THE UNIVERSITY has postponed the deadline for part-time faculty’s submission of proof of payment for the health certificate mandated by the City of Manila, initially set on Feb. 14.
In a memorandum on Feb. 5, the Office of the Vice Rector for Academic Affairs (OVRAA) said it was still working to streamline the process of submitting laboratory test results to the Manila Public Health Laboratory.
It said results must be validated by the public lab before faculty members pay the fee through the city government’s “Go! Manila” app.
“In the meantime, academic staff are encouraged to complete the required laboratory procedures (i.e., fecalysis and chest x-ray),” the OVRAA said, adding that part-time or non-tenured academic staff must accomplish this “at the soonest possible time at the beginning of the term.”
In a December memo, OVRAA told non-tenured academic staff and other contractual employees to submit their laboratory tests by Feb. 14 and their Manila Health Department-issued health certificates by March 31.
This was in step with the launch of the “Annual Outpatient Wellness Program,” which offered free laboratory tests for tenured employees starting Term 2.
The certificate, which costs P365, was made a requirement by Manila Ordinance 8793 and was first required of UST employees in April 2024.
To obtain the health certificate, UST employees must have their tests conducted at UST’s health facilities and validated by the Manila Public Health Laboratory. Then, they must pay the P365 fee through the Go! Manila app.
New academic staff must have their laboratory tests done exclusively at the Manila Public Health Laboratory. Part-time academic staff living in other cities were given the option to submit a health certificate issued by a different local government unit.
Under the new “Annual Outpatient Wellness Program,” all UST employees will undergo yearly in-house screenings and tests, which can be used to get the Manila health certificate.
Costs of the laboratory tests and health certificate fees of employees eligible for medical and hospitalization benefits, such as administrators and tenured academic staff, will be covered by UST.
UST will not shoulder 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.
In 2024, 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.