In his article, Maragtas S.V. Amante, former dean of the U.P. School of Labor and Industrial Relations (SOLAIR), said, “U.P. lawyers who advise U.P. administrators seem sadly unaware of the social partnership model of industrial relations, which among others, call for union officers as governing directors and dialogue partners.”
He said further, “U.P. Vice President Theodore Te’s and Regent Abraham Sarmiento’s insistence for the faculty regent-elect to resign as union officer before taking the oath fit mostly in the mold of legalistic anti unionism of the 1950s, still found in current labor laws but overtaken by innovations in employment relations and decent work.”
Already a victory
“It’s an open knowledge that they [UP administration] prefer somebody not from the union, they want someone who has been part of the administration,” Taguiwalo said. “Sa totoo lang, may sarili silang kandidato.” (In truth, they have their own candidate.)
“Victory na ito, nanalo ako.” (It is already a victory that I won.)
On January 28, Taguiwalo attended her first BOR meeting at the Quezon Hall of UP Diliman.
Before the meeting, faculty members, staff, REPS and students expressed support for Taguiwalo. “The send-off helped set the tone for the discussion on my status as faculty regent and as union officer.”
Taguiwalo said that BOR and Commission on Higher Education Chair Emmanuel Angeles told her that she should resign as union officer and go on leave from the union during her term of office. Taguiwalo related, “As this was different from the original position of VP Te that I resign as officer and from the union, I asked the Chair if I understood it correctly that the Board is asking me to resign as union officer and go on leave from the union while I occupy the office of Faculty Regent. He replied, “The Board is requesting you to do so.”
Taguiwalo said she is still weighing her options, consulting with her constituents.
Taguiwalo told her fellow faculty members in a letter dated January 28, “I have heard from many of you regarding this impasse and the main message is that I should ensure faculty representation in the BOR without compromising any of our principles or of setting a precedence that will weaken our unions in the university.”
She said that if she refuse to agree to the ‘suggestion of the BOR’ that she resign as an officer and go on leave from the union, the BOR will then deliberate on this and will take a vote on whether they would allow her to sit in the Board or not. Taguiwalo said, “Given the composition of the BOR, I am positive that the vote will be in favour of the UP Administration’s position. It will become both a political and legal battle but in the meantime, I would not be part of the BOR and there will be no faculty representation.”
Another option is to resign as union officer to enable her to concentrate on her responsibilities as faculty regent and to go on leave from the union while the legal issue of conflict of interest is brought to the proper legal venue.
Taguiwalo said she would write the BOR about her decision soon. (Bulatlat.com)
