Commentaries and Truth Telling

Monday, 18 July 2011 01:13

Written by Prospero E. De Vera III

I seldom comment on newspaper columns believing that opinion makers must be given leeway to say their piece. They are after all supposed to give their personal take on issues confronting the country.

But I do draw the line when I find my name mentioned in a column especially when things are attributed to me without the benefit of verification.

Prof. Winnie Monsod of the UP School of Economics in her July 14 column Tempest Over Academic Rank raised the question – “should the president of the University of the Philippines automatically be conferred the highest academic rank in the university?” and then added “Yes, says one group, citing Section 14 of the University Charter of 2008 (Republic Act 9500), which states that “The President of the university is the chief academic officer, head of the university, and chief executive officer of the university.”

The logic of this argument, adds Monsod, is that “if you are the chief academic officer, you must also have the highest academic rank, which in the university means a Professor 12 - and if you don’t have it, it should be conferred on you at the earliest possible time”.

But then she surprisingly drags me into her narrative by saying that “the most conspicuous members of the group who think this way are Dean Edna Co, of the National College of Public Administration and Governance (NCPAG), and Dr. Prospero de Vera, a faculty member of the same college and currently UP vice president for public affairs”.

Monsod also wrote that in a recent faculty meeting of the UP NCPAG, “Popoy de Vera (as mentioned above, currently UP vice president for public affairs) concluded that neither the University Council, nor the APFC had any jurisdiction over the matter, but only the Board of Regents”. And that I “pointed out that when Edgardo Angara was UP president, the UP College of Law appointed him Professor 8 (then the highest academic rank)” and when “a faculty colleague pointed out in rebuttal that Carlos P. Romulo was appointed Associate Professor, and that only after two years into his UP presidency”, I ignored the comment.

Let me set the facts straight.

UP President Alfredo Pascual was invited to teach by the UP NCPAG because the college needs a faculty member who can teach courses in public finance, fiscal administration, contract management, and development finance. NCPAG had lost its finance stalwarts with the death of Prof. Emmy Boncodin and the retirement of Prof. Leonor Briones. Pascual’s 18 year stint at ADB, expertise in PPP, and teaching experience in Asian Institute of Management were too good to be overlooked.

The NCPAG Academic and Personnel Committee (APC) that looked at his credentials unanimously recommended to Chancellor Ceasar Saloma that Pascual be given the rank of Professor 12. I am not a member of the APC and was never involved in this decision. Monsod’s repeated use of the term “Vice President for Public Affairs” when referring to my actions in the faculty meeting is suspicious. And her insinuations that I was behind the invitation to Pascual and that I can impose on my colleagues as a university official is insulting on me and the whole faculty council.

The UP Diliman Academic Personnel and Fellowships Committee (APFC) and the NCPAG APC’s recommendations did not match.

RA 9500 (UP Charter) states that “the President of the University is the chief academic officer, head of the university faculty and the chief executive officer of the University” (Section 14). The UP Charter clearly makes the UP President a faculty of the whole UP System.

Can the UP President teach and if he does what will be his academic rank? Yes he can, only if the UP Board of Regents (BoR) approves it and gives him an academic rank. It has the exclusive power (Sec. 13-k) to appoint faculty members. UP President (now Senator) Edgardo Angara was given the rank of Professor 8 (the highest rank then) by the BoR (not the College of Law as Monsod claims) when he joined the UP College of Law.

The NCPAG faculty council decided that the impasse between the APC and APFC is best resolved by bringing the matter to the UP Board of Regents for their decision. Whatever the BoR decides, we will support. End of story.

I have deep respect for my research mentors - Dr. Jaime Veneracion, Dr. Oscar Alfonso, Dr. Zeus Salazar, Dr. Ledivina Carino, and Dr. Chit Tapales - who all instructed me to rely on primary documents, verify facts, double check my sources, and confirm all attributions. They provided the best examples of how the truth can be generated through disciplined research.

I just wish Professor Monsod took time to verify the veracity of her information. But then again, maybe truth telling was never the intention.