REPORT

ON THE 1300
TH
BOARD OF REGENTS MEETING
28 AUGUST 2014, 9:10 AM
EXECUTIVE HOUSE, UP DILIMAN


APPROVAL OF THE PROVISIONAL AGENDA

Student Regent Neill John G. Macuha moved that Item V.A.2 of the provisional agenda
pertaining to the response letter of Vice President for Development Elvira Zamora be
removed, hoping that the matter be settled between them first. Chair Licuanan agreed and
the Board approved the motion of the student regent.

MATTERS ARISING FROM THE PREVIOUS MINUTES

1299
th
Meeting, 31 July 2014

Confirmation and Notation of the Board of Regents of the Minor Edits and Adjustments in
Format to the UP Master Development Plan: Development Principles and Guidelines
Approved by the Board at its 1299
th
Meeting held on 31 July 2014

Vice President Zamora presented to the Board some adjustments to the Development
Principles and Guidelines of the UP Master Development Plan. Part of the vice presidents
submission reads:

In this submission, we have further included as first paragraph of Section
2.1 Policy Formulation (p.1, Introduction) an amplification of this principle:

The formulation of the UPMDP requires the active participation of UP
constituents. Throughout the process of developing the plan and its
components, consultation with various and key stakeholders shall be
conducted.
1


SR Macuha asked for the Board to defer the implementation of the guidelines in order to
give way to consultations stated above, as there may have been inputs in the guidelines
should the consultation process push through first. VP Zamora argued against the said
proposal. According to her, there were already sufficient consultations with the
stakeholders, and that the guidelines are needed to prevent the sporadic constructions

1
A copy of Vice President Zamoras submission is included in the Provisional Agenda of 1300
th
Board
meeting.

being done. Chair Licuanan sided with VP Zamora, stating that as much as she and the
rest of the Board values consultation, this may hinder some projects being done and may
have paralyzed implementation of those to be built.

In order to accommodate the point of the Student Regent, Regent Magdaleno Albarracin
Jr. suggested that the Office of the Vice President for Development be open for suggestions
with regards to the guidelines. He noted that the application of the said document be not
by the book as the constitution may be, and have some flexibility to welcome inputs from
stakeholders. The Board accepted Regent Albarracins suggestions and confirmed the
minor edits stated above.

Motion for Reconsideration in Connection with the University of the Philippines/University
of the Philippines Manila/Philippine General Hospital Health Insurance Program Approved
by the Board at its 1299
th
Meeting held on 31 July 2014

An addendum to the provisional agenda, Staff Regent Anna Razel Ramirez presented to
the Board the Motion for Reconsideration of the All UP Workers Union Manila (see
attached). She highlighted two main points: first, that the Board violated the Collective
Negotiation Agreement or CNA between the union and the UP Administration when it
approved the said insurance program and, second, that Philippine General Hospital (PGH)
Director Dr. Jose Gonzales has no authority to re-channel the PhilHealth share being given
to health workers of PGH, as mandated by law, contrary to what was written in the concept
paper of the proposal presented by Dr. Gonzales to the Board.

President Pascual was swift to clarify that the union leaders and the rest of the board must
refer to what the Board had approved and not on what was written on the concept paper.
According to the president, the Board had only permitted that no money shall ever be
brought out of the pockets of the health workers, hence this must be followed. In addition,
he argued that, according to Dr. Gonzales, the PhilHealth share of the doctors from PGH
was the source of capitalization that the insurance scheme will use, not that of the rank
and file health professionals.

Regent Sen. Pia Cayetano, one of the authors of the PhilHealth Law, fears that such law is
silent on how the PhilHealth share be distributed among employees. She inquired
nevertheless on the authority of the PGH Director to allocate funds to be received by
doctors to the Health Insurance Scheme. The same was echoed by Faculty Regent Lourdes
Abadingo, stating that the Board may be legally liable for approving a policy contrary to law.
SR Macuha added that there may be additional liability as the union claims that the CNA
was violated.

President Pascual clarified that the union had already brought the matter to his attention
on an earlier appointment, so a consultation with them may suffice. It was also at this time
that he realized the merits of the points raised by the four Regents. Before deciding on the
prayer of the union, Chair Licuanan asked for the opinion of the Vice President for Legal
Affairs Atty. Danny Uy. According to him, when his office first analyzed the case, the scheme
seems to be legal. However, due to new facts being presented in the case, i.e. the authority
to re-align the doctors share for PhilHealth reimbursements, VP Uy said that they shall
revisit the instant case. The Board agreed to wait for the results of the review, before
deciding on the motion.



GENERAL GOVERNANCE

Appointment of University Officials

The Board appointed the following officials:

ATTY. JONATHAN P. SALE, lone nominee, as Dean, School of Labor and Industrial Relations,
UP Diliman.

DR. CELIA DR. MEDINA, lone nominee, as Director, Crop Protection Cluster, College of
Agriculture, UP Los Baos.

DR. FELINO P. LANSIGAN as Dean, College of Arts and Sciences, UP Los Baos.

DR. RESURRECION, B. SADABA, lone nominee, as Dean, College of Arts and Sciences, UP
Visayas.

Selected among the four nominees through a consensus. Dr. Lansigan was recommended
by Chancellor Cruz of UP Los Baos, citing the Search Committees recommendation. The
college student council also sent a letter of recommendation for Dr. Lansigan, through SR
Macuha. President Pascual noted that all recommendations be sent to the Search
Committee instead, and said that it was a good thing that the council are one in supporting
the new Dean to prevent complications.

OTHER MATTERS

The Board agreed the agenda of subsequent Board meetings shall be released by the
Office of the Secretary of the University or OSU five working days before the scheduled
meeting. Should the OSU fail to comply, or on other matters that were not studied by any
sectoral Regent because of late release, it was agreed upon that such matters be deferred
to give way for consultations by the Faculty, Student or Staff Regent.


For the students and the people,





NEILL JOHN G. MACUHA
Student Regent

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C CS SC C/ /D DO OL LE E C Ce er rt ti if fi ic ca at te eo of f R Re eg gi is st tr ra at ti io on n N No o: : 4 48 8s s. .1 19 98 88 8/ /A Ac cc cr re ed di it te ed d: : A Au ug gu us st t 7 7, , 2 20 00 01 1/ /T TI I N N 2 21 19 9- -7 79 97 7- -9 93 32 2- -0 00 00 0
( (M Ma an ni il la a C Ch ha ap pt te er r) )
University of the Philippines



2/F (FrontingCENICU)Central Block Bldg. Philippine General Hospital, Taft Ave., Manila
(+632) 404-3721 or 554-84-00 Local 3278 aupwumla@yahoo.com
Web Log: http://aupwu.blogspot.com





12 August 2014


THE HONORABLE MEMBERS OF THE BOARD OF REGENTS
University of the Philippines


Dear Sir/Madam:


MOTION FOR RECONSIDERATION


COMES NOW the complaint of All UP Workers Union-Manila, RE: Implementation of University of
the Philippines-University of the Philippines-Manila- Philippine General Hospital Health Insurance
Office (UP-UP Manila-PGH HIO) and hereby files this motion for reconsideration from the judgement
rendered by the University of the Philippines-Board of Regents (UP-BOR) on 31 July 2014 by virtue on the
grounds of errors of law and fact in judgement which was not deliberately and substantially discussed
during the said UP-BOR meeting.



GROUNDS FOR THE MOTION FOR RECONSIDERATION:


All UP Workers Union-Manila seeks a RECONSIDERATION of the Decision on the following grounds:



1. The UP-UP-Manila-PGH Health Insurance Office violates Section 27 of the Magna Carta of
Public Health Workers or Republic Act 7305 on Medical Examination stating that where medical
examination shows that medical treatment and/or hospitalization is necessary for those already in government
service, the treatment/hospitalization including medicines shall be provided free (either in a government or a
private hospital) by the government entity paying the salary of the public health workers.

2. The UP-BOR violates Collective Negotiation Agreement (CNA) Article 1, Section 6 on the
Declaration of Principles entered into by and between the University of the Philippines and the All UP Workers
Union on 12December 2008 stating that the Union shall be involved/consulted in the formulation of policies,
plans and programs affecting the rights, career development, welfare, and benefits of employees. UP
recognizes the process of consultation as part of the democratic process of knowing the sentiments of its
constituents before arriving at a decision.

3. Item VII Fund Source/Capitalization of the Concept Paper UP-UP Manila-PGH Health
Insurance Office provides that the initial allocation of P21 Million from UP-PGH will be taken from the
PhilHealth professional fees of physicians from charity cases.

However, there is no law authorizing the UP-PGH Director or the UP-BOR to allocate the PhilHealth
payments for professional services as initial allocation for the UP-UP Manila-PGH HIO.

4. Under Section 34-A of the National Health Insurance Act of 2013 (R.A. 10606) the following
is provided:

All payments for professional services rendered by salaried public providers shall be allowed to be
retained by the health facility in which services are rendered and be pooled and distributed among health
personnel. (emphasis supplied)

The above-stated provision is substantially reproduced in Sec. 44 of the IRR of R.A. 10606. The law is
clear. PhilHealth payments for professional services rendered by salaried public providers shall be pooled and
distributed among the health workers, in this case, of UP-PGH. This forms part of their compensation.


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C CS SC C/ /D DO OL LE E C Ce er rt ti if fi ic ca at te eo of f R Re eg gi is st tr ra at ti io on n N No o: : 4 48 8s s. .1 19 98 88 8/ /A Ac cc cr re ed di it te ed d: : A Au ug gu us st t 7 7, , 2 20 00 01 1/ /T TI I N N 2 21 19 9- -7 79 97 7- -9 93 32 2- -0 00 00 0
( (M Ma an ni il la a C Ch ha ap pt te er r) )
University of the Philippines



2/F (FrontingCENICU)Central Block Bldg. Philippine General Hospital, Taft Ave., Manila
(+632) 404-3721 or 554-84-00 Local 3278 aupwumla@yahoo.com
Web Log: http://aupwu.blogspot.com




5. In recognition of the nature of such funds, the BIR, in fact, subjects it to income tax. BIR
Revenue Memorandum Circular No. 21-2005 states:

The public health institution, upon distribution of their share from PhilHealth to their medical and non-
medical personnel, shall be responsible for the withholding of tax on compensation, the issuance of Employers
Certificate of Compensation Payment/Tax Withheld (BIR Form No. 2316) and the submission of Annual
Information Return. Such share from PhilHealth shall form part of compensation income for the taxable year
subject to appropriate withholding tax rate."

6. As the law specifically provides how the PhilHealth payments for professional services are to be
used, the UP-PGH Director or the UP-BOR have NO AUTHORITY to use such funds for another purpose.
Doing so will make the UP-PGH Director and the UP-BOR liable for violation of Article 220 of the Revised
Penal Code.

Under Article 220, the crime of Illegal Use of Public Funds or Property, more commonly referred to as
technical malversation, is committed when any public officer shall apply any public fund
1
or property under
his administration to any public use other than for which such fund or property were appropriated by law or
ordinance.

The PhilHealth payments for professional services are public funds to be pooled and distributed to the
employees of UP-PGH. This is mandated by law. Allocating the said funds for the health insurance program
which is a purpose other than what is provided by law makes the proponents and implementers liable for
technical malversation.

7. All UP Workers Union-Manila believes that the UP-UP Manila-PGH HIO DOES NOT reflect
the majority stand of UP-Manila constituents as indicated by the result of the survey conducted by the UP-PGH
showing that ONLY 27% (1362 out of 4,931 total number of employees) approved to the said Health
Insurance program.



PRAYER


WHEREFORE, All UP Workers Union-Manila stands by its position that the UP-UP Manila-PGH HIO is
NOT a solution to address the UP-PGH health care needs and therefore pushed for the implementation of
Section 27 of the Magna Carta of Public Health Workers or Republic Act 7305 on Medical Examination.


WHEREFORE, All UP Workers-Manila believes that the University of the Philippines should provide a
comprehensive medical insurance that WOULD NOT compel the employees to shell out any financial
responsibility and thus would provide free hospitalization to all UP employees.

WHEREFORE, it is most respectfully prayed that the PETITION be considered by the most respectable
UP-Board of Regents.


Respectfully yours,






ELISEO E. ESTROPIGAN
President
All UP Workers Union-Manila Chapter




1
Public funds are those moneys belonging to the State or to any of its political subdivision; more specifically: taxes, custom duties and moneys
raised by operation of law for the support of the government or for the discharge of its obligations. (Republic vs. Cocofed G.R. No. 147062-64
Dec. 14, 2001)