THE DEADLINE for non-tenured UST instructors to accomplish their health permit requirements has been deferred indefinitely as employees encounter a defect on the GoManila app that overcharges applicants securing the document.
In a memorandum addressed to University academic staff, Vice Rector for Academic Affairs chief Prof. Cheryl Peralta said the submission of a health certificate, which was initially scheduled for Feb. 14, has been postponed while the UST Health Service and the city public health laboratory are “streamlining” compliance procedures.
“Please be informed that we are deferring the deadline for non-tenured (i.e., reappointed) academic staff to submit to the UST Health Service their proof of fee payment on the GoManila app for the health certificate requirement, originally scheduled on February 14, 2025,” the memorandum read.
“The Health Service is currently coordinating with the Manila Public Health Laboratory (MPHL) to streamline the process for submission and validation of the laboratory results (i.e., fecalysis and chest x-ray) for both tenured and non-tenured academic staff. Only when the MPHL completes the validation of the laboratory results will the academic staff be able to pay the fee on the GoManila app,” it added.
According to UST Faculty Union (USTFU) president Prof. Emerito Gonzales, some faculty members have pointed out that the GoManila app, where employees are supposed to submit their laboratory results and pay for their permit, is still charging the original P625 fee instead of P365.
“UST is polishing the whole process, but [the] Manila Health [Department] is lagging or non-coordinated among themselves. The [GoManila] App is problematic,” Gonzales told The Flame.
“When the UST teacher submits his [or her] application, it must appear lower (like 300 pesos only). But [the] Manila Health [Department] via the [a]pp will say it is 600 pesos still. Manila Health needs to recalibrate that,” he added.
Last Oct. 7, the Manila Health Department relaxed its policy by no longer requiring laboratory tests to be conducted in its facilities and lowering the cost of the health certificate from P625 to P365. The updated fee consists of a P100 payment for the health permit, P235 for an occupational permit and P30 convenience fee.
“[It is] very possible that UST is ready, but the Manila Health [Department] may not be ready for the UST arrangement,” Gonzales said.
The USTFU chief explained that the local health laboratory would take two or more days to verify if the employee is from the University, and only then will it reduce the fee shown on the app.
With the deadline still tentative, Peralta said part-time instructors are expected to complete all health permit requirements by the end of the second term of academic year 2024-2025.
In an earlier memorandum, the OVRAA head said instructors who fail to secure a health permit would not be recommended for renewal in the succeeding term.
During the first term of the academic year, a number of non-tenured faculty members were denied teaching loads for failing to secure the health permits.
The health permit requirement is in compliance with City Ordinance 8793, which labor groups have described as “exploitative” and “discriminatory.”
The ordinance initially required workers to submit a valid ID, a filled-out drug test form, biometrics, stool and urine samples at the local government’s public health laboratory in Santa Cruz, which has been labeled by some Thomasians employees as “unhygienic.”
The Manila city government, led by Mayor Honey Lacuna, moved its medical facilities to San Lazaro Public Health Laboratory in January, seven months after the ordinance came under fire. Manila health chief Arnold “Poks” Pangan, also Lacuna’s husband, has loosened the controversial policy by allowing private schools to undergo medical procedures in their preferred testing site.
Gonzales said the University administration, faculty group and UST Hospital and Health Service have yet to discuss the issue surrounding the city’s transaction app.
In the meantime, part-time and reappointed faculty members are encouraged to undergo the required laboratory tests, the results of which must be submitted to the University’s health service. Meanwhile, newly-hired instructors must get theirs directly from the Manila public health laboratory.
Guidelines on compliance procedures will be issued by the UST Health Service in a separate memorandum. F — Mei Lin Weng with reports from Ma. Alyanna Selda
