical classes throughout the years – and there seems to be no end to its gravidity. Annually in its hallowed womb are developing seven offspring – from learning unit one to year level seven. The medical students, by the grace of God, their perseverance, and the work of their families continue to traverse each day the life of a future healer. It is in that analogy that I’d like to contextualize the proposal we have before us today – the tuition and other fee adjustment (which undoubtedly is an increase) demanded for by the College administration.

Let’s look at the UP College of Medicine as a pregnant patient who comes in at the OB Admitting Section one evening with a chief complaint of watery vaginal discharge sixteen hours prior to consult.

On donning her gloves, the resident begins her internal examination. She finds out among other things that due to the transverse lie of the baby, Lady Med has to undergo a caesarean section. The resident informs and then asks Lady Med: “Nanay, kakailanganin kang operahin para maipanganak si baby. Hindi kasi siya pwedeng idaan sa baba. Handa po ba kayo para sa mga gastusin?” To which the anxious mother replies, “May dala po akong pera doctor. Five hundred po.”

Note that a c-section even for charity patients costs more than five hundred pesos. That is why the resident, mildly irritated at this answer, replies “Hindi po ba kayo nakapaghanda? Nanay naman, siyam na buwan po ninyong dinala ang sanggol. Hindi po biro ang manganak, bakit po hindi pinaghandaan?”

Then, on reading the chart, the resident recalls that Lady Med’s Bag of Waters actually ruptured a long time ago – sixteen hours prior. So she asks again to confirm – “Mommy kaninang umaga pa ba pumutok ang panubigan? Bakit ngayon ka lang nagpa-ospital?” With a faint smile that might as well be a smirk, Lady Med answered “Kasi po namiyesta muna kami.”

That irony of what is usually claimed as Filipino culture – the tendency to splurge even in the face of limited means – is the first case in point as to why the proposed Tuition Fee Adjustment is improper. Lady Med, even after knowing that she is pregnant and that she was about to go into labor, still found it in herself to attend to a fiesta than to dutifully have herself admitted for observation while her husband goes to creditors to seek finances for hospitalization.

Those are the first two questions: given that the administration claims financial instability for several years already, why is it only now that the proposal for a TFA is made? And regarding the claim that we have run out of options, why is it that for the past year several festivals, tokens, statues, and celebrations took place? The chronicity of the financial problem and the ability of previous administrations to treat its symptoms only show that with the right fiscal policies and sound priorities, we can survive even without a TFA.

There is also the matter that the proposal in toto seeks an eighty percent plus increase from the status quo tuition. It could be going against a current legal document – the Commission on Higher Education Memorandum Order No. 14 series of 2005 issued last May – that says “The allowable increase in tuition and other fees should not be more than the prevailing national inflation rate.” This tuition cap, so to speak, was set last summer at around eight percent, a far cry from the eighty five percent increase being proposed. While the legalities are best settled by the lawyers, we still maintain that even government saw it prudent not to burden its citizens with more expenses by dampening tuition increases.

But that does not mean that students would allow an increase if it were in the range of eight percent or below. There is another glaring reason why a tuition fee increase as proposed today is not sound. This is because there is no solid, clear-cut assurance that increases in tuition would go to the College for its use. As narrated by UPCM administrative officials themselves, in the University of the Philippines System, tuition is collected for allocation by the central administration to the different units of the university. Thus, if central administration sees it fit to prioritize infrastructure building in UP Cebu College, for example, it may channel tuition collected from units in Luzon to the Visayas unit. Why are we to venture into plans wherein we have no assurance of their concrete benefit?

Furthermore, it is actually pre-empting on the part of the College of Medicine to go ahead with its tuition fee increase proposal given that early in the school year, no less than UP President Emerlinda Roman already called for a rational study on the expenses of each unit in the university. The University Student Council is one with the Medicine Student Council in saying that the internal computations made by the College administration are not representative of the true cost per student. We believe that it is prudent not to pre-empt the fiscal study commissioned by the UP President which she delegated to the experts in finance – the College of Business Administration and the School of Economics in UP Diliman.

Notwithstanding those procedural questions that have to be satisfactorily addressed before any tuition proposal may be allowed to prosper, we are forgetting the more important policy forecast that whatever happens in the country’s top medical school undoubtedly has ripple effects throughout the healthcare education system of the nation.

In summary, the University Student Council believes that it is not proper for the College of Medicine administration to propose a tuition increase because 1) alternatives have not been exhausted, 2) procedural matters have to be addressed, and most importantly 3) we should not forget the nature of our institution being a State University – that the burden of funding education should not lie on the students and their parents but on the government.

Doctors who MIND

2006-01-09T20:00:00.000+08:00

(Below is a reproduction of an e-mail sent by Dr. Willie T. Ong of the doctors' advocacy group MIND.)

Hi friends,

Greetings to a prosperous New Year.

I have some good news for our doctors and medical students. Just for everybody's information: The Medical Malpractice Bills are dead! The Osmena Bill and Villar Bill did NOT pass.There will be NO malpractice insurance. NO jail term for doctors.

Thanks and congratulations to the efforts of doctors in the medical societies, the NGO's and individual doctors who pitched in too. If you talked about malpractice, if you wrote an article, if you organized a forum, then we all deserved a commendation.

Even Ms. Korina Sanchez has admitted defeat that their group cannot pass the Malpractice bill. So this is really the GOOD news you won't see in our headlines.

What the PMA is now working at is the Patient's Rights Bill (less harsh) and some sticky provisions therein. This is according to PMA Secretary General Dr Rey Melchor Santos.

I believe the continuous barrage of news stories in the media has turned the tide and thinking of our politicians. News about the brain drain and hospitals closing made our politicians think twice before passing this malpractice bill.

Another good news for doctors is that powerful people in the media have become advocates for doctors. You can see more positive front page news about doctors staying, medical tourism, “barefoot doctors” trained in the community, etc. Many people are now aware of the problem and are on our side.

On our end, for 2005, we have been touring the different medical schools. I have lectured in 11 medical schools so far on topics such as “How to get ahead in medicine”, “Finding your niche in medicine” and “Testmanship: How to pass exams without studying.”

Since October of 2005, a heaven-sent opportunity came up. We are now producing and hosting a Cable TV health show. Simply put, it’s a purely public service program. (Our medical leaders agree that TV is the weakest point in their advocacy.)

If you have time, check out our TV show at RJTV (Sky 19, Home 19, Destiny 79) every Fridays 5 PM to 6 PM with myself, Dra. Liza and Dr Philip Cruz as hosts. We also have an interactive health show from 6 PM to 6:30 PM, where patients can ask their questions live on the air and get free advice. We also have replays on Saturdays from 7 AM to 8 AM.

So far, we have guested majority of our medical leaders in the Philippine Medical Association, Philippine College of Surgeons, Philippine College of Physicians and others… We have given airtime to our leaders to spread their advocacies, all for free, no strings attached. We have no drug ads whatsoever, no sponsorship whatsoever, no secret deals. It’s just helping.

I believe it’s time to uplift the quality of our media, so we can give honest, objective and scientific advice to our patients (and NOT based on what advertisers want).

Just like the MIND meetings, I thank my parents again, and my sister Julie Ong-Alonzo and brother-in-law Mr. Tecson Alonzo for pitching in and helping us with the costs of producing a weekly TV show.

Here are our other plans for 2006:

(1) Opening of Philippine Medical Museum at Pasay City by March or April 2006.
(2) MIND meet by May 2006.

My sincerest thanks to all the hundreds of e-mails, comments and suggestions I have received in the past year, both here and abroad. Thank you friends for spreading the good news.

Finally, some brotherly advice. I would just like to say that it pays to keep a positive outlook and surely good things will come if we start looking at how to help others. Only when we give, will we start to receive. And God will return all the blessing back to us a hundred-fold.

God bless.

Your friends,

Willie and Liza

P.S. Log on to our MIND blog at http://mind.pinoy.md for more info.

Timmy Chua wins Bronze at SEA Games!

2005-12-02T12:48:00.000+08:00

Winnie Monsod on the GASC

2005-11-27T13:05:00.000+08:00

http://news.inq7.net/opinion/index.php?index=2&story_id=57799

GASC, UP Collegian and the media
First posted 01:08am (Mla time) Nov 26, 2005
By Solita Collas-Monsod
Inquirer News Service

BLATANT disregard of the rules. Railroading. Filibustering. Abuse of power. Indecorous behavior. Disruption of parliamentary proceedings. Walkouts.

Sounds like the Philippine legislature? Actually, closer to the Taiwanese legislature, which has grabbed international attention more than once with pictures of its members engaged in free-for-all brawls inside the assembly hall; or the South Korean legislature (although I only read about it once).

But not this time. The description above applies to what happened during the two-day General Assembly of Student Councils (GASC) of the University of the Philippines (UP), presided over by the current student regent (SR, the student representative to the UP Board of Regents), a couple of weeks ago. At issue was the proposed amendments to the Codified Rules for Student Regent Selection (CRSRS), which the GASC, composed of all the student councils in the UP System, is tasked to deliberate and decide on, because it is also tasked to select the SR on the basis of the CRSRS.

The three major proposed amendments seem eminently reasonable: requiring that SR candidates must meet the minimum academic standards set in the University Code (during my time, one couldn't even be a member of a student organization if one had a red mark); removing the role of an organization called Kasama sa UP from the selection process (its role is identical to those of the university and college student councils themselves); and widening the voting base for electing the SR (a more direct manner of selection).

Reasonable as these proposals may sound, they have been rejected over and over again, every year since the CRSRS was first approved in 1997. Why? Simple: The Kasama sa UP, which is affiliated with the leftist organization Anakbayan, had controlled the selection of most student regents since 1986, and continued to hold the majority of GASC members since the latter's creation in 1996.

Until this year, that is, when the "nonaligned" (those who didn't want to be controlled by an ideology) student councils gained the majority in the GASC. At last, they thought, the reforms could push through.

But the Kasama had many tricks up its sleeve.

Usually, the GASC meets twice a year -- the first, to set the rules for the selection of the student regent, and the second, to do the actual selection. But the GASC meeting in Cebu in October was taken up just for adopting the house rules; so another meeting had to be set to consider the CRSRS itself. Delay.

The second meeting, the one that ended up making the Taiwanese legislators' antics look like child's play, was set for Nov. 12 and 13. On the first day, almost 10 hours passed before the amendment on good academic standing could be proposed-and the debate was suspended after an hour. The next day, another six hours of debate on the issue took place, even if it had been previously agreed that there would be a two-hour debate limit. Finally, there was a move to divide the house (from Len Punzalan of the School of Economics Student Council). Objections followed -- the debate must be exhausted. So another motion was made: this time to vote on whether it was time to vote on the amendment. The motion was ignored. Other motions along similar lines were continually ignored by the chair, the current student regent, a member of Kasama.

This was where Robert's Rules of Orders came in. Apparently, the rules (on P. 642 of the Newly Revised) contain "Remedies Against Misconduct or Dereliction of Duty in Office," which allows the maker himself-after exhausting all other means to get the chair to act-to stand in the chair's place and put the motion to a vote. Which was what Punzalan did. And where the melee began; the Kasama allies grabbed her mike and her papers; profanities and blows were exchanged. But the roll was successfully called-and the result was that 29 voted in favor, 1 against, 2 abstained, and 13 refused to vote.

At which point the SR unilaterally adjourned the meeting, which is a no-no, as per the rules. Which is when another storm broke out. The body appointed a temporary chair and, despite the dispersal conducted by the UP police, continued the meeting elsewhere, adjourning at 6:30 a.m. the next day-and getting the work done.

The controversy has been fully reported and analyzed in the Philippine Collegian, the UP's official student publication; and if there are dismaying similarities in the behavior of the GASC and the behavior of the Philippine legislature, it must also be said, this time thankfully, that there is no similarity between the Philippine Collegian's coverage of a controversy (at least in this case) and that of some of its supposedly more mature counterparts in the Philippine media. The Collegian news reports were unbiased and not sensationalized; its features section carefully set down the issues and the arguments for and against the proposed amendments; equal space was given to both sides in the opinion section; and letters to the editor were printed on a first come, first served basis, with the announcement that letters not included could be resubmitted, and again treated on the same basis.

Good job, Collegian. May others follow your example. This country can ill afford decisions based on incomplete, one-sided information or assertions presented as hard facts. Given half a chance, Filipinos are capable of making wise decisions.

Malacañang goes to UP

2005-11-25T11:55:00.000+08:00

Cabinet Secretary Ricardo Saludo visited the UP Manila campus last 22 November 2005 upon invitation of the University Student Council. He delivered a presentation on the GMA administration's side on current national issues including Gloriagate, the economic status of the country, and many others.

Many thanks to all who participated in the organization of this event held at the UP College of Nursing auditorium! Thanks also to those who attended.

When Parliament becomes Pavement

2005-11-24T23:19:00.000+08:00

So that the students may have a full grasp of the recent events at the General Assembly of Student Councils (GASC) held last October 22-23, 2005 at the UP Visayas Cebu College at Cebu City and November 12-14, 2005 at the UP Diliman School of Economics and the Freedom from Debt Coalition Office at Quezon City, this statement has been prepared consistent with USC Manila Resolution No. 0506-007.

Debating versus Filibustering

When the General Assembly of Student Councils (GASC) resumed session on November 12, 2005, Student Regent Ken Ramos announced to the body the agenda for the meeting. He reiterated a draft agenda he presented back in Cebu that scheduled the debate for amendments to be in the order that they would affect the Codified Rules for Student Regent Selection (CRSRS). He also set time limits on each amendment. Initially some delegates moved to change this agenda, to prioritize some proposals perceived to be more substantial over those that only sought to correct spelling and grammar. This was vehemently opposed, so to facilitate discussion – the motion to change the agenda was withdrawn and the Order of Business as determined by the Student Regent adopted.

Chaos erupted the moment some members who were clearly arguing in circles insisted that debate be extended beyond the time limits originally adopted by the assembly. They were, in effect, moving for an extension of debate beyond the original time limits adopted earlier in the session by the assembly, a motion that requires two-thirds vote similar to one that seeks to limit debate [1]. Furthermore, the delegates who supposedly had new arguments were just filibustering – rehashing their points in different ways. All of them violated the GASC House Rules by speaking more than ten (10) minutes without the consent of the body [2].

Yes, debate is welcomed – but there is a clear distinction between debating and filibustering just to delay the transaction of business. Parliamentary rules are there to protect not only the minority from being gagged by an oppressive majority but also the majority from being unduly delayed by a filibustering minority. This is clear, as in addition to the GASC House Rules restricting members’ speeches to ten minutes, parliamentary rules state that no member of an assembly is entitled to speak on a concern more than twice on the same day [3].

The filibustering members all spoke more than twice on the issues and more than ten minutes each time they rose to speak.

Presiding versus Dictating

On the matter of the UP Diliman School of Economics Student Council (UPDSESC) delegate rising to call the roll on her motion, it was in order: parliamentary rules also have remedies for Presiding Officers who take the law into their own hands and who refuse to follow the rules. This was already explained by the UPDSESC statement when it cited the appropriate parliamentary rule that allowed a proponent him/herself to call for a vote, in case the Chair refuses to him/herself put the properly-made motion to a vote [4]. Even if the Chair, who in that case was the Student Regent, had not relinquished his position as Presiding Officer, his misconduct or dereliction of duty in office allowed for what UPDSESC did. The Presiding Officer went to the extent of ignoring the appeal on his ruling, hence the remedy.

Who can Adjourn

Session was never adjourned, because no majority vote showed consent to the Student Regent-Presiding Officer’s unilateral ruling of adjournment as is required by the House Rules [5]. No other rules or regulations aside from the GASC House Rules and the universal parliamentary rules as written in Robert’s Rules of Order were adopted by the GASC in session, and nowhere in the two may it be found that the Chair can unilaterally adjourn for reasons of security and disorder. He simply had no prerogative, and forced himself upon the will of the assembly.

There was no immediate need to adjourn. The Chair himself is empowered to order unruly observers out of the session hall [6], or if the unruly persons are members of the assembly, to call them to order and reprimand them if needed [7]. These steps, however, were not taken by the Student Regent. In the first place, at the exact moment he declared adjournment, there was no more disorder or chaos to speak of (as audio and video recordings will show). All the delegates cooled off somewhat and were silently seated in their chairs, as were the observers.

The Chair is not a god

Contrary to propaganda that wrongly accuses the majority – 31 out of 51 UP Student Councils from the UP Diliman, Los Baños, Manila, and Mindanao campuses – of disrespecting the Student Regent, efforts were made to uphold his office and to have him preside.

The Student Regent, even upon the insistence of members that he resume presiding, refused to do his job in accordance with the House Rules. The same House Rules allow for the chair (meaning the office or position) to be relinquished to another person [8]. There is no Vice-Student Regent who would have taken his place in such an instance, and the secretariat also abandoned its duty and joined the unruly protest actions on the floor with the Student Regent. In such cases, an assembly can be called to order by any of its members, and immediately the assembly should elect a temporary Chair to preside during that session as provided for in parliamentary procedure [9]. The GASC as an assembly then transferred the venue of the session due to KASAMA sa UP’s incessant rallies that were in fact full of threats and invectives that were disrupting the proceedings.

It is common sense to follow only legal orders made by any superior; illegal orders are to be ignored. No Chairperson can act like a god who rules with absolute power that should be followed even if his/her actions are already violating the rules.

Hence, the Student Regent’s adjournment without majority consent, being illegal, was not binding. Furthermore, his refusal to do his duty of presiding even in the presence of a quorum and the session being not adjourned was also abandonment; hence by his actions the GASC had no choice but to appoint an acting Presiding Officer – there was no “take-over”. Finally, participation in the resumption of session at Teacher’s Village is not illegitimate but instead was the right thing to do as can be demonstrated by the arguments above; any deliberate refusal to attend it meant an abandonment of a student council’s duty to represent its constituent students at the GASC.

Propaganda War

Caution is advised to all students regarding the current propaganda war being waged by several sides to the GASC issue. With the intention of recognizing a UP student’s inherent critical awareness and discernment, students are encouraged to develop a balanced view on the issue by learning how to see beyond the personal attacks and accusations designed only to enrage, but never to enlighten. Being learners in a University environment, this is the perfect opportunity for all of us to stand by reason and logic and not by anger and emotion.

27th UP Manila University Student Council
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/uscmanila
uscmanila@gmail.com

--------------------------
Note: RONR – Robert’s Rules of Order Newly Revised. ISBN 0-7382-0307-6

1. RONR (10th ed.), p. 185, l. 13-16.
2. GASC House Rules, Section III – Decorum, Rule 25.
3. RONR (10th ed.), p. 376, l. 20-24.
4. RONR (10th ed.), p. 642, l. 11-19.
5. GASC House Rules, Section I – Session, Rule 9.
6. RONR (10th ed.), p. 625, l. 19-26 and p. 628, l. 23-33.
7. RONR (10th ed.), p. 626, l. 20-33.
8. GASC House Rules, Section I – Session, Rule 7.
9. RONR (10th ed.), p. 437, l. 13-20.

Time for a Change

2005-11-21T12:13:00.000+08:00

Time for a Change

We, the UPLB-USC 2005-06, as members of the General Assembly of Student Councils (GASC), uphold true representative democracy. As protocol of the GASC, and any formal meeting for that matter, Parliamentary Procedure is practiced. This is to enable the body to carry the will of the majority, protect the rights of the minority, and protect the interests of those who are absent. Furthermore, it is implemented to provide structure for a fair, orderly, and expedient proceeding.

Crossing their own lines.
We are dismayed with what transpired during the assembly. Protests through noise barrage were tolerated, decorum was not observed even by some council members, and several violations of the Parliamentary Procedures and House Rules were committed during the session.

The presiding officer himself was one of those who committed such violations. At the latter part of the session, he refused to act on several pending motions. He even resorted to adjourning the session without the consent of the body, thus violating Section 1, Number 9 of the ratified GASC House Rules.

"Section 1 – Session
9. The sessions of the meeting shall not be suspended or adjourned except through majority vote of the student councils present."

This is a clear manifestation of disrespect to the whole assembly! His inability to preside was manifested in his lack of knowledge on parliamentary procedures as he constantly allowed the assembly to educate him on such.

Frustratingly, some student council members added on to the disorder during the GASC by refusing to abide by these universal rules of order and procedure governing the body. We abhor the violations committed by some of the members of the assembly, the observers, and even the secretariat who chose to participate and allow unruly protests while the assembly was still in order.

Some assembly members may claim that the continuation of the GASC at the UP Teacher's Village, Quezon City is illegitimate. We stay firm on our belief that we strongly upheld the Parliamentary Rules of Law, along with the GASC House Rules, in doing so.

Changes for the Empowerment of All.
A Student Regent is a student-leader. Being a student comes first. That is why, upon being selected as the next Student Regent, he/she is highly recommended to take a Leave of Absence. Its purpose is for him to be able to focus on his being a leader—and not spreading himself too thinly. But before being nominated, there must be a concrete standard or criteria to gauge his capacity to lead and manage his time well.

With regard to the amended voting mechanism of the Student Regent Selection, UPLB-USC 05-06 pushed for a more democratic and representative means of voting. We are for the empowerment of all college councils in the whole UP system.

As for the deletion of KASAMA sa UP from the Codified Rules of the Student Regent Selection, we are for a Student Regent Selection process that is free from political ideologies.

Fight for a competent and impartial Student Regent who will listen, represent, and address the needs of all UP students! Assert and fight for a more democratic and well represented Student Regent Selection.

UPLB-University Student Council 2005-2006

Statement from the UPLB CAS Chairperson

2005-11-21T12:12:00.000+08:00

It is pure sacrilege.

In an assembly of leaders with the assumption of unbiased ruling, we have to remember two things. First, any assembly with such inclinations should be governed by strict and collegial rules. Strict, meaning no one is above the rules and everyone understands they are governed by such rules. When violations are made against the house rules and the universal rules of order in the parliamentary procedures, the assumption is that the leader should side with the rules and not with just some people, even though the leader himself leans otherwise. Strict, meaning sanctions are clear and everyone understands the consequences of their actions. Strict, meaning such rules can not be bent in accordance to some people, no matter if he/she is the leader of the assembly. Secondly, being collegial is defined as being mutually respectful. It is not defined as being lenient to the governing rules of the body. Because implications of such is disastrous to the assembly. Another definition of collegiality is connected with friendship. Being hostile with rules or with people is the exact antonym of the word.

With these, I, with some members of the College of Arts and Sciences student council present in the assembly, condemn the blatant acts made by the Student Regent, his secretariat team, and some members of student councils present in the General Assembly of Student Councils (GASC). First is with regards to the violations of the house rules and universal rules of order. Never in the history of the GASC where rules are violated in such a manner. The assembly was supposed to be governed by the universal rules of parliamentary procedure with their very own drafted house rules, but what happened in the assembly was otherwise. Members of different councils, in the effort to maintain order and avoid further delay, stated the rules over and over again, but to no avail. We want to emphasize that these rules are not meant to suppress ideas, but to actually promulgate them in an orderly and arranged manner. I myself warned the Student regent more than once about the implications of not abiding with these rules. The result of his actions was "so-called" history- those of tears, chaos, occasional fistfights, and a lot of slander and contempt. Next, we would like to manifest our disgust to the unruly acts that followed, more specifically to the mob rule that was participated by the Student regent himself, along with his secretariat present. A leader of his stature should never have made such actions to condemn members of the assembly he was leading himself.

Lastly, I believe at the end of it all, the majority has the right overall. This is with the idea that the minority will be heard, properly respected, and their concerns addressed. With proper headcount, we applaud the acts of the majority of the student councils who continued with the assembly amidst all the oppression set upon by the minority. Everyone can attest to the efforts of the majority to convince the presiding officer what has to be done, in accordance to the house rules and overall rules of assembly. I'm in full support of the actions made by the councils who continued with what is supposed to be done. I believe in the legitimacy of the assembly that continued in Teacher's village, including the resolutions they were able to accomplish. This is not coup de etat, because as far as we are concerned, a coup can only be done with the motive of overthrowing the leadership of whoever is in command. One, it is clear that true leadership in the assembly is not in the presiding officer. Two, there were great efforts to actually make the student regent do his job.

In behalf of the majority of the council present in the assembly, I would like to end with this point:

True consensus is never the absence of opposing sides. But it is reached when the minority chose to give way to the real voice of the assembly: the majority. To silence that voice with the concept of unison in ideas is pure contempt. To abstain that voice with the concept of a united body is nothing more than pure sacrilege.

Cordially,

KARL MARX N. CONDE (Sgd)
Council Chairperson

NOTED BY (five out of the seven council members present in the assembly, excluding the chairperson):

JEELA ACEDO (Sgd)
Vice- chairperson

EDMOUND MAGALLANES (Sgd)
Councilor

KRISTAL VACARIZAS (Sgd)
Councilor

JOMEL VILLAR (Sgd)
Councilor

SUNSHINE SALGADO (Sgd)
College Representative

Interview with the Philippine Collegian (on GASC)

2005-11-19T23:51:00.000+08:00

The Philippine Collegian wrote:

Albert, we would like to get your comment:

SR Ken Ramos has said he does not recognize the amendments made during the GASC meeting at Teachers' Village. In fact, Ramos is going ahead with the selection timetable under the framework of the Old CRSRS.

1. What is your reaction?

I am frustrated at the double standards by which the Student Regent is handling things. On the one hand, he is a staunch advocate of a campaign to oust the Philippine President for alleged transgressions of election law and other impeachable acts; the Hon. Ken Ramos himself, however, has violated several rules in an arena as close to home as the General Assembly of Student Councils.

Regent Ramos has complete disregard for rules and correct procedure. On that fateful day of November 13, 2005 - he had already violated several universal rules of parliamentary procedure but none was more blatant than his support for a tyranny of the minority. He interpreted the rules to his convenience and clearly to those who were politically aligned with him, in utter disrespect to the GASC principle of broad and open participation without consideration for political ideologies. He forcefully made an illegal adjournment of session by wielding his supposed prerogative which is in direct violation of the ratified House Rules: Section I, Rule 9 - "The sessions of the meeting shall not be suspended or adjourned except through majority vote of the student councils present" (emphasis supplied). No matter what his reason was, he clearly had no authority to adjourn by himself and he had to consult the assembly, wherein a clear majority of 24/44 student councils did not agree with him. That, he did not do.

Althroughout the chaos that broke loose right under his nose, Student Regent Ken Ramos did not do anything to placate the angry crowd. He was even seen and witnessed by several delegates and observers to be raising his fist and chanting in unison with the unruly mob that he allowed on the session floor. This was again in direct violation of the ratified House Rules: Section I, Rule 12 - "All sessions shall be open to bonafide UP students who are not part of the GASC as observers, therefore having no power to participate in the proceedings of the assembly, provided that they can present a valid UP identification card and they will observe proper behavior. The presiding officer can limit the number of observers present" (emphasis supplied). Regent Ramos allowed the observers to enter into the session hall and proceed with their bullhorn-led chants and invectives full of insults against the GASC, even to the point of joining the rally himself together with the KASAMA sa UP and OSR Secretariat that was supposed to be politically neutral.

When the GASC saw these blatant violations being committed by the Student Regent, the majority of the body regardless of political party (these student councils were from different campuses and have not even met each other before the GASC) decided to see if there was still a quorum to proceed. Twenty four responded to the roll call at around 6:00 to 6:30 pm. The House Rules say that "A simple majority of fifty percent plus one (50% + 1) of all student councils present shall constitute a quorum for any session to do business. Only when a quorum is in existence can a formal session proceed" (Section I, Rule 2). Originally on Saturday morning, 44 councils registered, making a simple majority for quorum to be 23. Thus, with twenty four physically present and responding to the roll call, a quorum was existent. That did not even count more councils who, by virtue of an authorization letter wanted to participate in the amendment of the CRSRS. The majority urged the Student Regent to continue presiding as it was his job to do so, but he refused to and instead insisted on his illegal adjournment.

Because of the above gross violations committed by the Student Regent (in addition to his refusal to divide the house which was the cause of the pandemonium), the body decided to have a Vote of No Confidence in Regent Ramos as the GASC Presiding Officer and have him replaced, in accordance with the House Rules - Section I, Rule 7: "The Student Regent shall preside in all the sessions, unless the chair is relinquished to another person in accordance with the House Rules." That was when I was given the heavy burden of being the temporary Presiding Officer (and NOT the Student Regent).

There was basis for then transferring the venue: the House Rules provide for it as the majority determined - Section I, Rule 4 which states that "No session of the meeting shall be convened in any place other than that specified in the Program of Activities without the consent of the majority of the student councils present." In consideration of the security threats presented by Regent Ramos and his angry, unruly mob of supporters, session was suspended and transferred to Teacher's Village. The venue was announced to those who were interested in pursuing the session - the majority - as was listed in the roll call made at 6:30 pm. It was never hidden; Regent Ramos and the minority deliberately chose not to participate.

Part of the Order of Business for session that Regent Ramos himself presented is the determination of a timetable for the SR selection process. Towards the end of session on the morning of November 14, 2005, that was discussed by the GASC and the date and venue were set for December 17-18, 2005 at the UPLB Campus in Laguna. That determination being made by the majority in observance of the House Rules makes it the legitimate selection timetable. Furthermore, the old CRSRS is no longer in force because a GASC majority in session amended it and ratified a new one for 2005. The CRSRS of 2004 has no ratification and hence is no longer valid.

2. Should any legal or administrative measure be taken against Ramos?

Surely legal or administrative remedies are in order. We cannot afford to be harsh critics of the Malacañang administration's alleged lapses of judgment if we ourselves do not know how to follow basic rules of procedure. It would be a shame for UP's reputation of being a catalyst for social change to do so with dirty hands. For us to gain the trust and respect of our people, we must be examples of good governance in our own backyard, and we must not tolerate blatant violations of the law.

3. Who do you think has to ultimately rule on which CRSRS should govern?

It is for the students to decide on which CRSRS to govern. On that premise, judgement has already been made because a majority of the student councils who attended the GASC chose to ratify the new CRSRS for 2005. However, the very decision of Regent Ramos to illegally uphold the old and unratified CRSRS is by itself courting administrative intervention, because in the long run the basis for the existence of the Office of the Student Regent is an Executive Order by Malacañang way back in the late nineties. Thus, due to the insistence of Regent Ramos on his own dictated rules in complete disregard of the majority of UP student councils, somewhere down the line someone has to study the issues at hand and thus make a determination on who is following the rules and who is twisting them.

As to who that body shall be - legal minds would be in the best position to answer. Whether it be the Board of Regents (of which Regent Ramos is a member) or a Philippine Court, or some other body tasked by law to correct this injustice - it shall come to adjudication.

Thanks!

Answers to MKule Questions

2005-11-17T20:02:00.000+08:00

Here is an emailed questionnaire by the Manila Collegian which I recently replied to. Still in connection with the UP General Assembly of Student Councils (GASC) last Nov. 12-14.

Peter John Navarro wrote:

Mr Albert Francisco Domingo, pakisagot po ng mga
questions enumerated here:

[Please correct the spelling of my name. It's Albert Francis Domingo. =) ]

Ano po ang masasabi niyo na "caucus" lang ang naganap
na assembly sa Teacher's Village, ayon na rin kay SR
Ramos?

Ako po'y nalulungkot sapagkat may sariling interpretasyon ang ating student regent sa house rules na rinatify sa Cebu pa noong Oct. 22-23, 2005. Ayon sa Section I, Rule 2: "A simple majority of fifty percent plus one (50% + 1) of all student councils present shall constitute a quorum for any session to do business. Only when a quorum is in existence can a formal session proceed." Noong nag-resume ang session ng GASC nung umaga ng Sabado, 44 councils ang nagrehistro. Noong nag-roll call muli ng bandang alas-6 o 6:30 ng gabi, 24 ang nagresponde at sumang-ayon na hindi pa tapos o kaya'y na-adjourn ang GASC. Ang simple majority ng 44 ay 23, kaya't sa bilang na 24 na sumagot sa roll call ay quorum pa rin. Bagama't ito'y ipinarating kay SR Ken, ito'y hindi niya pinakinggan. Inanyayahan siya na ituloy ang proceedings, at iyon ay kanyang tinanggihan.

May basehan rin ang paglipat ng proceedings mula sa UPD School of Economics patungo sa Teacher's Village. Malinaw na masusunod ang kagustuhan ng mayorya: GASC House Rules Section I, Rule 4 - "No session of the meeting shall be convened in any place other than that specified in the Program of Activities without the consent of the majority of the student councils present." Mayorya mismo ang humingi na ilipat sa ibang lugar ang session dahilan sa pagbubuyo, pangugulo, at pag-iingay ng isang mob.

Ang pagpayag sa pagpasok ng magulong mob sa mismong loob ng session hall kung nasaan nakalugar ang mga delegado ay isa pang paglabag sa House Rules na hinayaan at umano'y tinulungan pa ng student regent. (GASC House Rules Section I, Rule 12 - "All sessions shall be open to bonafide UP students who are not part of the GASC as observers, therefore having no power to participate in the proceedings of the assembly, provided that they can present a valid UP identification card and they will observe proper behavior. The presiding officer can limit the number of observers present." Emphasis supplied.)

Hindi rin daw recognized ang mga amendments na
na-adopt niyo in that session at hindi ito masusunod
sa SR seletion sa December.

Iyan po ay posisyon na hindi kinikilala ng mayorya ng GASC. Nakalulungkot po uli na ayaw pakinggan ng student regent ang boses ng nakararaming mga student council sa UP system; bagkus ay sinusunod niya ang minorya kahit ba mali-mali na ang kanyang pagbasa sa rules. Ibang klase at maling konsepto ng demokrasya ang kanyang pinapanigan - yung tipong walang pakialam sa pasya at kabutihan ng nakararami.

What time did the session in TEacher's Village started
and what time ended? Sino-sino rin ba ang mga student
councils na naroon?

Sino po ang nagpreside sa session na iyon?

Nagresume ang GASC session sa Teacher's Village eksakto 12:00 am ng Nobyembre 14, 2005. Natapos ito bandang 6:30 am ng araw rin na yun. Naroon ang (ang eksaktong attendance ay inilista ng isang temporary secretariat, ito ang nasa listahang-kamay ko): UP Diliman - USC, NCPAG, AIT, ENG'G, CS, CHK, MUSIC, ECON, STAT, CSSP, ILIS, BA; UP Manila - USC, MSC, NSC, CPHSC; UP Los Baños - USC, CDC, CAS, CEM, AGRI; UP Mindanao - USC, CSM, CHSS. Sa botohan ay mas marami sa 24 ang narehistrong boto sapagkat pinapayagan ng GASC House Rules ang proxy voting (Section V, Rule 38 - In the event of a member council's inability to attend, a designated representative may vote on its behalf provided that the said representative bears the appropriate authorization letter.). Kung isasama ang mga council na nakilahok sa pamamagitan ng authorization letter, nasa 31 ang bilang ng mga konsehong sumama sa resumption ng GASC sa Teacher's Village.

Noong nasa UPD School of Economics Auditorium pa lang, habang binubuyo't ginugulo ng isang mob sa loob mismo ng kwarto, minarapat ng GASC na ideklarang bakante ang posisyon ng Presiding Officer (hindi ang Opisina ng Student Regent) dahilan sa kanyang pag-iwan sa kanyang trabaho. (Inanyayahan si SR Ken na ituloy ang proceedings ngunit tumanggi siya.) Inihalal ako ng GASC bilang temporary Presiding Officer ayon na rin sa mga regulasyon ng parliamentary procedures at sa GASC House Rules (Section I, Rule 7 - "The Student Regent shall preside in all the sessions, unless the chair is relinquished to another person in accordance with the House Rules").

The OSR has already released a schedule for the next
SR selection and according to the memorandum of Ramos,
the GASC shall reconvene on December 20-21 as opposed
to the sked your group had set. Please comment on
that.

Nasa agenda ng GASC simula pa lang sa Cebu (na siyang agenda na kinilala rin ni SR Ken) ang "Timetable for the Student Regent Selection process." Pagkatapos pag-usapan ang mga amendments, pinag-usapan na rin ng GASC noong umaga ng Nobyembre 14, 2005 ang lugar at oras na pagdadausan ng SR selection, at ang napag-usapan ay sa UPLB Campus (specific venue TBA) sa Disyembre 17-18, 2005. Dahilan sa na rin sa mayorya at quorum ng mga UP student councils (at hindi "grupo ko") ang tumuloy ng session sa Teacher's Village at nagkaisa sa UPLB 12/17-12/18, iyan po ang tama at lehitimong proseso.

Sinabi ni SR Ramos na valid ang pagdeclare niya ng
adjourment of session nuong nov13 dahil may
prerogative at capacity siya to do so when abnormal
circumstances arise,at ang political tension at chaos
na nangyari nuong sunday ay isang halimbawa ng isang
extraordinary circumstance. Please comment.

Wala po kahit saan man - sa Parliamentary Procedure man o sa GASC House Rules na siyang dalawang basehan ng pagpapatakbo ng GASC - ang posisyon ni SR Ken na meroon siyang prerogative at capacity na mag-adjourn, anuman ang dahilan niya, nang walang pahintulot ng asamblea. Sa katunayan, linabag niya ang GASC House Rules sa ginawa niyang iyon sapagkat may tumutol sa umano'y adjournment niya at hindi niya inilagay sa botohan ang pagtutol na iyon. (GASC House Rules Section I, Rule 9 - "The sessions of the meeting shall not be suspended or adjourned except through majority vote of the student councils present.") Napakalinaw rin na ang pulong o asamblea lamang ang maaaring magpasara o mag-adjourn ng session, ayon na rin sa GASC House Rules (Section I, Rule 8 - "The Student Regent shall open a session by calling the house to order. When directed by the House, he shall close a session with the phrase 'the meeting is adjourned' or 'ang pulong ay itinitigil'." Emphasis supplied.) Walang pahintulot ng mayorya ng asamblea ang umano'y pag-adjourn na ginawa ng student regent.

Nakakalungkot na ang inaasahang modelong kabataan para sa paglaban sa bulok na pulitika na ating nasasaksihan sa mas malaking lipunan ay siya mismong lantarang lumalabag sa mga batas na itinakda para sa kabutihan ng lahat.

hope to receive your reply asap.urgent issue lang po.
                      thank you very much

On the recently-concluded GASC

2005-11-17T13:16:00.000+08:00

by Trisha - UP Diliman College of Science Student Council

The College of Science stands for, among other things, ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE. Therefore, it is only fitting that CSSC supports the CSSP-SC's bid to include good academic standing, the MINIMUM requirement and responsibility that the Filipino taxpayers entrusted to us as students when we entered the University, in the qualifications of a Student Regent candidate.

As so eloquently stated by G Ricasata of the CSSP-SC:
"Gusto ko ng isang Student Regent na nag-aaral AT naglilingkod; hindi lang nag-aaral o hindi lang naglilingkod."

(Something to that effect.)

Regarding the manner in which the GASC was carried out, in particular the controversial matter of voting - I, as a delegate to the GASC, voted to carry out a vote. I believe that no one in that body - not the Presiding Officer, not ANY SINGLE ONE present - could have said that "the body is not yet ready for a vote". The only way to check if the body is, in fact, ready to vote is by ASKING the members of that body. Let those that are ready to vote say "Aye" while those that feel that they need to hear or say more say "Nay". It is that simple. And yet, the vote was suppressed.

Parliamentary Procedures 101

2005-11-17T13:05:00.000+08:00

by Chris Lao, Vice Chairperson - UP Diliman University Student Council

Rules of parliamentary law are based on underlying principles such that at the end of the day, deliberative assemblies such as the General Assembly of Student Councils (GASC) conduct business and make decisions according to the will of the majority but with due regard for the rights of the minority, of individual members, of absentees and all these components combined. It is the best method yet devised to enable assemblies to arrive at the general will on a maximum number of questions of varying complexity in a minimum amount of time and under all sorts of internal conditions ranging from complete harmony to impassioned division of opinion. It is the best method that balances the right of every member to speak and the right of the assembly not to be unduly delayed. More simply, since these rules of order were carefully framed to ensure always the will of majority, any action without recourse to these would be a blatant disrespect to the assembly and a subversion of its will - the real deal behind the GASC fiasco from its opening session on Oct. 22 to its resumption on Nov. 13.

Given this, how on earth can some others actually say that such rules suppress the members' right to speak and that such rules do not expedite the process and hence we drop the procedures? Given that the parliamentary procedures had no way to go but to the will of the majority, it makes sense why the minority, who apparently would do anything to keep the SR selection mechanism to its favor, hold such contempt for correct procedures that will not tolerate their delaying tactics and instead favor the will of the assembly. However, it makes no sense at all why UP students (student leaders at that!) who claim to abhor the Congress we see and hear everyday of our lives doing misdemeanors left and right, are willing to be its prototype betraying the utter lack of delicadeza and moral degeneracy just so it could get what it wants even if it means subverting the rules and
suppressing the will of the assembly.

As such, although much time was spent on lecturing the presiding officer on parliamentary procedures, the bulk of it was actually spent on making him and some others follow them. Given such refusal to follow the rules, a member of the minority said to the USC Manila Chairperson "You shouldn't lecture the presiding officer," to which the reply of the USC Manila Chairperson was apt in that he said "I yield to that. I shouldn't lecture the presiding officer because he is expected to know this." The label "Mr. Chair" turned out to be a misnomer of cosmic proportions when we had to lecture him from proper handling of motions, obtaining and assigning the floor, rules governing debate and debatability of motions and even to the simple rules surrounding adjournment.

To begin the decision-making process, members offer proposals by making motions which will be decided by the body. Because they are to be decided by the body, the refusal to let the process move is disrespecting the councils who are to make the decision. The failure to act on such motions that are supposed to be put before the assembly for decision is a subversion of the decision-makers' voice. There was a myriad of instances when the councils were not allowed and entrusted of such decisions. First, I made a motion to make changes in the draft agenda that requires a majority vote which is a right recognized by the parliamentary authority. Six hours have passed yet the councils weren't allowed to decide for themselves whether they agree to my motion to prioritize resolutions such as the amendment to the voting mechanism as these directly affect the December SR selection process. Second, the motion by the CSSPSC Chairperson to lay on the table Aricle 2 section 2, which is an undebatable motion that requires majority vote, was never given back to the councils to decide whether they want it laid down or not.

Third, when CSSPSC withdrew the motion to lay on the table, several motions duly seconded were made to divide the house - again to give it back to the assembly to decide because clearly the trend has been to delay in the guise that things have not been exhausted since the first GASC session in UP Cebu until its extension here in UP Diliman. But as usual, these motions weren't given back to the councils to decide. They say that it is because objections are still being raised. Since the time limit has been breached and we know that we can not be in GASC for the rest of our lives, I said that if they want to debate still, they should raise a motion to extend debate the decision of which whether to extend or not would come from the councils themselves. If the councils think they haven't heard enough, they'd vote in favor of the motion to extend debate. If the will of the assembly is that it has heard enough and it is time to vote, why not let them decide?

Again, it was echoed, "Is there any motion to extend debate?" and we heard none so it was time to hear to will of the assembly. The motion has been made and has been duly seconded. Instead of acting on the motion, what did the presiding officer do? After rejecting wave after wave of motions, he again committed misconduct by not acting on the pending question which prompted the SESC Chairperson to invoke the parliamentary authority that
safeguards the assembly by having the section "Remedies Against Misconduct or Dereliction of Duty in Office", allowing her to make the roll call herself standing in her place after the presiding officer ignored the motion duly seconded and neither stated the question nor listened to the Point of Order raised by the maker of the motion continually ignoring the motion to divide the house duly seconded.

Lastly, the will of the assembly was prevented from being heard as to whether or not it wishes to adjourn given the pending amendments. The presiding officer never put it to a vote as written in the house rules and parliamentary authority and instead decided for himself. This led to the minority following the breach of house rules by the presiding officer and considered the assembly adjourned while the majority stuck with the rules and carried on with the amendments with a new presiding officer in replacement of the censured one on the grounds of dereliction of duty and breach of house and universal rules of parliament.

My message to those who threatened and continue to threaten the democracy and impartiality of the GASC is this: Much of our problems today are brought about by simply not following the rules. People evade taxes, commit culpable violations of our Constitution, engage in illegal activities, suppress the truth through grave abuse of power, and many more. This is being complained about everyday yet here lies the disrespect given to the student councils duly elected by subverting the will of the majority by refusing to follow rules and putting words on their mouths. And as if this was not enough, distortion of truth is being sowed through preemptive statements.

Henry M. Robert of Robert's Rules of Order said, "In a land perhaps most persons are members of one or more societies, some knowledge of parliamentary [procedure] may be justly regarded as a necessary part of education of every man and woman..." Isn't it funny that the same student leaders who do not want a minimum academic requirement and tolerate delinquent student regent nominees are the ones who disregarded the rules? Let us remember that we are students first and foremost.

I echo the call of the UP School of Economics Student Council to the UP students. Your right to be heard is being threatened! Fight for democracy and impartiality within the GASC! Fight for the LEGITIMATE and DEMOCRATIC selection of the next student regent!

Official Statement of the BUKLOD-UPLB on the GASC

2005-11-17T00:42:00.000+08:00

BUKLOD-UPLB expresses elation at the passage of key amendments to the Codified Rules on Student Regent Selection which will ensure a more democratic and meritorious Student Regent selection.

We welcome the granting of individual votes to each student council in the selection of the Student Regent. We also welcome the inclusion of a minimum academic requirement in the criteria for Student Regent nominees, as well as the non-inclusion of the KASAMA sa UP in the
selection process. The passage of these amendments will help to ensure a more democratic and meritorious Student Regent selection.

However, in spite of these landmark amendments, BUKLOD-UPLB expresses intense dismay at the conduct of certain individuals, including the incumbent Student Regent himself at the General Assembly of Student Councils (GASC).

We condemn in the strongest terms possible the violations of parliamentary procedure and the ratified House Rules which led to a chaotic and disorderly GASC. We take specific exception to the inaction of the Student Regent in sanctioning some observers who were actually holding demonstrations while the session was ongoing and even had the audacity to demonstrate on the plenary floor; a direct violation of the house rule barring any observers from being on the
floor while the session is ongoing.

We take further exception to the repeated non-issuance of rulings by the Student Regent when the occasion called for such. As a result, the sessions were unnecessarily prolonged, thus wasting the financial resources and time of the delegates.

The most flagrant violation of all was committed by the Student Regent himself when he violated Section I of the House Rules which state that no session may be adjourned without the consent of the majority. Despite persuasions by the majority of the delegates to continue the
session, the Student Regent ignored their pleas and adjourned illegally and illegitimately, thus prompting the majority to conclude the GASC under a temporarily appointed presiding officer consistent with parliamentary procedure.

BUKLOD is one with other student councils and political formations in the advocacy for reforms in the selection of the Student Regent. The selection process must be democratic and absolutely free of any involvement of any political formation. The process must, however, not undermine the essence of student leadership: balance between one's academic obligations and serving one's constituents. No amount of mockery, insult, or childish name-calling shall deter us from
advancing this advocacy.

ISULONG ANG MAKABULUHANG REPORMA SA OSR!

Freedom

2005-11-17T00:02:00.001+08:00

(KAISA statement on 2005 CRSRS)

At long last, broken are the chains of tyranny and deceit.

Tyranny is a foul evil, but tyranny masquerading as freedom is far worse. The Katipunan ng mga Sangguniang Mag-aaral sa UP (KASAMA sa UP) was an alliance of student councils established to advance reform through representation and democratic participation of UP students. It succeeded in this through the creation of the Office of the Student Regent, the sole student representative in the highest policy making body of the UP System, the Board of Regents. Its history is rich with examples of noble sacrifice to realize the lofty ideal of democratic participation through free discourse and involvement.

Alas, it was this same ideal that KASAMA sa UP would eventually betray, in its corrupt and degenerate state as the captive of a political bloc. As the tyrant that it became, it seized control of the Office of the Student Regent, by manipulating the selection process, and entrenching itself in the Codified Rules for Student Regent Selection (CRSRS). Firmly established in the system, it imposed its own political ideology on student councils, to perpetuate itself and crush all opposition. It prevailed despite several attempts to reform the process and the CRSRS. KASAMA sa UP remained unchallenged, until recently, when it found itself in the minority of the General Assembly of Student Councils (GASC).

Yet again, sweeping reforms of the selection process and the CRSRS challenged KASAMA sa UP, but unlike in earlier years, it was at a significant disadvantage, being the minority. Three key proposals threatened its tyrannical hold: addition of a minimum academic requirement for SR nominees; the removal of KASAMA sa UP from the CRSRS; and a new voting mechanism to allot one vote per student council. Thus, it was predictable for KASAMA sa UP to behave as it did.

Through SR Ken Leonard Ramos, KASAMA sa UP sought to undermine and sabotage the proceedings to amend the CRSRS. With Ramos' failure and refusal to preside over the proceedings properly and KASAMA sa UP members' filibustering and other delaying tactics, it took two days to adopt and ratify House Rules in UP Cebu. The GASC was then resumed in UP Diliman to tackle the proposals. Here Ramos consistently prevented the adoption of the key proposals, by not allowing the division of the house. Consequently, the majority was not able to vote. The GASC spent almost two days without acting on any major amendments. The intense clamor of the majority to be heard and allowed to vote, and the attempts of the minority to prevent it led to the breakdown of the proceedings. Ramos, in clear violation of parliamentary procedure and the House Rules, unilaterally adjourned the session, while KASAMA sa UP members barged in the session floor to stage a rally, in blatant mockery of the GASC. All delegates and observers were then dismissed.

Undaunted by their seeming failure to accomplish anything, the student councils forming the majority of the GASC nevertheless resumed the proceedings by appointing an acting presiding officer and moving to Teachers' Village. Since they formed a quorum as required by the House Rules, the GASC resumed the deliberations on the pending proposals, and adopted the three key proposed amendments as the 2005 CRSRS.

In light of the foregoing, KAISA - Nagkakaisang Iskolar para sa Pamantasan at Sambayan expresses its full and unwavering support for the 2005 CRSRS as amended and ratified by the GASC.

We strongly uphold the legitimacy of the amended 2005 CRSRS. The GASC then convened at Teacher's Village consisted of a quorum as defined by their House Rules. The acting presiding officer of the proceedings was duly elected by this quorum. Therefore, the actions of the assembly are in all counts official and legitimate, as their House Rules, established parliamentary procedure, and the minutes of the proceeding will show.

We are appalled at the inability and incompetence of SR Ramos, who failed miserably to preside over the GASC. Were it not for his stubborn reluctance – or refusal – to allow the GASC to vote on the proposals, the CRSRS would have been amended more speedily. Furthermore, we condemn the utter disrespect of parliamentary procedure and decorum shown by KASAMA sa UP members, some of whom include members of the UP Diliman University Student Councils. We expected more from our elected leaders. We were bitterly disappointed.

We fully support the progressive and democratic reforms enshrined in the 2005 CRSRS. We believe that these reforms will advance genuine student representation and democratic participation through the Office of the Student Regent. Significantly, the removal of a political alliance with vested interests from the selection process will open avenues that will allow maximum participation from student councils and their constituents.

We reaffirm our committment to the lofty ideal of democratic participation through free discourse and involvement. We firmly believe and seek to realize the principles of the original KASAMA sa UP. We understand that its noble history is a history of victories for the Filipino youth, which we aspire to emulate. The chains of tyranny that once bound us may be broken, but our struggle continues.

Uphold the reforms enshrined in the 2005 CRSRS!
Safeguard the victories of the Filipino youth!
Continue the struggle for democratic participation and genuine student leadership!

The Triumph of Reason

2005-11-17T00:02:00.000+08:00

The recently-concluded General Assembly of Student Councils (GASC) in our campus last weekend saw the triumph of reason against dogmatic belief. For the first time in history, we saw real reforms being instituted in the Codified Rules for the Student Regent Selection (CRSRS). This is a moment of triumph for the students of the University of the Philippines, as this makes the Student Regent (SR) selection process a step closer to being truly democratic and representative.

We have succeeded in making an SR candidate satisfy the minimum academic requirements of the University. This requirement is not repressive, because this same requisite determines our status as a student. This requirement merely reiterates our responsibility to the Filipino people, to repay their sacrifice by pursuing academic excellence and social justice, without prejudice to one or the other.

We have succeeded in removing the direct reference to a network of partisans in the CRSRS. Although we recognize the historical role of KASAMA sa UP in helping reestablish the Office of Student Regent (OSR), the CRSRS as enshrined in its statement of principles should not be biased in favor of one political affiliation and orientation. The removal of such direct reference represents our commitment to a truly broad and open participation of students regardless of political persuasion.

We have succeeded in giving our local college councils a voice in the selection process of the Student Regent. Empowering our local college councils does not, in any way, make the process of selecting a Student Regent divisive. In fact, it opens the door for greater consensus, as more leaders get to scrutinize the SRs-to-be, and discuss their merits in an atmosphere of respect.

No amount of nay saying and rancor generated by other groups could hide these facts. As we urge our fellow students to remain vigilant and protect our gains, we congratulate our progressive student councils and student leaders for their courageous stand to fight for reform, and see reason triumph in the GASC.

Alyansa ng mga Mag-aaral para sa Panlipunang Katwiran at Kaunlaran (ALYANSA)

Licensed to Lead

2005-11-17T00:01:00.000+08:00

One question posed during the General Assembly of Student Councils (GASC) in the deliberations of our proposed amendment regarding academic qualifications was:

If we are to choose between a student who has excellent leadership qualities and a student who fulfils his academic requirement, whom would we choose?

The College of Social Sciences and Philosophy Student Council maintains with the highest conviction that our Student Regent must possess both of the aforementioned qualities. In fact, what we see is the logical fallacy of false dilemma--a dichotomy should not have been pondered in the first place. A student leader, specifically our Student Regent must demonstrate competence in both leadership AND academics as he is both a student and a leader, therefore, a separation of the two functions must not be made. The duality of the ontological sense of the function must always be realized and should not falter. The need for the recognition of the fact is strengthened further given the context that we are in the primary academic institution of the country.

Clearly, this sense of genuine representation was undermined by muddling the issue of subjectivity and administrative intervention. We maintain that it is the students who determine their own grades through their performance. Furthermore, if the "student leader" can't fight for his or her own grades, how will he or she lead the studentry in pursuit of the sector's rights and welfare? The proposal is also safeguarded from intervention by making the semester prior to the nomination the basis for academic standing. Since the selection would take place in the second semester, how could there be administrative intervention considering that the basis for good academic standing will be from the first semester while it is yet to be demanded in the proceeding semester?

The recent GASC was a manifestation of how reform could triumph even with the most spirited attempt to hijack it. Councils united have culminated the years of struggle to introduce reforms into the Student Regent selection process. Finally, we could have a selection process that is truly democratic and representative.

We could only wonder aloud.

What is wrong with requiring our Student Regent to maintain the MINIMUM academic requirement? What is wrong in empowering local college councils in selecting a Student Regent? What is wrong in opening the Student Regent selection process to all, by removing a partisan network of ideologues?

This is the essence of reforming the Student Regent selection process, nothing more and nothing less. Trying to hijack reform is a disservice to students. No amount of feigned good intentions can ever mask it. No amount of bitter rhetoric can ever discredit our gains. No amount of name-calling can ever distract our efforts to make a Student Regent, OUR Student Regent, truly representative of our interests.

On the GASC: A Warning to All UP Students

2005-11-16T23:59:00.000+08:00

There is a crisis in the leadership of the UP student body. Certain student councils have sought to disrupt the amendments of the Codified Rules for Student Regent Selection. By doing so, they are condoning the rights and welfares of their own constituents. By doing so, they are threatening the integrity, legitimacy, and indeed, the very existence of the Office of the Student Regent.

During the November 13 session of the General Assembly of Student Councils, these student councils refused to abide by basic parliamentary procedures in order to conceal the will of the assembly. By repeatedly objecting to the calling of a vote, they effectively prolonged what should have been a simple parliamentary procedure.

Instead of enforcing the parliamentary rules and the complementary house rules, the Presiding Officer aided their violations on several counts. First, he failed to act on a motion put forth several times by the School of Economics Student Council. As such, he gave the SESC Chairperson no choice but to recognize the dereliction of the presiding officer's duty and to call a vote herself, in accordance with parliamentary procedures. [1]

Second, the Presiding Officer tried to adjourn the GASC before the agenda was completed. This act has several serious ramifications. To start with, the Student Regent as presiding officer of the GASC does not have the authority to adjourn the assembly without the consent of the body. [2] Next, and more importantly, the Presiding Officer, by seeking to end the assembly before the agenda was completed, attempted to disenfranchise the student councils whose amendments had not yet been discussed.

In a final insult to the assembly of student councils, the Presiding Officer sanctioned the disruption of the proceedings by allowing observers from the gallery to trespass into the assembly floor and conduct a rally. Such a tolerance of intrusion was a clear violation of the house rules ratified by the GASC on October 23 in UP Cebu. [3]

In the spirit of the GASC and as provided for by parliamentary rules, consensus-building takes superiority over division of the house. Yet, from the conduct of the first GASC session in UP Cebu until its extension in UP Diliman, it was clear that for several motions, reaching a consensus was virtually impossible. In such a scenario, parliamentary procedure has a simple and logical solution: the division of the house. Calling a vote allows the will of the majority to be respected without prejudice to the minority. By preventing this eventuality to occur, the will of the majority was subverted and democracy was undermined within the GASC.

Presently, there are allegations that certain student councils, including our own, have disrespected the Presiding Officer. We beg to differ. We maintain full respect for our Student Regent. It is, in fact, those student councils and delegates who refused to adhere to simple parliamentary procedures and house rules that disrespected not only the Presiding Officer, not only the Student Regent, but the General Assembly of Student Councils in its entirety.

A warning to all UP students:
Your right to be heard is being threatened!
Fight for democracy and impartiality within the GASC!
Fight for the LEGITIMATE and DEMOCRATIC selection of the next student regent!

UP School of Economics Student Council 05-06

__________________________
[1] Remedies Against Misconduct or Dereliction of Duty in Office. Robert III, H (2000) Robert's Rules of Order (Newly Revised) p 642.
"If the chair at the meeting ignores a motion apparently made and seconded in good faith, and neither states the question on the motions nor rules it our of order, the maker of the motion should raise a Point of Order covering the case, and from the chair's decision he can Appeal. If the Chair also ignores the point of order, the member can repeat the motion; and if it is seconded and the chair still ignores it, the maker of the motion can himself put it to a vote standing in his place. If the regular presiding officer of an organized society culpably fails to perform the duties of the chair properly in a meeting, a motion can also be made to censure him which could be put to a vote by the maker of the motion as just explained, if necessary."
[2] Ratified House Rules November 12-13, 2005. Section I-Session.
"The sessions of the meeting shall not be suspended or adjourned except through majority vote of the student councils present."
[3] Ratified House Rules November 12-13, 2005. Section I-Session.
"All sessions shall be open to bonafide UP students who are not part of the GASC as observers, therefore having no power to participate in the proceedings of the assembly, provided that they can present a valid UP identification card and they will observe proper behavior. The presiding officer can limit the number of observers present."

GASC successfully amends CRSRS

2005-11-15T13:02:00.000+08:00

After almost five days in session, in three different venues, the General Assembly of Student Councils (GASC) was successfully concluded yesterday morning with progressive and democratic reforms in the Codified Rules for the Student Regent Selection (CRSRS).

The GASC convenes on two occasions. First is to amend the CRSRS, and second is the actual selection of Student Regent nominee to be forwarded to the Board of Regents. The first assembly scheduled on October 22-23 in UP Visayas-Cebu failed to discuss the proposed amendments due to the long debates spent on the house rules and intense scrutiny of authorization letters of official delegates. The body was, however, able ratify the House Rules to complement the Rules of Parliamentary Procedure which would govern the discussion of the proposed amendments ensuring structure and order in the assembly.

And so the session resumed on November 12, 2005 at the UP Diliman–School of Economics. Much to the dismay of many councils who had to spend twice for transportation fares in just three weeks, a great amount of time in the continuation of the session was spent on circling debates primarily due to the inability of the presiding officer to facilitate the meeting. For his culpable failure to properly perform his duties in the assembly, culminating on the improper ruling of adjournment of session, objected to by members of the body, and without the necessary approval of 50% + 1 of the assembly as required by the House Rules, the position for presiding chair was declared vacant resulting to the election of a temporary officer who was to preside over the assembly for the rest of the session. Several councils on this occasion refused to participate but the body, being on a quorum, proceeded with the session. Due to logistical constraints and political tension of continuing the session at the School of Economics Auditorium, it was moved that the assembly be continued in Teacher's Village where the body was able to act on all the submitted proposals.

In brief, the GASC was able to amend the CRSRS by including good academic standing as a requirement for nominees for Student Regent; deletion of KASAMA sa UP, a political formation, and its functions from the CRSRS; and the changing of the mechanism allowing college and university councils one vote each in the selection of the Student Regent.

Given the approved amendments in the CRSRS, the students can be rest assured the selection of the next Student Regent will be based on a genuine and democratic student representation. The next GASC is scheduled on December 17-18 of this year.

GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF STUDENT COUNCILS (GASC) 2005
15 November 2005