The University of the Philippines Vice President for Legal Affairs on Wednesday clarified that only the President of the University can appoint the director of the school’s Office for Athletics and Sports Development.
This after outgoing UP Diliman Chancellor Fidel R. Nemenzo reportedly appointed College of Human Kinetics Dean Francis Diaz as interim OASD Director at the Balay Chancellor in UP Diliman on Tuesday, the evening before his last day in office.
Nemenzo, whose term expired on March 1, is on holdover capacity only until March 2.
But in a statement posted in the UP website, Vice President for Public Affairs Prof. Jose Wendell P. Capili announced that Vice President for Legal Affairs Abraham Rey M. Acosta stressed that “Executive Order No. 15-02 establishing the OASD explicitly states that while it is the Chancellor who recommends the Director of the OASD, it is the President who approves and appoints the same.”
According to Capili, “as of today, no recommendation has been forwarded to the Office of the President by the Office of the Diliman Chancellor.”
Capili explains that though the VP for Legal Affairs acknowledges that the Office of the Director of OASD has remained vacant throughout the term of Chancellor Nemenzo, “the recommendation for the appointment of the OASD Director should be left to the next Chancellor, who will be elected by the Board of Regents on 27 April 2023.”
The statement further states that per the VP for Legal Affairs, the OASD director should be recommended by the incoming Chancellor because “(1) the recommendation is being made by Chancellor Nemenzo, whose term ended on 1 March 2023 and is on holdover capacity only until 2 March 2023; and (2) the term ‘interim’ to characterize the Directorship of OASD is not in accordance with current legal processes in the appointment of UP personnel, and the use of interim appointments is reserved to appointments that require Board of Regents approval.”
“In the meantime, the University will continue to work with the varsity teams and various support groups to address the concerns and needs of our athletes,” added Capili in the statement.
Executive Order No. 15-02 establishing the OASD was issued by former UP President Alfredio Pascual in October 2015.
Section 4 of the EO states that “the OASD shall be attached to and shall be under the supervision and administration of the Chancellor of UP Diliman. It shall be headed by a full time Director.”
The EO further states that “the Director shall be recommended by the Chancellor and appointed by the President.”
Per the EO, the OASD Director shall serve for a period of 2 years from the date of his or her appointment, and may be re-appointed multiple times upon the recommendation of the Chancellor and approval of the President.