The Legal Affairs of University of the Philippines questioned the appointment of College of Human Kinetics Dean Francis Diaz as interim director of the Office of Athletics and Sports Development.
In a statement, UP Legal Affairs Vice Chancellor Abraham Rey Acosta clarified that only the University President has the authority to appoint the OASD director.
Diaz has been tasked by outgoing UP Diliman Chancellor Fidel Nemenzo to run the OASD — the body that aims to oversee the welfare of state university’s more than 1,000 student-athletes from 29 teams and three performing groups.
Under UP Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Loujaye Sonido, the OASD will have 14 full-time employees who will be assisted by three interim staff from the CHK faculty.
Diaz, for his part, will only serve as OASD director during the transition period.
Nemenzo, during the unveiling of the OASD at the Balay Tsanselor in UP Diliman recently, said the newly-formed body will also take care of the student-athletes’ welfare, especially the academic and psycho-social support through the hiring of tutors, medical staff, and dieticians.
Also, among the listed functions of the OASD will be the recruitment of coaches and players, scientific monitoring and evaluation of teams, fundraising and generation of resources for sports and varsity needs, particularly infrastructure and equipment.
But Acosta questioned Diaz’s appointment since his appointing authority — Nemenzo — no longer has the power to do such since his term of office had already ended on 1 March and he was only serving on holdover capacity starting 2 March.
“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,” Acosta said through UP Vice President for Public Affairs Prof. Jose Wendell Capili.
“As of today, no recommendation has been forwarded to the Office of the President by the Office of the Diliman Chancellor.”
Capili explained 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,” Capili added in the statement.
Daily Tribune tried but Diaz begged off from issuing a statement.
