Remo Aguilar
The PGH Director controversy continues to heat up with sudden twist and turn of events that will for the first time in so many years, fire up into a UP Manila/ UP-PGH wide constituency (Laban-PGH Movement) barricade tomorrow morning, March 1, 2010. I’m publishing a copy of this Indignation Statement here verbatim. Chronology of events that led to this controversy will also be published in my succeeding posts.
On the historic day of Feb 25 and the 24th anniversary of the People’s Power Revolution, the UP Board of Regents under the dark clouds of a walk out by the student, alumni, faculty and staff regents and a dismissed temporary restraining order against a decision to remove the student regent Chari Banez, declared null and void a board decision that appointed an already functioning PGH Director in Dr. Jose “Joegon” Gonzales.
A grave abuse of power that has been done in the State University where we were taught the importance of dissent and critical thinking and where we learned to love democratic principles and idealism. Spearheaded by UP President Emerlinda Roman, supported by the three other GMA appointed regents, Congresswoman Cynthia Villar and CHED Chairman Manny Angeles ( CHED Chair Angeles voted in favor of Joegon in the December 18, 2009 BOR meeting, made a sudden and very suspicious turn around by now following the lead of GMA’s BOR appointees in January 2010). They have oppressed a UPCM faculty member and employee of the UP-PGH by arbitrarily removing Joegon a legally appointed, sworn in and functioning PGH Director under very extra-ordinary and highly suspicious circumstances. Civil servants are protected by law from such arbitrary actions even by the highest governing body of any institution in the Philippines. To make matters worse, his replacement by Dr. Eric Domingo a known political ally of GMA, was removed from the list of nominees for PGH Director in December 2009 because of his lack tenure being a part time employee of PGH.
It is time to wake up from our apathy and fight not just for Joegon but also for what he represent and for what our conscience deems as just and right. Many have maligned him for his unambiguous stand on controversial issues in PGH and foremost is the disadvantageous deal made between UP’s BOR and the Daniel Mercado Medical Center that will soon operate a private laboratory, diagnostics, pharmacy and outpatient clinic within PGH itself. He has been singled out as the main stumbling block to the estimated hundreds of millions of pesos in profit that is grossly slanted to favor only a non-PGH entity.
Therefore on Monday, the first day of March at seven in the morning, we the LABAN UP-PGH Movement and all our allies will barricade the PGH Director’s office to protect Director Joegon and rightfully keep his position as PGH Director. The All UP Worker’s Union have already committed to join us. UP students from Diliman, Manila and other units are rallying their constituents to join this barricade. We are counting on the PGH Faculty, the UP Medical Students and UP Medicine Alumni to be there. Anyone who cares for UP and PGH should be there physically or in spirit. We need all the help we can get. We can no longer afford to sit on the fence or watch from the sidelines. We need to act now and we need to act fast.
OUR STATEMENT
Respect the civil service law protecting the tenure of all government employees including the Director of UP-PGH. The arbitrary attempt to remove and replace Director Jose Gonzales under suspicious and extra-ordinary circumstances is unjust, oppressive, illegal and immoral.
Kung ginawa ito kay Director Joegon maari din itong gawin sa lahat ng empleyado ng UP at PGH
Ituwid ang baluktot, itama ang mali.
Kung Di ngayon kailan pa
Kung Di tayo sino pa.
Si Joegon na Tama na.LABAN UP-PGH MOVEMENT
A copy of the indignation statement can also be found on Facebook, here. Pictures of previous indignation rallies can also be found, here
