THE UNIVERSITY has signaled wider compliance with the Manila city government’s health certificate requirement, announcing free laboratory tests for tenured employees starting Term 2.
In separate memoranda released in December, the Office of the Secretary General and the Health Service announced the launch of the “Annual Outpatient Wellness Program,” which mandates yearly in-house health screenings for UST employees.
The program covers the costs of laboratory tests and health certificates for employees eligible for medical and hospitalization benefits. It also mobilizes UST’s health facilities to handle the procedures required for securing the health certificate.
Under the program, administrators and tenured academic staff must schedule their laboratory tests during their birth months while regular support staff are required to complete theirs in June and July.
Non-tenured academic staff and other contractual employees must complete their laboratory tests by Feb. 14 and submit their Manila Health Department-issued health certificates by March 31.
“We enjoin all members of the Thomasian community to take part in this wellness initiative, as it offers an opportunity to monitor and improve overall health while adhering to health regulations,” UST Secretary General Fr. Louie Coronel, O.P. said in a Dec. 16 memorandum.
The announcement of the wellness program came months after the backlash faced by UST when it enforced Manila’s City Ordinance 8793, which requires all workers in the city to secure a health certificate that costs P625 annually.
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Although the ordinance was passed in December 2021, strict enforcement within UST only began in Term 1 of Academic Year 2024-2025 after a random inspection found the University to be non-compliant.
Labor unions criticized UST for not reappointing non-tenured faculty members who failed to meet the requirement and for imposing internal deadlines not mandated by the Manila Health Department.
Lab tests, costs
With the introduction of the wellness program, UST has reiterated that the Manila health certificate will remain a requirement for all employees moving forward.
The University will shoulder costs for eligible employees, including doctor’s consultation fees. This applies to regular academic and support staff, probationary faculty members with at least one year of service, lecturers hired before Academic Year 2001-2002, and extendees.
However, additional tests requested by a physician based on laboratory results will either be charged to employees’ hospitalization benefits or paid by the employees themselves.
UST will not cover the laboratory test fees of non-tenured academic staff who received a recommendation for reappointment. Instead, they may avail themselves of discounted rates for required tests such as fecalysis and X-rays at the UST Hospital or any Department of Health-accredited facility.
Non-tenured academic staff must also pay for their health certificates, which cost P365.
Professional tax receipts will no longer be accepted in place of health certificates.
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The introduction of UST’s outpatient wellness program marks a significant shift from how employees obtained health certificates in Term 1.
Previously, tests must be conducted at Manila’s temporary health laboratory. The lab, located at the former site of the Sta. Cruz Public Library on Alvarez Street, was criticized for being crowded and unsanitary.
The new program taps employee benefits to cover the cost of the tests required for the health certificate.
