23 June 2010
On the very same day it received its courtesy copy of the state of facilities address (SOFA), the Physical Development & Special Projects Office (PDSPO) has convened a meeting with the officers of the Supreme Student Council (SSC). The SOFA was released early this month by the SSC in coordination with the Bukluran Students’ Alliance-Integrated Students’ Organization. With the SSC’s mandate as the voice and face of all PLM students, the SOFA was part of the fulfillment of the SSC officers’ commitment to the studentry as its modest share of augmenting the efforts of PLM by enunciating student concerns to the Management while advocating for student welfare to sustain academic excellence. The SOFA is said to be in preparation for the then-upcoming opening of the new school year as an offshoot of the inspection made by said student organizations.
PDSPO chief Rolando Marasigan presided over the meeting which is joined by ITC director Garry Erwin de Gracia, the SSC officers and three Ang Pamantasan (AP) staffers. The objective of the meeting, De Gracia stressed, is to find immediate solutions to the facility concerns enunciated by the SSC that would redound to the benefit of the studentry.
Marasigan expressed that PDSPO’s mission is to provide more facilities as seen in the recent projects in PLM and to ensure the maintenance thereof, especially those that affect the academic performance of students, among which are the: (1) renovation of a first-rate canteen, (2) integrated covered walkways, and (3) the long-awaited GL elevator, etc. He explained that the SOFA concerns have been covered by the continuing monitoring and maintenance efforts of the PDSPO. He clarified, though, that while it had been the practice of PDSPO in the past to provide prompt and professional service at short notice, which have been appreciated by the various internal stakeholders of PLM, there were recent changes in bureaucratic procedures that slowed down its personnel from immediately instituting repairs. Additional layers or steps were implemented in the aspect of operational management at the insistence of the resident auditor of the Commission on Audit.
Some of the SOFA concerns, Marasigan added, are attended to through a regular cycle in that a certain period is exhausted before a renovation or restoration is made. He underscored the need for the utmost cooperation of the PLM community in using such facilities with care. It has been observed that abuse of the facilities could render such facilities inefficient much earlier than expected. An example of this are the student chairs that fall to extreme vandalism resulting to unsightly class environment, to the extent that some are deeply chafed or even dismantled by force rendering those unusable anymore. Another example he mentioned is the comfort room faucet which is unreasonably closed or opened with extreme force beyond its capacity, thereby requiring its untimely replacement.
Marasigan has enlisted the help of both the SSC and AP, given their crucial roles as student leaders in their own domains, in reaching out to and reminding the students, for their own good and well-being, to take care of the facilities they use so those could serve their needs at least until their life cycle is reached, if not longer. Both the SSC and AP have committed to help in campaigning for the fair and responsible use of facilities in the University. It may be recalled that AP has since mentioned this in an article in one of its past issues.
Marasigan gave the assurance that PDSPO is performing its job professionally, including the conscientious monitoring of classrooms and doing immediate repairs when necessary. He also clarified that before the beginning of every semester, the PDSPO performs sweeping general check-up of all facilities to ensure adequate and safe facilities for the PLM community. Part of his assurances is that the items in the SOFA that can be resolved quickly are on its priority list. He also assured the SSC that his office is always open and willing to look into the SSC’s concerns as regard to the student welfare. The SSC acknowledged the openness and support of the PDSPO to the facility concerns of the PLM scholars.
At the inquiry of Ang Pamantasan, De Gracia clarified that a procurement process for Internet is underway pursuant to the generous approval of acting president Rafaelito Garayblas. Once the prescribed process is finished, he expects that the lowest calculated and responsive bidder can promptly provide service. The entire PLM community will once again enjoy one of the most important resources for research and academic pursuits. It is acknowledged that Internet has become a staple service since the last decade for a broad spectrum of productive pursuits that contribute to optimum human development.
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