Quebengco - Maridable, their own little kingdom in La SAlle
August 28, 2006This is the short version of the issue. The only document I make reference to is the Faculty Manual issued to all teachers and I have the 2005 edition, the latest one. This is a document (more like a booklet actually) agreed upon between the Faculty Association of DLSU and officers of DLSU namely, Bro. Armin- Pres., Ms Quebengco - EVP, Allan Bernardo (then VP for Academics - VPAR), Agnes Yuhico (AVP for Academics) and the Deans of each college.
Its all about how a couple of top management officials of La Salle, openly and flagrantly break the rules within the school, in total disregard of the agreed procedures, treating the campus like their own little kingdom. I think they’ve finally startred believing in their own infallibility.
OK Here goes:
1. I am a probationary full time professor designated as Instructor 8 at DLSU. My term as a full time professor began on SY 2004-2005 although I have been teaching at DLSU on part time basis since Sep 1996. As such, I am employed on a contractual basis. As a probationary professor, my contract requires review at the end of the contract to determine whether it will be renewed, not renewed, or if I am promoted to a permanent position based on the Faculty Manual.
2. Last July, the current VPAR, Julius Maridable, requested a recommendation from my Dept. Chair, Dr. Jimmy Ong, with regards to myself since my contract was expiring May 28, 2006. Dr. Ong, formulated the recommendation which recommended renewal of my probationary contract for another year and this was sent back to the VPAR. The VPAR returned with a letter rejecting Dr. Ong’s recommendation due to 3 hours unmade up absences. Dr. Ong, after discussing with me, replied with a request for reconsideration citing my substantial compliance with the other criteria for renewal contained in the Faculty Manual. This was once again rejected by VPAR on the same grounds.
3. I wrote the VPAR requesting that the Renewal Board to review my contract be convened as it is the authority that will determine what action should be taken on my probationary contract, citing specific clauses in the Faculty Manual. VPAR wrote me back citing that other Par. in the manual regarding expiring contracts and reiterating his non approval of Dr. Ong’s recommendation. I spoke with Dr. Ricardo Puno - President of the Faculty Association who said he views these developments with concern and he would take this up with the VPAR.
4. Dr. Puno spoke with VPAR and was informed that the VPAR had no intentions of convening the Renewal Board totally against the procedures required in the Manual, after which Dr. Puno, spoke with EVP Quebengco about the matter among other things that he discussed with her. The EVP did not give any comment.
5. At this point, it was already early May and Dr. Puno informed me that the VPAR would consider convening the Board if I would waive my rights to 30 day notice about non renewal of my contract, to which I agreed. On May 11 (or thereabouts), Dr. Ong, Mr. Rene Hapitan - Vice Dean (acting in behalf of then Dean Dr. Michael Alba for the College of Bus. & Eco.), Dr. Luisa Delayco, and Mr. Benison Cu representing the Faculty Assn. were convened as a group to consider the recommendation of Dr. Ong to renew my probationary contract. They unanimously agreed to extend for one year, and I was subsequently informed by Dr. Ong of their decision on the same day.
6. Sometime in June 2006 I received a letter from EVP Quebengco, informing me that they had agreed to my request to convene the Renewal Board and the University has decided to re-engage my services for one trimester to which I should affix my conforme in a space provided. I told the lady who brought the letter, Edith, that I was under the impression that the Faculty Manual specifically stated that subsequent renewals for probationary full time professors would be for one year. I nonetheless signed the document. Note that I was not furnished a copy of the Decision sheet regarding this Renewal Board’s decision as requried under the Manual.
7. Sometime in July, I received the contract referred to which had a transmittal letter requesting I sign it ASAP, and I noted that the contract end date was August 28, 2006. I informed Dr. Puno about this and expressed my concern about the term. He informed me that I should not sign it because it goes against the rules set forth in the Manual, specifically that subsequent renewals should be on an annual basis and that he would discuss this matter with the EVP.
8. Sometime after that, the office of VPAR started calling Dr. Ong, Dr. Puno of the FA and the office of Dean Myrna Austria opf the College of B&E to convene as a renewal Board to consider my contract. Dr. Ong, was surprised with the sudden-ness as he had not prepared a recommendation which should normally precede the convening of the Board. Dr. Puno, speaking on behalf of the FA informed the VPAR that they would not send a rep because the contract to be reviewed contravened the rules of the Faculty Manual as a result this Renewal Board never convened.
9. On July 20, 2006 I received a letter from the VPAR office requesting me to sign the contract on or before July 28, 2006. On July 27, 2006, I received a letter from EVP Quebengco informing me about the my non-signing of the contract, and notifying me that my employment with the University would cease on Aug 28, 2006 and that my last paycheck would be paid via check upon completion of my clearances.
10. I was advised by Dr. Puno to sign the contract stating that he did not wish for me to be caught on a technicality due to non signing of the contract. I did sign the contract and forwarded the same to the office of EVP Quebengco on July 28, 2006, with a transmittal letter requesting the Renewal Board to be convened after the forthcoming recommendation of my Chair Dr. Ong was made and sent. EVP Quebengco wrote me on Aug 2, 2006 citing errors in the dates I indicated in my transmittal and citing errors and erasures in the various communications that I have received, and reiterating her notice of the end of my contract.
11. Dr. Puno once again spoke to EVP Quebengco about my case and he informs me that he was told by EVP Quebengco that they were inclined not to renew my contract and not to convene the Renewal Board to review my contract based on “Management Prerogative”. Dr. Puno felt that he was powerless to do anything or make any further representation on my behalf because of this statement by EVP Quebengco.
12. Nonetheless, I spoke with Dr. Ong and told him that his recommendation was the first step if the Dept. wished to renew my probationary contract with DLSU based on the rules in the Faculty Manual and he agreed to issue his recommendation. This was sent to the office of the VPAR on Aug 7. No reply has been received todate.
13. On Aug 16, I called the office of the VPAR to inquire about the recommendation of Dr. Ong and was informed by one Lydia that Zony of the office of the EVP was handling that and she would transfer my call there. The transfer failed so I took the liberty of speaking with Zony who informed me that she thought this issue was finished and that my contract would not be renewed, and that adequate notice was given to me by virtue of EVP Quebengco’s letter. I told her our appreciation of the letter referred to was that it was a notice of the end of my contract, thus Dr. Ong issued his recommendation because the Dept. wished for me to continue as an Instructor at the Dept. and we only followed the rules as stated in the Faculty Manual in this regard. At all times Zony was careful to say that she was only a messenger and could not make any decisions.
14. Some discussion continued and I requested Zony if I could set an appointment with EVP Quebengco to know the reasons behind this “Management Prerogative” they were exercising and she informed me that EVP Quebengco was a very busy person indeed and that she herself would have to resort to Text messages and email to even talk to EVP Quebengco so it would be out of the question to see her.
15. So I wrote a memo to the VPAR making specific references to the Faculty Manual requesting that the Renewal Board to review my expring contract be convened in as much as the Recommendation has been issued. I specifically cited that this is a second request for it 16. I received a letter from the VPAR today in response to my request, making reference to the Aug 7 letter of the EVP, no other comments.
I am now going to write a Notice of Grievance against this King and Queen of la salle, who rule malevolently, with a brazen disregard for the rules they agreed to. How terrible to realize how they openly flaunt their power over others, exercising dominion over the lives of the teachers, playing with the futures of these people who ask for nothing but a vow to nurture minds towards a productive life in the mold of St. La Salle. In fact, this little King hiding behind the power of the Queen’s skirt, without even extending the dignity of an explanation nor even the guts to confront and face me squarely like a man.
So now, that’s the story, and I think that if they continue to disregard the rules and prcedures in the Faculty Manual, I will have live with the shame of saying I no longer teach there because . . I don’t know. . . management prerogative. To this day, I do not know the reasons for their refusal to convene the Board, nor the basis for this Management Prerogative for not convening the board. All I know is, the King and Queen have done it again.
Atin ko Pong singsing (a novel) part 3
August 12, 2006Tiyo Doring impatiently tapped the french crystal wine glass with his fork exclaiming “Saguli, Saguli mo!” (Just a moment!!) “I have an announcement to make, on my travels around Europe, i have seen the wonders of the world, from chauffer driven cars to the magic of modern medicine. I’ve dined in the most expensive restaurants and . . ” with a quick wink of the eye, ” . . . and on the most expensive and beautiful women the world has to offer!” as dirty chuckles and gasps from the ladies present interspersed with the sound of silver on ceramic. As Dorito continued ” . . but nothing, nothing in this world can compare with the pleasure of being back home, so I am glad to be back, and to see my father Mariano, my brother Tomas, and of course, my mother, Mama? cheers to all of you! and Pepang? Pepang? Nokarin i Pepang (where is Pepang?)”
As he sat on his place on the right of Impong Ano, he was met with applause from the thankful guests at this homecoming. There was Mayor Honorato Sanchez of San Fernando, family friend and always available for consultation to the family. After all, when he had shot his main contender for that post, Pablito Calma, in the back, Impong ano accepted him into the safety of the mansyon providing an all night alibi for his whereabouts. Next to him, Conchita Benitez Yap, eldest daughter of the Immaculada rice millers in Tarlac, reputed to be the richest trader in Tarlac and inveterate Monte player, playing high stakes at their family run brothel in Concepcion. There was Severina Santos, Tomas mother-in-law, unwavering in here full regalia, head held up high and seemingly looking down on everything and everyone, she was after all richer than the Paras clan combined; decked out in here saya, made from hand woven piña (pineapple) all the way from Laguna. It had taken three months just to complete the bolt of cloth and another month and a half to transport it to Pampanga but on Sepia (that was her monicker) it carried the bearing of royalty. Mercedes, or Dedeng was quite unlike her mother, while Sepia had that unmistakeable aire of old old rich, her daughter was sweet, innocent, and constantly smiling at everyone. This what Tomas had gotten into when his father arranged their marriage, and at the time was the most expensive of all marriages. They had imported the best bordeaux, special China from Manila, specifically ordered for throwing out of the window after dinner as this was the custom at the time to honor the couple (or guests for that matter) as a single event worth remembering by never using the same plate again. Never mind that there were actually maids outside with Nets catching and saving what they could from the thrown out China, usually just half of what was thrown out. Obviously inherited from one of the visits the family had made to Greece, and evolved into what they do now, but instead of breaking it in the house, just throw it out the window.
Rosa had been in the kitchen like a whirling dervish as early as 4 a.m. when they had to slaughter the snipes and the chicken, slowly bleeding them carefully and dipping in boiling water to simplify removing the feathers, supervising the cleaning of the pig’s carcass, making sure to keep the crayfish (ulang) alive in a a constant stream of clean water until just before cooking; as well as putting the finishing touches on the lengua con setas, her style, as the ox tongue was not bathed in some rich thick and creamy sauce, but rather a light colored but tasty concoction, almost like a marinade rather than something from a stew. You had to take this dish and let it cool before ladling equal portions of tongue, sausage (andouille, of course!), carrot, potato, leek into an individual size bowl then carefully topping that off with the dough of what would be a flaky pastry, with the crest of the Santos-Paras union artfullyh emblazoned on top of each lengua baked casserole. ‘
