Former Secretary Mehol Sadain's Response on the Issue of Inquirer's "Ombudsman sacks 7 execs over Honasan’s pork barrel scam raps."

With empathy, I am sharing the post with spontaneous answers of a scholar in Philippine legal system and Islamic Jurisprudence in the Philippines who excelled in his fields of specializations, and have served the government in various key positions of authority as Dean of Institute of Islamic Studies of the University of the Philippines-Diliman, Commission on Elections (COMELEC) Commissioner, and National Commission on Muslim Filipinos (NCMF) with a rank of cabinet secretary. Prior to this controversy, what was only clear to me were the two-fold facts, to wit: 

• That he was a President BS Aquino's appointee who was open to supporting the President Duterte's war against drugs, and who was a constructive critique of the Aquino and Roxas leaderships, and;
• He implemented and liquidated in accordance with auditing rules the Senator Honasan's PDAF while those who did not implement the PDAF projects and got the money were not indicted before any court of competent jurisdiction.

Salaam! Concerned brother here. Just read this online. Please check: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/861699/ombudsman-sacks-7-execs-over-honasans-pork-barrel-scam-raps; http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/595498/news/nation/ombudsman-orders-dismissal-of-6-ncmf-execs-political-affairs-chief-over-pdaf-scam

Secretary Mehol Sadain wrote at my facebook page in the context of my private message to him on 12 January 2016 at around 4:01pm informing him about the online news articles on the issue at bar. And few hours thereafter, Atty. Mehol Sadain wrote this:

محول سادين

January 12 at 6:36pm · 

Brod Teng Catong, thank you for bringing this to my attention. By way of airing my side, here are my comments:

The Inquirer strikes again. In its internet edition today it came out with two (yes two) articles on the same topic of an administrative resolution issued by the Ombudsman on the PDAF of Senator Honasan, to stress it seems that I and other officials of the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos have been found guilty of grave misconduct and deserve to be dismissed from the service with all its attendant accessory penalties.

I should not be dignifying these charges and instead just face them before the proper judicial forums, were it not for the fact that the articles are designed to cast aspersion on our character and integrity without even airing our side. Written today, the two articles talk of a case written by the Graft Investigators of the Ombudsman on August 9, 2016 and approved by the Ombudsman herself on November 21, 2016. In other words, this is a repeat news and I really do not know why this is being resurrected today. To deflect some more damaging developments that some of the current officials are being indicted with a non-bailable offense of large scale estafa on the Haj Passport scam perhaps?

This repeat or rehashed news would like to make it appear that we defrauded the government of the PDAF funds of Senator Honasan by allowing the endorsed NGO, Focus, to implement the projects (6 of them fully implemented and liquidated) without going through a public bidding.

We have explained in our position paper which the Ombudsman never considered in its decision that bidding was impossible because the NCA or cash allotment lapsed every end of the month, hence, it was simply too short to prepare and complete a public bidding. Even a negotiated procurement would usually take 45 days. Second, procuring an NGO for the projects do not involve submitting the lowest proposal because the amount of the project is already determined at the Legislator's and DBM's level. Hence, it is simply to assure that the NGO chosen is legitimate and capable of undertaking the project. What we did in NCMF, given the time constraint, was to accredit the NGO by asking it to submit 14 documents to prove its legal existence and capability to do the project, which it did. In other words, the requirements of the public bid was substantially complied with by the accreditation process. And as proof that the NGO was capable, it implemented the 6 projects and liquidated the expenses with complete documentation required by COA. I do not see how this can be grave misconduct.

The news article also highlights what the Ombudsman did not consider in our position paper. That the check was made on May 30, 2012 even before the MOA was signed early June of the same year. What the Ombudsman did not consider were proofs that the accreditation papers of the NGO were already with NCMF a full month before May 30, the project was awarded by the NCMF Banc before May 30, and the only remaining requirement was the endorsement of the legislator of the NGO, which requirement we added to the accreditation papers. In the meantime, after May 30 the NCA was going to lapse again as it had already lapsed end of April. This was the reason why the check was already prepared with all documents already in, and only the endorsement was needed for the MOA signing. More importantly, what the Ombudsman did not mention in its resolution is that even if the check was dated May 30, it was not released until June 7 or after the endorsement and MOA were already in. Again, we do not see any grave misconduct here, because such acts were not attended by intent to defraud or any high degree of malice.

In spite these factual evidence, the Ombudsman remained blind to the truth we submitted to them and seemed bent on indicting and finding us guilty of all charges. It is a pity that the Ombudsman chooses to decide administrative cases only on the basis of paper submissions and does not go into full blown administrative hearings, but when it decides the case, it does not only publicize its non-final decision, but wants it immediately executed in spite the presence of a motion for reconsideration and the appeal to the Court of Appeals. Such punitive stand by the Ombudsman, immediate and merciless as it is, comes out of an in investigation for probable cause. But while the criminal aspect goes to the Sandiganbayan for a full blown trial, the punitive consequences of the administrative aspect are immediately executory. It is, however clear that when the Ombudsman makes such an administrative decision, it is the complainant, investigator and judge at the same time. Is this just?

Be that as it may, the Inquirer true to form, has taken up the story, more than a month after the decision came out. I am not privy to the games these people play. I can only come out with the truth.

This may not be a proper procedure in this case, but in Muslim courts we have the sacred oath called Yameen where a Muslim litigant takes an oath over the Holy Qur'an to attest to the truth of his position. Muslims do not take this oath lightly because it entails lying to GOD before the Qur'an if one is not telling the truth, and there are grave consequences to this.

In a move similar to this, I am almost tempted to challenge the Ombudsman and her graft investigators for us to take a solemn oath before our respective Holy Books that we are telling and interpreting the truth in the facts before us.

More specifically, if they really believe what they are saying in their decision, will they be willing to take an oath before the Holy Bible and before GOD that I and my companions committed fraud and took money, and therefore committed graft and grave misconduct when we entered into the PDAF MOA of Sen. Honasan?

Because I can take that oath before the Holy Qur'an and GOD anytime, as I have in my private moments done that already.

Romanticizing Jose Rizal in the Pens of the Former NHCP Chair: Not Appealing to the Millennials?

The National Historical Institute was replaced by the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) through Republic Act 10086 also known as “Strengthening Peoples’ Nationalism through Philippine History Act” approved on May 12, 2010.

Prof. Ambeth Ocampo was among its former chairpersons who is renown for promoting romanticism over nationalism and post-colonialism discourses.

Undeniably, the Philippine history of today is still focused on the life, works, and style of Rizal---as if nothing more important events that are worthy of academic historical revisionism than before and after Jose Rizal and Josephine Bracken’s romance?

This explains the misled national consciousness of romanticism over pre-colonialism, during colonialism, and post-colonialism towards lasting peace, inclusive growth, and sustainable development.

The Filipinos were and are being conditioned to forget more important historical questions especially the whys and the hows, and instead focusing---on chronology answering the questions of who, when, where, what questions---and making history a boring subject in schools, and historiography unpalatable.

No wonder, Jose Rizal was the United States’ conveniently sponsored hero for the Filipinos. This further explains why as a nation-state, it took this country more than 70 years reckoned from July 4, 1946 to declare a truly independent Philippine foreign policy in the context of the 1987 Philippine Constitution's Art. 2 sec. 7.

Thanks indeed to people’s president Duterte for his "high-octane power politics" in optimizing post-colonialism, postmodernism, and poststructuralism stance tempered with “historical injustices” leading to the truest liberation of Filipino people from colonialism and imperialism.

The Philippine history is dominated by the colonial-minded elites and the Filipino oligarchs who pretended to know everything about the struggle of the masses---much less the state of the Indios, the Infieles, and the Moros at the height of the conquest and colonialism of Spain, the misleading manifest destiny and colonialism of United States of America, the Asian pro-prosperity sphere and colonialism of Japan, and the Filipino oligarchs’ politicking and camouflaging their sponsored land-grabbing system.

Shifting from unitary to federal form of government is key.

Federalizing Philippine history will also help resolve the colonially inspired “historical injustices” by the imperial Manila-centric history of further dividing the people for their vested interests---manifested by the misleading “historical revisionism” by another former chairperson of the NHCP, Prof. Ma. Serena Diokno.

On "Historical Revisionism" and the President Duterte's Strategic Use of "Historical Injustice"

Although I am so busy with the final papers in the Ph.D. in Development Studies program here at the University of the Philippines-Los Banos, but I cannot resist and have to answer this thought-provoking questions of a scholar in Islamic Studies, Islamic Jurisprudence, and Philippine Law (COMELEC Commissioner) and former UP Institute of Islamic Studies Dean M. Sadain. These valid questions were originally posted in his facebook page which upon reading demanded my immediate response as part of my self-imposed social responsibility as a Muslim scholar in history and sustainable development. The questions were beautifully crafted in this manner, to wit:

"To our historians, please educate me. Is historical revisionism always bad? Or does it also serve a good purpose?

Take the skewed history of the Muslims in the Philippines in Zaide's book, or the scant attention it deserved in Agoncillo's (at least the edition I read in college) or the obviously colonial view Saleeby accorded it. If we revise some of these historical accounts, is that historical revisionism also? Or does historical revisionism signify changing established history by glossing over its narrative?

I ask because the Muslims of this country who respond to ethnic nomenclatures and have recently been identified as Moros or Bangsamoros collectively, very much desire to revise history as it was handed down to us by historians who saw Philippine history through colored lenses, so that history can also be rewritten from the eyes of the main protagonists themselves.

I ask because if we really delve into the history of these group of islands we now call the Philippines, we will see that the history of the Muslims in this country represents the core of the struggle against colonialism --- a core shaken by colonial intrusions but never subdued; a core originating from native roots instead of the vestiges of peninsular illustrado influence.

And unless we properly acknowledge this by revising our treatment of Philippine history, we can never tell a complete history of our struggle against colonialism and foreign interference.

So back to my initial question. Is this historical revisionism, and is it always bad?"

MY MODEST RESPONSE

HISTORICAL REVISIONISM is not at all times bad, and it really has something to do with HlSTORICAL CONTEXT and perspective of the historian. People's hero is other people's villain. Sometimes, the so-called nationalist historians commit a "selective amnesia syndrome." They seem to forget that it was during the Marcos presidency that the government caused the REWRITING of almost all our fundamental history books through an executive fiat and centers were created for that purpose with corresponding funds from the national government---PCAS of the University of the Philippines,  the Mindanao State University System, Zamboanga Normal School was converted to what we know today as the Western Mindanao State University, and other institutions were created in the light of promoting historical revisionism towards attaining peace, and national unity amidst diversity by educating the underprivileged sectors (the Moros) to become part of the mainstream of the Philippine society. 

Scholars were sent abroad to reinforce that purpose of revisiting the Filipino peoples' history. The Philippines recognized LAPU-LAPU and SULTAN KUDARAT as HEROES and later on Rajah Matanda, Rajah Baguinda, Rajah Sulaiman, et.al. who were presented in the Philippine history prior to Marcos as VILLAINS in their own lands and shores. This was followed by the declaration of Diego Silang, Gabriela Silang, Panday Pira, and other heroes who were apparently not coming from the mestizo heroes but coming from the Spanish categorization of Indios when the colonial government divided the people according to their reactions and responses to colonialization and Christianization and into three: los Indios referring to those or whose forefathers did not resist, los Infiles with reference to those who or whose ancestors did not fight and instead went up the hinterlands and some to the forested islands and islets, and los Moros referring to those who or whose forefathers fought and resisted Spanish colonialization and Christianization. 

Corrolarilly, history books were rewritten allegedly from the Filipino perspectives (which was centered on the Indios who later on used Tagalog as a medium of instruction and communication, and thereafter Pilipino which was the basis of President Quezon's order of Pilipino as the official language that the Visayans protested at the outset that was neutralized by incorporating some languages to form part of the evolution of Filipino's national language of today) in various forms and approaches that led the HISTORICAL REVISIONISM and at some point DECONSTRUCTION and RECONSTRUCTION of history in the late 60s and 70s resulting in the postcolonialists and nationalist history using Philippine historiography for instance: The Roots of the Filipino Nation by then UP President and MECS Minister O.D. Corpuz, College of Arts and Sciences Dean C. A. Majul's the Constitutionality of the Philippine Revolution, UP Department of History Chairperson Prof. Agoncillo's History of the Filipino People, Dr. Z. Salazar's Pantayong Pananaw, R. Constantino's Venerating Without Understanding, and countless Filipino historians and social scientists to include Pascual, Agpalo, Medina, Evangelista, Guerrero, Cortes, Tan, Ileto; and all other historians commissioned by President Marcos to rewrite history from the perspective of the development Filipino as a people as a vehicle to his New Society that revised and departed from the very colonialist and some point colonially inspired history books of Zaide and the like who served as the apologists of the colonizers. 

The discourse of who the national hero should be is still on-going in various forms and spaces. Understandably, in all those national government efforts through the National Historical Institute of yesteryears and the highly politicized National Historical Commission of today as well as in some academic institutions, the discourses of heroes and heroism continued, and the Moros were still marginalized and often presented as the others if not villains. The Moros with pejorative connotations attached to pirates, slave raiders and traders, marauders, among others did not change notwithstanding the liberation of the Philippines from the iota of historical ignorance.

There seems to be a worst carry over of those prejudices by the Indios and mildly by the Infieles against the colonial mentality of the others. The Moro-Moro with some modification in usage was and still is often used in books and in various media with reference to the Zarzuela or Moro-Moro play of the Spanish colonial era. It was only during after the advent of CONVISLAM as an organization of concerned Muslims following Dr. C.A. Majul's reversion or conversion to Islam that scholarly works on Moros and Muslims were given a little attention by the Filipino majority when he wrote the Muslims in the Philippines in 1968 and republished by the UP Press in 1973, the Contemporary Muslims in the Philippine which was purposely not made available in the Philippines up until the later part of the Martial Law because of the fear of the government that it could soften the impact of the government campaigns against the Muslims in the Philippines, and followed by more than a hundred of published works on Muslim-Christian relations using Asian Historiography which is distinct from the Philippine historiography and perspective of Dr. C. A. Majul that gained respect internationally and even led to a lot of dialogues with the Pope and other Church and other non-sectarian leaders of his time in the Asian universities and in the Western academia that led to his accolade as the "University Professor Emeritus" of the University of the Philippines. 

In short, GIANTS in Philippine History and Social Sciences of today were products of HISTORICAL REVISIONISM by revising the history which was allegedly colonially-inspired if not made and transformed to the national language which happened to be Tagalog and Manila-centric to the Kasaysayan ng bayan that is now gaining momentum in the arena of historical discourse. 

What is clear to me as a researcher-educator in political science, policy and sustainable development specialist, and a serious student of history is that the Moro and Philippine Muslim perspectives of history up to this time are greatly marginalized and isolated. I speak and write in eight out of the 13 ethnolinguistic Moro languages in the Philippines tempered with their respective cultures, and practicing the Islamic way of life to the best of my ability, and at the same time an advocate of peaceful coexistence of people regardless of cultures, beliefs, religions, color, gender, age---I saw and still seeing a lot of the deliberate HISTORICAL DISTORTIONS of MORO HISTORY---that if not RECTIFIED could pose some serious challenges in the future that will be beyond us anymore.

Hence, my crucial and life changing decision in 2000 of not taking the bar exams and instead pursue my masters degree in History and thereafter a Ph.D. in History program at UP Diliman in order to present a Muslim historiography viewed from within and not from without---because I still maintain that any development endeavor that is not anchored on people's history from within is doomed to fail.

As I continue my journey of helping people and institutions in further understanding the Muslims in the Philippines, various historical narratives were rewritten in an attempt to pollute the already perverted history of the Moro people by no less than the historians of their former rivals in the sphere of prowess---and the lack of it.

Importantly, I agree on some points advanced by some pseudo historian's claim on the rewriting of Muslim history in the Philippines, except that the Philippine historiography as it was in the past and up to this juncture is molded not as an accommodating platform for the Moros and Muslims to present their history as it happened and from their perspective to form part of the Philippine history. Thus, C.A. Majul attempted to use another historiography, other methodologies, and alternative sources from within. However, he was overtaken by events, and left a lot of unfinished business for research works worthy of intellectual discourses for their positive utilization. 

President Rodrigo Roa Duterte used "historical injustice" of the Moros by the American colonizers in the Philippine islands as his weapon through his "high-octane powered politics" as a strategic move towards declaring an independent foreign policy in the context of ART. 2, sec. 7 of the 1987 Philippine Constitution towards lasting peace, inclusive growth, and sustainable development.

The best is yet to come, in sha Allah!

UP President Alfredo Pascual’s Speech at Feb. 10 Turnover Ceremonies

Alfredo E. Pascual President, University of the Philippines Speech during the Turnover Ceremonies 10 February 2011, Quezon Hall, Quezon City Mapagpala at mapagpalayang umaga sa inyong lahat. Binabati ko ang mga miyembro ng Lupon ng Rehente, si Pangulong Emerlinda Roman, mga dating rehente, mga dating Pangulo ng pinakamamahal nating unibersidad, mga dati at kasalukuyang opisyal ng UP, kaguruan, kawani, estudyante, ang aking mga kaibigan, kamag-anak at miyembro ng pamilya. Ladies and gentlemen. First and foremost, let me thank all those who have given me their trust and confidence. Thank you for this opportunity to serve our beloved Alma Mater. It will be an honor for me to build upon the legacy of UP’s past leaders. My predecessors have done much in setting the stage for the second century of UP’s existence. We take note, in particular, the contributions of my immediate predecessor, the first and, so far, only woman to be at the helm of our University. President Roman pushed the envelope for research in science and technology. The other accomplishments were described in her valedictory speech and these we do recognize. Under my administration, our plans and programs will be guided by the vision statement that accompanied my acceptance of nomination for the UP presidency. That vision will mark our path for the next six years. What is that vision? We want to see UP as a GREAT university in the 21st century: A university that takes a leadership role in the development of the country, while anchored on academic excellence. A university that has a strong research capability, supported by an expanded graduate program, unshackled by sectarian constraints or commercial interests, and geared to addressing societal problems. A university that has excellent faculty and staff working in an environment which inspires outstanding performance and high productivity, and provides decent compensation and equitable benefits. A university that recruits students from among the best and brightest and provides them affordable tertiary education. A university that prepares its students for successful careers and responsible citizenship in a globalized world. A university that takes a quantum leap in the physical development of its campuses and their technological infrastructure for teaching, research, and administration A university that achieves financial sustainability by generating needed resources and managing costs efficiently, while preserving its public character. A university that is a model for good governance to the country it serves. My vision for UP as a great university is anchored on the UP charter of 2008, which declares UP as the national university of the country. The new charter mandates UP to perform a leadership role in higher education and national development. UP is expected to serve and lead as a graduate university, as a research university, as a public service university, and as a regional and global university. As the first President to be elected under the 2008 charter, I intend to fully utilize the enabling provisions of the charter in realizing my vision for UP. To help me bear the weight of the UP Presidency will be a team of accomplished UP professors who will serve as my Vice Presidents. For the record, I have not worked with, nor am I personally close to, any one of my designated Vice Presidents. But the basis of our relationship going forward is clear. I expect them to share my vision. I require their loyalty not to me as a person but to our shared vision of remaking our beloved University. At this point let me introduce quickly the men and women who will constitute my team: Vice President for Academic Affairs: Dr. Gisela Concepcion, Marine Science Institute Vice President for Administration: Dr. Maragtas Amante, SOLAIR Vice President for Development: Dr. Elvira Zamora, College of Business Administration Vice President for Legal Affairs: Atty. Danilo Concepcion, College of Law Vice President for Planning and Finance: Dr. Lisa Grace Bersales, School of Statistics Vice President for Public Affairs: Dr. Prospero de Vera III, NCPAG Secretary of the University and the Board of Regents: Dr. Lilian de las Llagas, College of Public Health, UP Manila To continue with my talk, allow me to share further thoughts on some key points of our vision for UP. On relevance. As the national university, UP must give paramount consideration to national concerns. UP has a historic commitment of service to the Filipino nation. We shall continue to provide a fertile ground on which to nurture and harness the creative and innovative talents of our people in science and the arts. In the 21st century, we shall also help the country become a significant and positive player in global society through innovation. UP must be heard and seen by the nation. Our experts in various units of the University have already been doing excellent work in addressing policy issues and getting their voices heard. We shall institutionalize a system by which our experts can provide a multi-disciplinary approach to problem solving and policy making. On research. To be able to truly impact national development, UP must upgrade its research and development (R&D) capability, building it up from its existing and promising centers of excellence. Through R&D, we shall work to find innovative solutions to problems of the country, our people and our industries, and introduce technology-based products to create new industries that can spur job creation. Our faculty members produce research and creative outputs in the natural and social sciences, humanities, and the arts. We shall have a program to communicate these outputs in an accessible language. This will facilitate their easy application by our people and industries. In addition, we shall protect the intellectual properties coming out of our laboratories and facilitate technology transfers that will yield fair economic benefits to our researchers and the University. On our faculty and staff. UP must recruit, maintain and develop the best academic staff. Through incentives and professional development programs, we shall entice our best graduates and the best graduates of other great universities in the country to commit themselves to professional careers in the University. Our personnel are a precious resource of the University. We shall observe employment terms that are fair to all categories of staff. In due course, we shall review the principle and practice behind the UP compensation system. The review will emphasize the links between productivity, equity, motivation and improvements in compensation, especially the non-cash components, such as housing and healthcare. Performance-based incentives will also be explored. On our students. Surely, UP must admit only the best high school graduates in the Philippines. But as the national university, UP must also take steps to adopt an inclusive policy that democratizes admission. We shall work with local political leaders in preparing top high school graduates in provincial areas to compete for UP admission. Much as UP is badly in need of funds, raising tuition fees in our undergraduate and research programs will not be our default solution. Our students must remain as Iskolar ng Bayan – enjoying an excellent but affordable tertiary education in a public university. Sometimes qualified students are forced to forego a UP education because of financial inadequacy. We shall do our best to prevent this. We shall strengthen our scholarship and financial assistance programs to provide adequate and timely need-based support. With globalization, our graduates will be working in a fast-changing world in the age of information. Through curricular reviews, we shall ensure that our students develop the capacity for critical thinking; for continued learning; and for effectively dealing with ambiguity, complexity and uncertainty. In addition, as the national university, UP must also prepare its graduates for leadership roles in the country or in their respective disciplines and professions. We shall ensure that our curricula and teaching methods are designed appropriately to respond to these needs. A strengthened general education program should enable our students to develop broader perspectives and a cross-disciplinary orientation, sound ethical standards, the values of good citizenship and, hopefully, a strong bias for serving the country. On financial sustainability. For UP, financial sustainability is a serious concern given the need to modernize its campuses, retain talents in its faculty, and achieve a world-class research university status. Under the 2008 charter, for instance, UP may get out of the ambit of the Salary Standardization Law and fix competitive salaries for its faculty. But for us to do this, we must be sure of a reliable inflow of extra funds, beyond our annual budget, to sustain the increased funding requirements. For this we need to build up sizeable endowment funds and/or implement sufficient revenue-generating activities. To illustrate, for us to provide our close to 4,000 faculty members an extra pay of just P100,000 annually on average, we need a commercial venture that provides an annual income of P400 million or an endowment fund with a corpus of no less than P8 billion (assuming a 5% annual return). In reality, we need multiples of the illustrative amounts given. On generating funds. Many say the problem is availability of fund sources. That is true in some sense. But we have to look also at what we present for funding. My banking experience tells me that good, bankable projects seldom have problems getting funded. We shall thus exert efforts to formulate our projects and programs very well in order to attract funders, be they the government and its agencies, donors, investors, corporate organizations, or international institutions. The new charter provides for 150% tax deductibility of donations to UP. In an era of rigorous tax enforcement, this incentive can serve as a material inducement to prospective donors. On government funding. UP needs a long-term funding commitment from the government over and above what is currently being allotted to it annually. We shall try to get this commitment by preparing a long term strategic development plan that builds the case of UP as a key player in national development. On development of idle properties. As a land grant university, UP has around 18,000 hectares of idle lands mostly from government. We shall pursue the development of these assets in partnership with the private sector to generate extra revenues for UP. Such partnerships for commercialization of assets should be distinguished from commercialization of education, which is not at all acceptable. We shall observe proper safeguards to maximize the financial gains of UP from its assets. These extra revenues should not replace, in whole or in part, the annual appropriations provided to UP by the national government as assured in the 2008 charter. On our alumni. Our alumni are an untapped resource for funds and expertise. We shall strengthen our alumni relations in a seamless cooperation with the UP Alumni Association. We shall make our alumni feel they are valued members of the UP community. We shall not scrimp in giving our alumni achievers due recognition. Our goal is to promote among our alumni a culture of giving back to the University. On efficient administration. It is one thing to raise funds; it is another to use funds efficiently. UP must ensure that wasteful expenditures are checked and administrative processes (such as procurement and hiring) are expedited. The use of information and communications technology (ICT) to reduce voluminous paperwork will be a key to achieving administrative efficiency. There are opportunities to also save on power bills, while transforming UP into a “green” zone. We shall also implement productivity improvements among staff through the creative use of technology and regular training for honing skills and changing mind-sets. On democratic governance. We shall observe the principles of democratic governance based on collegiality, representation, transparency, predictability, and accountability. In the management of funds and other resources entrusted to the University, responsible stewardship and ethical conduct shall additionally characterize good governance. The work ahead will not be easy, given the eclectic character of the University and the administrative and financial challenges we face. But with the faculty, research and administrative staff, students, and alumni joining hands with us to move the University forward, I am sure we will make much headway with our vision. The Office of the President will keep its communication lines open to the UP community. I would love to hear your views, comments and suggestions. In closing, let me paraphrase the song Tagumpay Nating Lahat: Together, let us reach out to the highest star. Our success will be a triumph for all. I now call on my team: let us go to work and lead in this quest of making UP a great university – the best in the country and one of the best in Asia and the world. Maraming salamat po. Source: http://www.up.edu.ph/upforum.php?i=350

New President of the University of the Philippines

Congratulations!

UP-Diliman Alumnus from Mindanao Supports the Views of UP Centennial President

At hindsight, Faculty Regent Esnaen M. Catong of the Western Mindanao State University---who is an alumnus of the country's premiere university---in various fora in Mindanao shared with the views of the members of the UP community; and supported the UP President in her December 7, 2009 statement, to wit: ENHANCING TRANSPARENCY, RESTORING TRUST

Monday, December 7, 2009 UP President Emerlinda R. Roman

Mindful of the need to safeguard and protect the fundamental rights of all those residing in the region affected by the declaration of martial law in Maguindanao, the University of the Philippines urges the government to exercise the strictest discretion in carrying out the enormous power at its disposal as a result of the proclamation, and the greatest transparency in the decision-making process. While there is a need to achieve a just resolution to the brutal and merciless killings that shocked the nation less than a month ago, the University of the Philippines believes that the proclamation of martial law should be resorted to only if all else has failed. The University of the Philippines as the national university, with the highest traditions of public service, calls on both Houses of Congress to immediately exercise their constitutional power to review the factual basis for the President‘s proclamation, without regard to any political affiliation, and with regard only to what is right and what is just. We also call on the Supreme Court to speedily resolve, with great fairness and the highest degree of judicial scholarship, all cases that may be filed questioning the proclamation. More than at any other point in time, what the country needs is an opportunity to trust its public institutions. The University of the Philippines joins the Filipino people in hoping that this trust might soon be restored. Signed by EMERLINDA R. ROMAN President University of the Philippines System http://up.edu.ph/features.php?i=169

I'm Back

I'm Back...

Best Regards to all.