MASS WALKOUT Over 1,200 students from the University of the Philippines (UP) Baguio walk out of their classes on Feb. 26 to protest fund handling issues stemming from the university鈥檚 2023 Commission on Audit report. 鈥擵anessa Dianne Antonio/Contributor
BAGUIO CITY, Philippine 鈥� More than 1,200 students from the state-run University of the Philippines (UP) Baguio walked out of their classes last week as they continued to stage protests over alleged lack of transparency by the school administration and in the wake of a Commission on Audit 2023 report over the university鈥檚 huge unused funds.
According to the COA report, UP Baguio left over P100 million in General Appropriations Act (GAA) funds unused between 2018 and 2023. But funding requests for student activities had been denied supposedly due to lack of funds.
鈥淲hen we organize programs or activities, we request funds from the administration, but they always tell us there鈥檚 no budget or that we鈥檙e experiencing budget cuts,鈥� said Pauline Lago, one of the protesters.COA also flagged the university for paying P222,000 in honoraria to 鈥渄ifferent committee chairpersons and members not authorized by law,鈥� among other concerns.
The controversy gained traction after Outcrop, UP Baguio鈥檚 student publication, released an expos茅 on the COA findings in early January.
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The first wave of protests was staged on Jan. 21, the opening day of classes, where both students and faculty criticized the administration鈥檚 handling of funds.
Dialogue
On Feb. 21, the student council invited past and present administrators to a town hall discussion regarding the COA report but none of them attended.
In his response, incumbent Chancellor Joel Addawe expressed concerns that past town halls had placed the administration in a 鈥渉ot seat.鈥� He instead proposed a closed-door roundtable discussion to be held in the first week of March.
During the town hall, Student Council chair Eugene Enciso stressed the council鈥檚 intention was not to 鈥漚ttack the current administration鈥� but to only seek clarification, a sentiment echoed by Willy Alangui, a faculty representative from the All UP Academic Employees Union.
While Enciso acknowledged that 鈥渦nutilized funds鈥� did not necessarily equate to 鈥渕isused funds,鈥� he said the issue extended beyond unspent resources.
Abegail Pal-og, a university employee, had repeatedly warned the student council against framing the issue as one of 鈥渕isuse.鈥�
She also expressed concerns about the impact of the controversy on university staff. 鈥淭his issue has already affected the morale of the staff and heads of offices,鈥� she said in Filipino.
Waiting game
During the walkout on Feb. 26, three student representatives, including Enciso, delivered a five-point agenda for fiscal transparency to the Chancellor鈥檚 boardroom.
Through a partially opened door, Addawe accepted the document but remarked that the students were once again putting him on a hot seat.
A day after the protest, UP Student Regent Francesca Mariae Duran confirmed that concerns regarding the COA report had been raised to the Board of Regents, the university鈥檚 highest decision-making body.