C. OTHER MATTERS
V. OTHER MATTERS
2. On the matters of Regent Farolan (cont’d)
33
2. On the matters of Regent Farolan (cont’d) . . .
c. Update on the Shopping Center and the status of former stall operators
c.1 As a matter for information, President Concepcion said that the entire block where the old Shopping Center sits, including the parking lot at the back and the adjacent tennis court, will be re-established as a shopping complex with all the requirements needed by the community inside the campus. The proposed shopping complex will have a four-storey building that will house a grocery store, a parlor, a bookstore, a food court, and others.
c.2 The estimated amount for the 4-storey building has already been raised.
The detailed architectural and engineering design is now in progress. No trees will be cut in the process because the shopping complex will carefully integrate the existing trees on the property into its design.
c.3 For the stalls, priority will be given to stall owners of the old Shopping Center who were affected by the fire incident. The rental rates will be kept at a minimum so that goods and services will remain affordable. The plan is to charge only the cost of repair and maintenance. The bidding will not be on the basis of highest rental rate but on the basis of highest discount for the students, faculty and staff, relative to the tag price. The discounts will become automatic for UP students and employees. All students and employees will be issued a new ID, which may be used also in libraries.
He expects to keep prices down with this scheme, with only UP students and employees benefitting from it.
c.4 President Concepcion said that he already asked UP Diliman to come up with a proposal on what to do with former and new stall owners, while the shopping complex is under construction. He informed the Board that about 80% of affected SC stall owners are no longer the original tenants, but are merely sub-lessees.
c.5 Regent Guillermo appreciated the plan for the new shopping complex as explained by the President. However, he inquired if there is an interim plan for the affected stall owners who are currently operating at the tennis court because they have no electricity and water supply at the moment.
They are also requesting if they can be part of any discussion or consultation on the shopping complex.
34
2. On the matters of Regent Farolan (cont’d) . . .
c. Update on the Shopping Center … (cont’d) . . .
c.6 President Concepcion said that from his understanding, the Director of the Business Concessions Office, Dr. Raquel Florendo, is in constant communication with the affected stall owners. However, for the concerns raised by Regent Guillermo, President Concepcion assured that his administration will commit to do, as follows: 1) find a temporary place for stall owners in the meantime that the new shopping complex is being built;
2) instruct the relevant UP Diliman offices to include the former stall owners in the consultation as they might have inputs as to type of stalls, size, lay-out, etc.; and 3) involve the alumni of the Virata School of Business in giving training to stall owners on strategies for resource utilization and business development.
c.7 On the question about the nature of the obligation of the University to the stall owners, President Concepcion replied that the University has no such legal obligation. At best, the University may only have a moral obligation and that is only because the stall owners have served the UP community for a long time.
c.8 Regent Guillermo inquired how the management of the Shopping Center was transferred from the Office of the Chancellor to the Office of the President. President Concepcion explained that the infrastructure re- development of the Shopping Center has been delegated by the Board of Regents to the UP System Administration. The construction and re- development of the Shopping Center will be given to the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).
Board Action: NOTED
d. PGH procurement plans, especially on supplies for emergency rooms d.1 As a matter for the information of the Board, Regent Farolan shared that
he has read a post by one of the doctors at the Philippine General Hospital (PGH) regarding the overcrowded emergency rooms (ERs) of the PGH—
with patients exceeding the authorized bed capacity of ERs. He also shared the comment regarding the alleged lack of supplies for the ERs and the lack of plantilla items for PGH.
35
2. On the matters of Regent Farolan (cont’d) . . .
d. PGH procurement plans … (cont’d) . . .
d.2 On the issue of plantilla items, he said that his response was that the University cannot just create items because there is a process and that DBM is giving new items for PGH. As a matter of policy, the University does not want to add to the existing number of contractual employees.
d.3 On the issue of alleged lack of supplies, however, he suggested that the Board ask the appropriate officials to look into the matter because this negative publicity might pose potential problems when in fact, there is already a policy framework to address these kinds of procurement issues.
d.4 President Concepcion said that the University cannot do much on the problem of bed capacity because of the overwhelming number of patients who go to PGH daily whom PGH cannot turn away. Regarding the alleged lack of supplies, he said that it is not supposedly a problem because PGH has sufficient funding for supplies. The P100-million subsidy from Malacañang, through its Malasakit Center, covers all hospital charges of indigent patients, including medicines. At any rate, he said that he will refer the matter to PGH Director Gerardo Legaspi for investigation.
Board Action: NOTED
3. Update on the renaming of the College of Engineering and Agro-Industrial