Written by Joven Jacolbia

Earlier this month, the country was hit by three typhoons, including Super Typhoon Rolly and Typhoon Ulysses. Communities in Luzon and Visayas are still coping with the damages brought by these disasters, with some areas still lacking relief efforts and stable connections to water and electricity. To prioritize relief efforts and mental health, UPM students all over the country have called for an academic break so affected constituents can attend to their needs. However, the whole community faces another disaster: UPM’s organizational communication.

Delayed announcements not ‘new’

UPM’s communications to its student have already been criticized in the past. The UPM University Student Council has been tirelessly coordinating the student concerns to the administration over the past year to deaf ears of the administration. Aside from lack of coordination to student bodies, the administration has also shown lack of initiative to implement not only just policies, but also humane adjustments to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and disasters faced by UPM constituents. Last March, only a parking rerouting scheme memo was published on social media pages after the suspension of classes due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The administration also failed to publish guidelines for the 2020 midterm and first semesters, leaving students to enroll in SAIS without any knowledge of the university’s plan for remote learning. However, information is not the only thing the administration lacks—it also lacks urgency.

Last October, the administration already circumvented the City of Manila’s suspension of October 31 classes. Mayor Isko Moreno reasoned that students must be given time to spend time with their families, considering that October 31 used to be a non-working holiday. UP Manila also previously honored this arrangement, even relaying the said suspension on October 28. However, it retracted its statement on October 29 and announced that classes will proceed on October 31 without providing any reason. The USC has sent a letter and followed-up on that matter but unfortunately, they received nothing and students were forced to attend classes on a holiday. This situation almost happened again after the onslaught of Typhoon Ulysses after Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Nymia Simbulan refused to cancel classes because of the lack of typhoon signal in Metro Manila. It takes UPM hours to “confirm” suspension announcements, even orders coming from the Malacañang Palace.

Students have questioned why the UP Manila administration has to confirm or approve the suspension of classes from the city government of Manila and the Malacañang Palace, instead of merely relaying it like other state universities such as the Polytechnic University of the Philippines, Philippine Normal University, and even UP Diliman.

Lack of compassion?

The official twitter account @UPManilaOnline, managed by the Information, Publication, and Public Affairs Office (IPPAO), has been notorious for its unprofessional responses. Often asked for prompt announcements, the handler of the account resorted to passive-aggressive tweets.

The UP Manila administration, especially Chancellor Carmencita Padilla, was also criticized for the lack of proactive and decisive policies that could have helped students. Students have also called for pro-student and humane policies that the UP Manila community and our country needs right now. They recalled the UPM admin boasts of its “honor, excellence, and compassion.” Students and employees have called out the administration’s seemingly apathetic stance to the community, demanding better policies from the chancellor.

Poor organizational communication

Students have also noticed the poor organizational communication from IPPAO and other offices. During the student consultation for the UPM Search for Chancellor last August 2020, an OrCom major already pointed out the disorganized communication strategy under Chancellor Padilla. The student pointed out that UPM should have a united front in decision making. Instead, the Chancellor delegated the decision-making on vital measures such as suspensions to colleges, and to some extent, the instructors themselves.

Last November 12, the USC formally sent a letter to the OVCAA to appeal for suspension of synchronous and asynchronous classes until November 18, 2020. They also called for waiver of deadlines for class requirements and deductions for late submissions until November 21. VCAA Simbulan, however, replied that UPM will only suspend classes based on typhoon signals, therefore not giving any suspension for affected constituents despite cancellation of classes by the city government. Fortunately, an order from Malacañang Palace eventually forced them to announce class suspension.

However, it would take the administration 3 days later to respond (or deflect, in that matter) with a memorandum directed only to colleges and student-affiliated units. The said memo only recommended, instead of directing, instructors “to exercise utmost leniency and flexibility” to affected students.

https://www.facebook.com/usc.upm/posts/1567368693466326

Students have criticized the administration for deflecting responsibilities to the colleges and to an extent, the faculty members instead of taking a proactive and compassionate action for its constituents. #NasaanAngUPMChancy even trended on Twitter and reached top 2 in the Philippines, with calls from the UPM community and allies from other universities.

The UP Manila administration remained with its unclear stance until it is forced to adhere to the decision of university councils across the system. According to the memorandum issued by the Office of the Vice President for Academic Affairs (OVPAA Memorandum No. 2020-139), the University of the Philippines declares November 16-21 as a period of recovery for affected members of the UP community in the aftermath of Typhoon Ulysses. The letter from USC, however, remains unanswered up to this day.

Last November 16, the Organizational Communication Society already wrote to Department of Arts and Communication Chair Alice Adeva to appeal for waiver of deadlines for academic requirements for both OrCom and PhilArts subjects either to the end of the month or the semester. OrComSoc is yet to receive a response from Prof. Adeva.