KIKO LAUDS PASSAGE OF LANDMARK LEGISLATION
Senate ratifies UP Charter Bill

Senate Majority Leader Kiko Pangilinan lauded the Senate's ratification of the new UP Charter that would amend the century-old charter of the country's premier university. A day before Senate adjourns sine die, the Senate worked double time to ratify the bill in a bid to avert the declining competitiveness of UP education and the exodus of highly-skilled professors to private schools. Kiko is the principal sponsor of the UP Charter Bill in the Upper Chamber, advocating the measure as early as 2001.

"Many of the problems of UP are borne out of a small budget to reform and improve many of its services. With the ratification of the UP Charter Act, the University will finally be able to generate income through the use of its resources and assets, which could be used to improve its curricula and salary system. The Act also institutes provisions on tax incentives on donations to the University as a means to raise more resources from the private sector. After almost 12 years in the legislative mills and our vigorous effort to pass the UP Charter Bill, we are glad that this landmark piece of legislation will finally become a law," Kiko said.

"The recurrent problem of tuition hike, which has hounded the state university for so long, will likewise be addressed as UP is envisioned to be self-sustaining and the burden will not be cast on the students," Kiko added.

"The UP Charter ratification will certainly hasten the competitiveness of UP degree-holders and its already world-class research. It is sad that two or three decades ago, other Asian national universities looked up to UP as the center of learning and information in Asia. Today, UP is lagging behind. The new UP Charter will help raise the bar of excellence of the school, my beloved alma mater," he said.

"The present condition of UP epitomizes the current financial limitations of the university system. It also betrays our resolve to develop and be globally-competitive. With a new UP Charter, we can look forward to tremendous innovation and improvement of its curriculum, facilities and teaching staff," he added.

The UP Charter also allows UP's exemption from the Salary Standardization Act, tax exemption and incentives for donation, and greater autonomy by removing Malacañang's power to appoint the UP president and other sectoral representatives. It also provides safeguards for asset utilization and/or disposition including the creation of an independent trust committee to recommend and advise the BOR on permissible investments, higher BOR voting requirement for contracts involving P50million and above, the increase of salaries of its teaching and non-teaching staff and the redesigning of its current curricula, among others.