Still no health permit for the majority of UST employees two days before deadline

*UST Main Building. File photo of The Flame*

MORE THAN half of UST employees, including some 1,400 faculty members, have not yet complied with the health permit requirement two days before the deadline set by the Manila city government.

As of July 29, a total of 1,701 out of 3,261 University personnel or 52.16% have not yet secured their health certificate from the city government, data obtained by The Flame showed.

The remaining 1,560 or 47.84% University staff, which is composed of teaching, non-teaching and administrative employees, have already obtained their sanitary permit before July 31, the deadline set by the local government.

A total of 1,409 out of 2,413 faculty members or 58.39% have yet to obtain a permit. About a third or 226 of the 679 members of the support staff still have no health certificates. Administrative officials and staff without health permits totaled 66 or 39.05% of 169 personnel.

The data was tallied by the UST Santo Tomas e-Service Providers (STePS), the support unit that facilitates the daily office transactions of the University.

A frequently asked questions document stamped by UST and two Manila offices dated July 18 said all non-compliant employees who fail to secure a health permit after July 31 would be barred from accessing the MyUSTe Portal.

According to Samahang Manggagawa-UST president and STePS business process analyst Dan Paul Patricio, the administration did not hold a dialogue with the employees prior to imposing the sanction.

“Wala, walang consultation na nangyari… Eventually, kapag marami pa rin talagang hindi nag-comply, baka hindi na talaga bigyan ngaccess,” Patricio told The Flame.

(None, no consultation happened. Eventually, if there are still a lot of [employees] who did not comply [with the health permit requirement], they might not be given access [to the MyUSTE portal]).

Some union members have attributed the low turnout of the health permit compliance to the “unkempt” and “below-average” facilities of the designated testing site and the high cost of the procedures required by the Manila office, which is worth P625 annually. A number of employees are also against the requirement for them to submit stool samples every year, calling it invasive and unreasonable.

The University began mandating the health permit requirement through a memorandum in April in line with Ordinance 8793 or the Sanitation and Disinfection Code of the City of Manila issued in 2021.

Under the ordinance, workers are required to present their valid ID, stool and urine samples, a filled-out drug test form and biometrics. Section 85 of the city ordinance states that those who fail to comply with the ordinance shall face a fine of not more than P3,000 for the first offense and not more than P5,000 and the revocation of their health certificate for the second offense.

Under Section 86 of the ordinance, erring establishments will be slapped with a fine not more than P3,000 for the first offense; not more than P4,000 for the second offense and a recommendation for a cease-and-desist order from the Manila Health Department to the Business Permits and Licensing Office; and P5,000 for the third offense and a recommendation for a permanent closure order from the same office. F