Staffers from the Office of Community Relations (OCR) and the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs (OVCSA) of UP Diliman (UPD) have come forward with complaints regarding their heads who they allege to have committed workplace violations that emotionally and mentally affected them. 

In two separate letters addressed to Chancellor Edgardo Carlo Vistan, several OCR and OVCSA staff detailed the abuses and mismanagement under Carlos Pangilinan, a project development associate of OCR, and Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Jerwin Agpaoa. 

The Collegian reached out to Vice Chancellor for Community Affairs Roehl Jamon, to whom OCR is under, but he said he will treat the accusations as invalid as long as the complaint remains unsigned. As of writing, Agpaoa has not yet responded to a request for comment. 

Vistan, meanwhile, declined to comment on the matter as he does not want to “say anything that would appear to prejudge these matters,” but assured that “steps have been taken to address them.” 

Threats and Intimidation

The OCR is responsible for promoting “close relations between the university and the residents of the Diliman community and appropriate local governments.” Despite the office’s vital role in the university, it continues to face challenges in its top leadership.

In a letter dated November 6, of which the Collegian was also sent a copy, anonymous OCR staffers claimed Pangilinan would use the office’s conference room to drink alcoholic beverages with friends. He also had several instances of hitting tables and chairs, threatening and shouting at aides and employees, the OCR staffers complained. 

Pangilinan also planned to create an evaluation committee that will assess the employees’ performance, which Glenn Cabradilla from the Alliance of Contractual Workers in UP Diliman (ACE UP) said could be a threat to the nonrenewal of the employees’ contracts. 

Pangilinan, in a dialogue with ACE UP, admitted he had a “temper.” He also explained the proposed committee was because of a formal complaint he received, but there was no proof of said complaint. Ultimately, Pangilinan committed to recommending that none of the staffers be removed, Cabradilla said. 

During Vistan and ACE UP’s meeting, the chancellor did not commit to anything about the employees’ contracts and deferred the matter to Jamon instead.

Vistan has not appointed a full-time OCR director since Gerry Lanuza, the past director, stepped down earlier this year. James Christopher Buño serves as the officer-in-charge of the OCR, who is also the director of the Diliman Environmental Management Office.

However, after an alleged dispute between him and Pangilinan, according to the OCR staffers’ letter, Jamon effectively removed Buño from his position. Yet Buño is still the OCR’s head, according to the UPD website as of press time.

“Naniniwala kami na kahit na contract of service lamang ang karamihan sa amin, meron kaming karapatan sa isang ligtas at maayos na work environment,” read part of the OCR employees’ letter of complaint. 

‘Help the Helpdesk’

The OCR is not the sole office experiencing workplace abuses as some OVCSA employees also came forward with complaints against their head, Vice Chancellor Agpaoa. In an open letter dated December 8, the Ask UPD Student Helpdesk manager, Cha Dela Cruz, raised issues about Agpaoa’s “unfair labor practices.”

The Ask UPD Student Helpdesk is an office where students turn to for academic inquiries. So far, they have helped over 50,000 clients. But because of Agpaoa’s decision to lay off the handlers of the helpdesk, there is no certainty that it will continue its services when the year ends. 

In mid-October, Agpaoa planned to remove three of his staff. But he only informed the OVCSA members through a text message, said one of the OVCSA staff who was granted anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the issue. Even then, Agpaoa did not specify who and why they would be laid off, the staff added.

“Nagpasa na kami ng letter para magkaroon ng sit down meeting para malaman namin yung desisyon niya ng pagtanggal. Para at least aware kami at may assessment,” said the OVCSA staff. “Since non-UP [contractuals] naman daw kami, di na raw niya kailangang i-justify.”

Non-UP contractual workers are renewed based on the discretion of the head of the office, which, in the case of OVCSA, is Agpaoa. They are employees who are under the no-work, no-pay basis and do not have an employer-employee relationship with UP.

The issue was raised to Vistan, and only then did Agpaoa face the OVCSA staff. Agpaoa wants to prioritize administrative work in OVCSA and allocate more employees there, said one of the OVCSA staff.

Agpaoa will push through in laying off three of his staffers whose contracts are only up until the end of the year, said the OVCSA staff. They have also tried to directly request another dialogue with the vice chancellor but to no avail.

“Humuhugot na lang ako ng lakas sa samahan naming OVCSA staff. Ang gini-grieve ko ay perfect kami as a team,” said one of the staff who will be laid off at the end of the year. “Sana talaga i-reconsider ni Vistan ang desisyon niya about [Vice Chancellor] Jerwin.”

Alleged Emotional Abuses

On top of uncertainty in their livelihood and renewal of contract, contractual workers are tormented by verbal and psychological abuses within their workplace and from their bosses, no less. 

Whenever there were lapses in their tasks, Agpaoa would not directly tell them how and what to improve. And whenever they had suggestions, they would only find out from staff of other offices that Agpaoa has not taken things lightly, said the staff whose contract Agpaoa will not renew.

“Mayroon siyang something against strong women na sumasagot sa kanya. Pumipili siya ng sunod-sunuran lang sa kanya na hindi siya iqu-question,” the OVCSA employee said. “Akala ko, okay lang sa kanya [yung suggestion ko]. Yun pala, minasama niya yun at kwinento niya sa ibang staff. May resentment na pala siya towards me.”

The issue of workplace abuse in the OCR and OVCSA is not the first in UPD, but last year’s case proved that protests and campaigns can be effective. 

In February 2022, Jonathan Anticamara, then deputy director for administration of the Institute of Biology, was replaced after he was reported to be cursing at the institute’s staff. The institute director, Ian Kendrich Fontanilla, replaced Anticamara following persistent calls from the All UP Workers Union.

OCR and OVCSA employees, ultimately, are looking forward to more dialogues and resolutions with Vistan and their office heads. More than anything, the staff call for the security and renewal of their contracts, like the Ask UPD Helpdesk’s “Help the Helpdesk” campaign. 

“Paniguradong hindi isolated case yung sa opisina namin,“ said an OVCSA staff. “In general, sana ma-renew ang mga staff at makapagtalaga ng mas mahusay at mas deserve na [mga] leader para sa mga mag-aaral.” ●

Editor's note (Jan. 2,2023): In an email on January 2, the institute director, Ian Kendrich Fontanilla, clarified that Anticamara "opted not to renew his appointment" as IB's deputy director for administration "which ended in July of 2022." Moreover, Fontanilla told the Collegian that Anticamara's replacement, Marie Christine Obusan, worked with the former during the transition period from January to July 2022.