A THREE-YEAR-OLD ordinance imposed by the City of Manila on UST in March — requiring all employees to obtain health certificates — continues to face stiff opposition from faculty, support staff, and hospital workers, sparking a protest at the opening of classes on Aug. 9.
Since first directing all employees to comply in April, UST has struggled to find ways to improve compliance. These include extending the deadline twice, special accommodation for UST employees at the Manila Public Health Laboratory, and even barring the reappointment of non-compliant part-time and probationary faculty members in Term 1 of Academic Year 2024-2025.
UST labor unions have so far failed to engage with University administrators and city officials for dialogues, and some groups have expressed their intent to take the matter to court.
Here is the Varsitarian’s timeline of the health permit controversy:
Dec. 2, 2021 — The City Council of Manila, presided by Councilor Salvador Philip Lacuna, passes City Ordinance 8793, “AN ORDINANCE PROVIDING FOR THE SANITATION AND DISINFECTION CODE OF THE CITY OF MANILA, PROVIDING PENALTIES FOR VIOLATION THEREOF, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES.”
The ordinance, which has the force of law within the city’s jurisdiction, has a section covering educational institutions, mandating schools to comply with sanitation rules, including requiring faculty and support staff to get health certificates from the city health department, or face fines and closure.
April 6, 2022 — The mayor of Manila, Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso, approves and signs the ordinance.
2024 — A random inspection by Manila health authorities finds UST in violation of Ordinance 8793. UST is ordered to comply.
April 25 — Vice Rector for Finance Fr. Roberto Luanzon, Jr., O.P. releases a memorandum instructing all UST employees to submit a health certificate issued by the Manila Health Department by May 31.
The memorandum enforces Manila Ordinance 8793 at UST, almost three years after it was passed in December 2021.
To secure a health permit, employees must pay P625 online for laboratory procedures such as a drug test, urinalysis, and stool exam. This amount excludes the cost of an X-ray, which may be obtained from an accredited hospital and is a separate expense.
Employees must have their tests done at the frequently crowded and substandard public health laboratory on Alvarez Street, previously the location of the Sta. Cruz Public Library.
Luanzon clarifies that professionals who have obtained the annual professional tax receipt, including lawyers, doctors, and licensed teachers, are exempted from this requirement by law.
May 20 — The Office of the Vice Rector for Finance releases a memorandum extending the deadline for compliance to June 30.
June 6 — In another memo to University employees containing “additional clarifications,” Luanzon says the health permit is a city government mandate and not University policy, but UST will implement it during the first quarter of every year. The memorandum also orders the updating of hiring policies to include the health certificate and the professional tax receipt.
June 21 — Newly formed UST labor coalition Organisasyon ng Nagkakaisang Empleyado ng UST (ONE-UST) writes Manila Mayor Honey Lacuna to raise concerns over the health permit.
ONE-UST, composed of the UST Faculty Union, Samahang Manggagawa ng UST, and Ugnayan ng Nagkakaisang Manggagawa ng UST Hospital, says there is a “low turnout” of UST employees complying with the requirement—850 of the 1,700 faculty members and 800 support staff.
It attributes the poor compliance to the distance of the designated testing facility, the discomfort of collecting urine and stool samples in substandard public toilets, the risk of mingling with potentially sick individuals, and many teachers being in nearby provinces during the vacation period.
READ MORE: Substandard toilets, large crowds: UST unions complain vs Manila health permit
ONE-UST requests that a satellite office be established at the Sampaloc campus for specimen collection, testing, and fee payment, and urges Lacuna to move the deadline to July 31.
June 23 — Lacuna grants ONE-UST’s appeal to defer the deadline to July 31. She thumbs down the request to set up a satellite office at UST.
July 3 — ONE-UST requests an urgent meeting with Vice Rector Fr. Isaias Tiongco O.P., then the acting rector, to discuss the possibility of using existing health benefits to cover the cost of the health permit.
“We believe that a collaborative approach will be beneficial in ensuring that the interests of all parties are considered and addressed effectively,” it says in a letter to Tiongco.
UST’s collective bargaining agreement with faculty waives payment for certain routine procedures like scans, blood tests, and stool exams when administered at the Health Service and UST Hospital. However, the Manila Health Department requires that the tests be conducted in its facilities.
July 18 — The Office of the Secretary General (OSG) releases a memorandum urging all employees to ensure “full cooperation and genuine compliance” with the health permit mandate.
It warns employees that once the July 31 deadline has lapsed, non-compliant staff may lose access to their MyUSTe accounts, receive formal notices to comply, or be subjected to “other measures.”
“If the University staff still fails to comply, he/she may be given a written memo to remind him/her of the submission,” the OSG says. “Subsequent non-compliance may be subjected to other measures to prevent penalties for the individual and the institution.”
July 26 — ONE-UST appeals to Lacuna for another deadline extension, to Aug. 31 from July 31, citing the “extraordinary circumstances” brought by typhoon “Carina.”
READ MORE: UST unions seek another health permit extension, cite ‘Carina’-induced floods
“Many of our workers are still facing significant challenges. Consequently, a substantial number of our members have been unable to comply with the health permit requirements within the extended timeframe,” the coalition says.
ONE-UST reiterates its request for a dialogue with Lacuna and the establishment of a satellite office at the Sampaloc campus.
July 31 — No word of an extension from the city government.
ONE-UST calls on Rector Fr. Richard Ang, O.P. to back the union in challenging Manila Ordinance 8793 before the courts, and reiterates its plea for a dialogue with the UST administration.
ONE-UST contends that exempting professionals from the requirement is “discriminatory” and “defeats the purpose of securing a health permit,” and that mandatory drug testing contradicts existing drug laws.
READ MORE: Unions demand UST Rector’s intervention against Manila’s health permit mandate
“The current implementation of the ordinance not only poses challenges for our workers but also threatens to disrupt the smooth functioning of our University,” it says.
ONE-UST also criticizes UST’s decision to block non-compliant employees from accessing their MyUSTe portal, saying this is “causing undue stress and anxiety.”
The Council of Teachers and Staff of Colleges and Universities in the Philippines (CoTeSCUP) joins ONE-UST in questioning the ordinance in its own letter to Lacuna.
The teachers’ group says there are multiple financial, legal, and ethical considerations that merit a review of the ordinance. It points out that there are private schools that do not require their employees to secure health permits.
“We have noted discrepancies where some private schools in Manila do not require health permits for their employees, creating an uneven application of the ordinance,” it says.
Aug. 3 — The Varsitarian learns that UST will not reappoint part-time and probationary faculty members who were unable to submit a city health certificate, at least in Term 1 of Academic Year (AY) 2024-2025.
Teaching loads will be reallocated to faculty members with health permits and new hires to minimize disruptions in teaching schedules and the assignment of Canvas course sites.
This rule does not apply to tenured faculty or regular employees, who can only be terminated for just cause as mandated by law and a collective bargaining agreement.
READ MORE: Axe set to fall on non-tenured UST profs without health permits
Assoc. Prof. Rene Tadle, president of the Arts and Letters Faculty Association and CoTeSCUP, warns that students will suffer the consequences of this “counterproductive” policy.
“That’s counterproductive because there are programs in which the faculty members teaching are mostly non-tenured,” he says.
Aug. 7 — In its first public statement as an institution amid the health permit controversy, UST indirectly responds to objections raised by labor unions and reaffirms its compliance with laws and policies, including ordinances from the City of Manila.
“The University ensures the implementation of relevant measures to achieve timely compliance alongside ongoing dialogues with our stakeholders,” it says.
In response, ONE-UST says it hopes the statement is not “mere lip service” but a genuine move toward dialogue. However, it says the UST administration has yet to reach out to labor unions despite claiming to be engaged in “ongoing dialogues” with stakeholders.
“Our concern remains that UST workers may be left to seek justice in court independently. We cannot allow our faculty members to become sacrificial lambs to an unfair and unjust ordinance,” the group says.
Aug. 9 — After criticism that it had singled out UST, the Manila Health Department publishes a memo dated Aug. 5 extending the health permit requirement to all schools operating in the city, citing the need to ensure that all teachers are free of communicable diseases. Marco Luis D. Beech
