WITH A twice-extended deadline lapsing on July 31, non-tenured faculty who were unable to submit a city health certificate have effectively forfeited their option to be reappointed to their part-time teaching positions, the Varsitarian has learned.
Multiple academic officials confirmed to the Varsitarian that part-time and probationary faculty members without health permits would not be able to teach in UST, at least in Term 1 of Academic Year (AY) 2024-2025. Classes will begin on Aug. 9.
The college-based officials said teaching loads had to be reallocated to faculty members who were able to submit health permits and new hires, to minimize disruptions in teaching schedules and the assignment of Canvas course sites.
The rules are different for tenured faculty as they are regular employees who, by law, cannot be terminated except for just cause. The terms and conditions of their employment are also covered by a collective bargaining agreement.
Non-tenured faculty, who may have full-time jobs outside UST, are issued part-time appointments that automatically expire at the end of each term.
Reappointment depends on factors such as faculty evaluation and compliance with requirements, which now includes the Manila health certificate.
UST had told its employees that failure to comply with the requirement could result in limited access to their MyUSTe accounts, receiving formal notices to comply, and “other measures.”
AY 2024-2025 at UST officially opened on Aug. 2 with the Misa de Apertura.
‘Counterproductive’
Assoc. Prof. Rene Tadle, president of the Arts and Letters Faculty Association (ALFA) and Council of Teachers and Staff of Colleges and Universities in the Philippines (CoTeSCUP), warned that students would suffer the consequences of this “counterproductive” policy.
“That’s counterproductive because there are programs in which the faculty members teaching are mostly non-tenured,” Tadle said. “There is a policy that without an appointment, a faculty cannot teach or meet a class. So if they require the health permit, then it [becomes] a problem.”
“We are also at a loss [as to] why UST is so docile with Manila City Hall that it is pushing its workers to comply with a questionable ordinance,” he added.
Health certificates became a requirement to operate a business in Manila after the passage of Manila Ordinance 8793, or the Sanitation and Disinfection Code of the City of Manila, in late 2021.
The Varsitarian has learned that UST’s compliance with the health permit requirement was being closely monitored by the City of Manila after it found UST in violation through a city-wide random check.
CoTeSCUP, a teachers’ group, has pointed out that while the ordinance covers all establishments in Manila, there are private schools that do not require their employees to secure health permits.
Legality questioned
The legality and propriety of Manila’s ordinance have been questioned by labor groups within and outside the University.
According to the Organisasyon ng Nagkakaisang Empleyado ng UST (ONE-UST) and the CoTeSCUP, the city ordinance contradicts drug testing laws, which require only random screening.
They also criticized the exemption of licensed professionals like lawyers and doctors, who have paid for the annual professional tax receipt, from the health permit requirement, which ONE-UST said “defeats the purpose of securing a health permit.”
Asst. Prof. Emerito Gonzales, president of the UST Faculty Union, questioned the University’s decision to bar non-compliant non-tenured academic staff from reappointment.
“Non-tenured [faculty] will find it difficult…To draw the middle ground, we are questioning its legality,” he said. “It [will be] a different story come January because by then, maybe there will already be an injunction, a stoppage.”
Tadle said the CoTeSCUP would be “ready to go to Court” should its calls not be heeded.
In April, UST employees were instructed by the Office of the Vice Rector for Finance to obtain health certificates by the end of AY 2023-2024, in line with Manila’s ordinance, which has legal force.
ONE-UST has been communicating with the University and City of Manila officials since June regarding the health permit and was able to secure two deadline extensions — June 30 and July 31.
Establishments found violating Manila Ordinance 8793 may be imposed a fine not exceeding P5,000. The Manila Health Department may recommend permanent closure if there are repeated violations.
Manila Mayor Honey Lacuna has yet to respond to the UST labor unions’ call for another extension of the health permit deadline to Aug. 31. Janica Kate J. Buan with reports from Hannah Joyce V. Andaya, Mabel Anne B. Cardinez, Fernando Pierre Marcel B. Dela Cruz, and Amador Denzel M. Teston
