Kataas-taasang pamunuan ng UP
Kasabay ng pagkakatatag ng Unibersidad ng Pilipinas (UP), binuo ang BOR sa ilalim ng Act No. 1870 o The University of the Philippines’ Charter upang magsilbing pinakamataas na lupong tagapagpasiya sa pamantasan.

Sang-ayon sa Seksyon 6 ng 1908 UP charter, maaaring baguhin ng BOR ang halaga ng matrikulasyon at mga bayarin, tumanggap ng anumang donasyon para sa pamantasan, magtakda ng mga batas sa sistema ng pamahalaan, at dugtungan ang termino ng pangulo ng UP alinsunod sa pag-aapruba ng pambansang pamahalaan.

Alinsunod sa charter, mayroong 12 kasapi ang BOR. Pinamumunuan ito ng tagapangulo ng Commission on Higher Education, na siya ring tagapangulo ng BOR, at Presidente ng UP bilang pangalawang pangulo. Samantala, binubuo ng limang itinalagang rehente ng Malakanyang, tig-iisang kinatawan ng komite ng edukasyon ng Senado at Kongreso, at tig-iisang kinatawan ng mga alumni, mag-aaral, at kaguruan ang myembro ng BOR.

Ayon kay Student Regent (SR) Terry Ridon, walang sinusunod na rikisitos ang Malakanyang sa pagtatatalaga ng limang kasapi ng BOR. Sa pagsusuri, malimit na mga malapit sa presidente o yaong mga kilala sa larangan ng negosyo o industriya ang napipisil na italaga sa BOR. Halimbawa nito sina Francis Chua, pangulo ng Federation of Filipino-Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Inc. at Manuel Pangilinan, tagapangulo ng Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company at Smart Communications Inc.

Maliban sa mga pagpupulong na ginaganap isang beses kada buwan, hindi malimit na nakakasalamuha ng karamihan sa mga rehente ang mga pangunahing sektor na bumubuo sa pamantasan. Ayon kay Ridon, “there is a serious doubt on their (Malacañang appointees) abilities to understand the complexity of the issues in UP.” Sa BOR, tanging ang pangulo ng UP, faculty regent (FR) at SR lamang ang namamalagi sa pamantasan.

Tunggalian ng mga interes
Dahil sa komposiyon nito, nakatali sa dikta ng pambansang pamahalaan at ilang may-ari ng malalaking negosyo ang mga palisiyang pinagpapasyahan ng BOR. Marami sa mga naging desisyon ng BOR sa kasalukuyan ang lubhang nagpabago sa tunguhin ng unibersidad mula sa pag-alok ng murang edukasyon tungo sa pagkalap ng sariling pondong maihahambing sa isang pribado’t eksklusibong pamantasan.

Perenyal ang pagbabawas ng pambansang pamahalaan sa subsidyo nito sa edukasyon. Sa kasalukuyan, inuudyok at hinahayaan na lamang nito ang mga state colleges and universities na mangalap ng sariling pondo sa pamamagitan ng pagtataas ng mga bayarin, pagsasapribado ng mga serbisyo, at pagbenta ng mga lupain – bagay na sumasagka sa interes ng mga mag-aaral at sa pang-akademikong tunguhin ng pamantasan.

Ilan sa mga naturang desisyon ang pagsasapribado ng janitorial services ng UP noong 2006. Dahil dito, 138 na janitor ng UP ang nawalan ng trabaho kahit na marami sa kanila ang ilang dekada nang nanilbihan sa unibersidad. Sumunod naman ang pagpapaupa ng UP sa Ayala Land Inc. ng hilagang bahagi ng Science and Technology Park na matatanaw sa Commonwealth Avenue. Ngunit sa halip na mga laboratoryo at pang-akademikong pasilidad, call center at hotel ang kasalukuyang itinatayo sa nasabing lupain. Ibig sabihin, ang kasunduan ay hindi pinasinayaan upang makatulong sa akademikong tunguhin ng UP. Nilagdaan ito ng Ayala upang palaguin ang sarili nitong negosyo.

Tampok naman sa mga desisyon ng BOR ang 300 porsyentong pagtaas ng matrikula na sinusugan nito noong Disyembre 2006 at ipinatupad nitong kasalukuyang akademikong taon. Ipinaliwanag ni Pangulong Emerlinda Roman na lampas isang dekada nang hindi nagtaas ng matrikula ang UP sa kabila ng taun-taong inflation rate. Umani ito ng malawak na oposisyon mula sa hanay ng mga mag-aaral at kaguruan na naggiit na hindi dapat magmula sa mga estudyante ang pondong kinakailangan upang mapanatili ang kalidad ng edukasyon ng UP dahil isa itong state university.

Sa pulong ng BOR noong Disyembre 15, 2006, kinansela ng administrasyon ang taunang Lantern Parade upang maiwasan ang pagdalo ng maraming bilang ng estudyante. Inilipat din nito ang lugar ng pagpupulong nang hindi ipinapaalam sa SR at FR na tumuligsa sa noo’y panukalang pagtaas ng matrikula. Sa huli’y napagpasyahan ang pagtaas ng matrikula sa loob lamang ng isa o dalawang oras. Walang representasyon ang mga mag-aaral at kaguruan sa naturang pulong.

Samakatuwid, isang tagibang na istruktura ng pamamahala ang BOR. Sa mga desisyong lubhang makakaapekto sa pang-akademikong misyon ng UP at interes ng mag-aaral at kaguruan, ang pangunahin at pinakamalalaking sektor sa unibersidad ang nagiging minorya.

Katugunan sa UP Charter
Kaya naman, pangunahing nais ng mga sektor ng unibersidad na gawing demokratiko ang anumang pagpapasiya ng mga palisiya sa pamantasan. Isinasaad sa bersyon ng charter na iminumungkahi ng UP Wide Democratization Movement 3 (UP WIDEM 3), alyansa na nagsusulong ng isang demokratikong UP Charter na nagsasaad na palitan ng UP System Assembly (SA) – na bubuuin ng 28 kinatawan mula sa buong UP System – ang BOR. Tampok sa SA ang pakikilahok ng bawat sektor sa unibersidad sa paggawa ng mga palisiya. Ayon kay Ridon, “there ought to be sectoral representatives in the university who can actually understand and experience the problems, isues and prospects of UP.”

Subalit, mahigpit itong tinutulan ng administrasyon ng UP. Ayon sa pahayag nito sa isang praymer hinggil sa UP Charter, “replacing the12-member BOR ignores the basic fact that a university’s primary function is academic.” Hindi umano isang barangay ang UP kung saan sang-ayon sa boto ng nakararami ang pag-apruba ng mga usapin.

Sa katunayan, hindi papayagan ng administrasyon at estado ang panukala ng UP WIDEM sapagkat nangangahulugan ito ng mas matatag na oposisyon sa mga tagibang na palisiyang nais nitong ipatupad. Kung kaya, kasabwat ang ilang kaalyadong senador sa pangunguna ni Sen. Francis Pangilinan na nagpanukala sa inaprubahang bersyon ng UP Charter sa bicameral conference, pilit na hinarangan ng administrasyon ang bersyon ng UP WIDEM.

Isa lang ang sinasabi ng pagpapanatili sa BOR: sa kawalan ng demokratikong representasyon lamang posibleng maipatupad ang mga palisiyang inihahapag ng estado’t ilang malalaking negosyo para sa UP. Mainam lamang punahin ang mga kasalukuyang palisiya ng UP ayon sa mekanismong nagbunsod dito. Sa usaping ito pa lang, makikita na taliwas sa interes ng nakararaming mag-aaral, empleyado, at guro ng UP ang kasalukuyang tunguhin ng unibersidad.

Higit kaninuman, marapat lamang na ang mga mag-aaral, guro at empleyado ang magkaroon ng mas malawak na representasyon sa isang pamunuang nagpapasya para sa unibersidad. Sapagkat kung hindi maiwawasto ang kasalukuyang istraktura ng BOR, mananatiling tagimantasan.# Philippine Collegian

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This is the picture of Africa for many: malnourished children with ribs jutting out, bellies that protrude grotesquely, hands extended, begging for food. The Dark Continent has always been portrayed as a place where destitution never leaves and famine is always just a drought away.

Two years ago, Malawi fitted this description. Located in southeastern Africa and roughly the size of Luzon, Malawi hovered at the brink of famine in 2005 when around 40 percent of its population, or 5 million people, needed emergency food aid due to drought. On the average, monetary donations from international financial institutions, such as the World Bank (WB), already account for 40 percent of Malawi’s budget. Despite such massive help, however, Malawi remained famished.

Fortunately, Malawi has found a way to turn things around – by doing what the US and Europe practiced, not what it preached.

The ‘experts’
Established primarily for the reconstruction of member nations ravaged by World War II, the WB has purportedly noble and humanitarian roots. The framework espoused by the institution banks on an increasing interdependence between developed and developing countries. This relationship, however, has a tendency to be skewed in favor of developed countries. For instance, donations from international institutions, such as the WB, come with underlying conditions called structural adjustment programs (SAPs).

According to research think-tank Ibon Foundation, SAPs are obligatory economic packages of “severe trade, fiscal, and monetary actions” to qualify for loans. Although there are policies unique to certain countries, generally they require recipients to adhere to WB’s neoliberal agenda, such as liberalizing trade, removing state subsidies, reducing government spending on social services, and devaluing their currency.

In Malawi, imposed SAPs include the imposition to cultivate cash crops instead of corn, its staple food. In an evaluation report, the WB argued that the practice of “increasing productivity for the basic staple” by small-scale farmers will not work because corn has low demand and thus, any surplus will yield low profit. The viable alternative, the report said, was to “move into markets where the income and demand are higher.” Following WB’s directive, farmers shifted from corn to tobacco, tea, and sugar. These cash crops will then be exported and the foreign exchange earnings will be used to import subsistence food.

This arrangement, the bank reasoned, will not only increase the inflow of foreign currencies, it will also improve food security by enhancing the income of the poor. In connection, the Malawian government was also pressured by the WB to reduce fertilizer subsidies as this would “displace some commercial fertilizer sales.”

Ignoring the ‘experts’
These SAPs, however, proved to be counterproductive for Malawi. Instead of the intended results, it placed the domestic food supply in jeopardy. Being susceptible to extreme weather conditions, days without rain spawned food crises. With millions of its people in need of emergency food aid, the Malawian government was once again forced to secure loans and grants from the WB. Such loans, however, involved the same SAPs which caused food scarcity in the first place. This vicious cycle of indebtedness and hunger has gripped Malawi for the past two decades.

Meanwhile, cutting off fertilizer subsidies during droughts had put the country’s food security at risk. Contrary to WB projections, small-scale farmers failed to benefit from growing cash crops because only big transnational companies have the machinery and technology to cultivate them. Furthermore, the prices of cash crops are subject to the whims of global markets because they face stiff competition from products from other parts of the world.

Thus, after a disastrous harvest due to drought in 2005, the Malawi government decided to ignore WB’s directive and focus on corn. Taking the cue from the US and Europe, the government also intensified fertilizer support to its farmers. The newly elected president opted to defy the WB and did what he thought was best. “As long as I’m president,” he said, “I don’t want to be going to other capitals begging for food.”

The results were unprecedented. Two years later in 2007, there was a surplus in corn production of over one million metric tons, enough to export some to nearby Zimbabwe. Hunger incidence has fallen sharply. Previously one of Africa’s poorest, Malawi is now blazing the trail for food security and poverty alleviation in the continent.

The local front
In the Philippines, the WB adopts a parallel stance.

In October, 2007, the WB called for greater investments in producing cash crops. “The Philippines would be able to seize new opportunities presented by the global markets by shifting expenditures towards supporting dynamic, high-value added products with export potentials,” said Maryse Gautier, World Bank acting country director for the Philippines. Using an identical rationale with Malawi, Gautier said this would increase income from agriculture, where some 36 million Filipinos currently depend.

Philippine SAPs include reorienting the economy towards export to earn the foreign exchange needed to pay the debts; reducing government spending on wages and social services to make the prices of goods more competitive; and reducing tariffs and restrictions on imports to create an open economy.

According to Ibon, however, SAPs not only threaten the country’s food security by prioritizing cash crops over the staple rice, the policies also “diminish land reform,” an issue central to any agricultural country such as the Philippines. For instance, WB’s market-oriented land reform “relies on voluntary land transfers based on negotiation between buyers and sellers” while limiting the state’s role to mediation. This approach assumes the ability of the landless to gain access to private landownership through financial aid from institutions like the WB.

Consequently, poor farmers resorted to lending from credit agencies to acquire land. Yet because prices are determined via negotiation, Ibon asserts “there were never enough funds to compensate landlords.” Expecting higher productivity and income, small farmers agree to such conditions. Due to the influx of cheaper foreign goods, however, the farmers are pushed to bankruptcy.

Due to the government’s refusal to subsidize rice production, for instance, locally produced rice, the staple food of 85 percent of Filipinos, has become more expensive than imported rice from Thailand or Vietnam. This neglect catapulted the Philippines from being a marginal rice exporter during the 1990s to the world’s biggest importer of rice in 2008 at 2 million tons.

Historically, the World Bank has trumpeted development as its primary objective. In actuality, however, it has only been instrumental in further aggravating the plight of the poor. Perhaps the Philippines can draw lessons from Malawi’s experience. Political will, more than anything, can confront deceitfully oppressive institutions and expose their true and often hidden agenda. # Philippine Collegian

References:
Del Rosario-Malonzo, Jennifer (2005). Market Oriented Land Reform and the World Bank. Ibon Foundation, Inc.

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