THE UNIVERSITY pushed back anew against claims it had P12 billion sitting in banks, asserting on Friday that its revenues are being spent on educational development and operations.
UST also debunked “misleading claims” its short-term investments and historical net asset growth meant it had liquid funds lying around and available for faculty salary restructuring.
“A recent statement suggests that short-term investments and increases in net assets are indicators that the University has unused or idle funds which may be freely reallocated for any purpose. This interpretation fails to account for the full financial standing of the University,” UST said.
“Selectively citing line items and figures in the Audited Financial Statements (AFS) of the University without understanding their operational purpose leads to misconceptions,” the statement posted on social media on April 4 read.
UST and unionized faculty are locked in an industrial dispute, after the UST Faculty Union (USTFU) declared a deadlock in talks for a new salary and benefits deal for 2021-2026 on March 14 and filed a notice of strike on March 25.
The dispute centers on how to finance a P26-million salary restructuring and rank upgrade initiated by management and hospitalization benefits.
READ: USTFU says UST seeking labor secretary’s intervention in dispute over salaries and benefits
The deadlock over a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) could lead to a strike as early as May 2 but the UST administration has petitioned the Secretary of Labor to avert a work stoppage and settle the row through compulsory arbitration.
Restricted donations
The UST Faculty Union (USTFU) had alleged that UST was sitting on “billions” before dialing down its claim — after a check by the Varsitarian — to say the school held P2 billion in bank “investments.”
Debunked on ‘net assets,’ union shifts to UST’s ‘investments’
UST clarified that these investments, partly sourced from savings and donations, help cover employee salaries, benefits, and operational expenses. Donations, it added, are restricted to purposes specified by donors.
Union officials had also attempted to show UST’s “striking financial force” by highlighting the school’s net assets as of July 2023, which rose to P14.9 billion from P14.2 billion the previous year.
UST however explained that this growth was due to expansion, meaning it included fixed assets like property. It cited new campuses in General Santos (GenSan) in Mindanao and Santa Rosa in Laguna, and the redevelopment of Faculty of Medicine and Surgery facilities in Manila.
From 2023 to 2024, UST launched two new campuses — the 82.2-hectare branch campus in GenSan and the 40-hectare extension campus in Laguna — and a new medical research building, the Henry Sy Sr. Hall, in Manila.
Several buildings are also under construction: the UST-Dr. William T. Belo Interdisciplinary Research Institute (UST-WiTBIRIn) in Santa Rosa and UST-Dr. Ricardo S. Po Sr. Integrated Innovation and Research Laboratories in GenSan.
“These investments in infrastructure are necessary to maintain and elevate the quality of Thomasian education,” UST said. “Thus, the unrestricted net assets — which, again, include short-term investments, property, and equipment — should not be misconstrued as readily available funds that may be freely liquidated and reallocated on a whim.”
USTFU said it had commissioned accountants to look into UST’s finances, arguing the University should finance the P26-million salary restructuring and rank upgrade scheme it had proposed.
READ: UST nixes ‘misleading, inaccurate’ claims of P12 billion in ‘earnings’
Management negotiators wanted to get the funding from teachers’ mandatory 70% share in tuition hikes as this was the justification used in a consultation with students to raise tuition by 6% in Academic Year 2023-2024.
Union negotiators however wanted the amount distributed across the board.
Tuition increases since August 2020 have accumulated to P246 million, including the P26 million that UST wanted to carve out for salary restructuring.
Net assets, fixed assets
An independent check by the Varsitarian of UST’s latest publicly available financial statements from Academic Year 2022-2023 found that the University had declared P13.19 billion in unrestricted net assets and P21.34 billion in total assets.
Of this figure, P5.89 billion were current assets or those that may be converted into cash in the short term.
UST had P2.68 billion in cash and cash equivalents and P2.25 billion in short-term investments.
Other current assets were receivables (P645.6 million), inventories (P139.08 million), and prepayments and other current assets (P167.14 million).
The majority of UST’s assets were in property and equipment, valued at P15.04 billion, while other non-liquid assets stood at P412.05 million.
