Despite popular support for Nemenzo, UP regents choose law dean as next chancellor
MANILA, Philippines – The University of the Philippines’ highest-decision making body has appointed UP College of Law Dean Edgardo Carlo Vistan II as the next chancellor of its flagship Diliman campus, thwarting former Chancellor Fidel Nemenzo’s bid for a second term.
Without disclosing the final vote count, UP President Angelo Jimenez announced the UP Board of Regents’ decision on Monday to a disgruntled crowd of students and members of the Diliman academic community.
Besides Vistan and Nemenzo, archaeology professor Victor Paz also ran for the chancellorship.
As the 12th UPD chancellor, Vistan succeeds Nemenzo, whose term from 2020 to 2022 steered the university’s flagship campus through major learning adjustments during the COVID-19 pandemic, red-tagging and threats to the UP community’s academic freedom.
RELATED: UP Diliman pushes back vs red-tagging, vows to uphold critical thinking, academic freedom
Vistan is a member of the Upsilon Sigma Phi fraternity and among its many alumni that have successfully landed a position in the university’s halls of power.
His win in the Diliman chancellor selection process comes after the fraternity’s bet for the UP president position, former UP Los Baños Chancellor Fernando Sanchez, lost against Jimenez in 2022.
Vistan ran on a platform that emphasized, among others, consultative leadership and collaboration among different constituents in the Diliman community.
The seasoned lawyer will be serving his term as UPD chancellor from 2023 to 2026.
Sectoral vote defied
Two days before the BOR's Monday meeting, the board’s sectoral regents -– the student, faculty and staff regent — issued a rare public statement to support Nemenzo’s appointment, saying that he is the only candidate who has “fully embraced” the interests of various sectors within Diliman.
The statement mentioned that Marcos-appointed Raul Pagdanganan also expressed his “full support” for Nemenzo.The BOR has yet to disclose whether all four voted for Nemenzo.
Nemenzo previously gathered a nearly unanimous vote in his first bid for the chancellorship in 2020, receiving nine favorable votes and two abstentions. No one voted against him.
The UP Diliman University Student Council has called on the BOR to "overturn the votes" and to release the final vote count. It previously released a statement endorsing Nemenzo for a second term.
The student council also released a statement from Diliman’s student-athletes supporting Nemenzo despite their grievances with the university’s alleged neglect and inadequate support for athletes.
In a video posted by Tinig ng Plaridel, the official student publication of the UP College of Mass Communication, students repeatedly slammed a ladder against the doors of Quezon Hall after BOR members continued to remain inside despite calls to explain their decision.
WATCH: Students pound at the doors of Quezon Hall to demand the Board of Regents explain their vote and select law dean Edgardo Vistan as the 12th UP Diliman Chancellor.#UPDChancy2023 pic.twitter.com/hyT5FlgTM6
— Tinig ng Plaridel (@tinigngplaridel) April 3, 2023
Another tweet from Tinig ng Plaridel shows the words “SHAME BOR” painted on the doors of Quezon Hall.
LOOK: Students paint "Shame, BOR!" on the doors of Quezon Hall as they continue attempting to storm into the Board of Regents meeting after the announcement of Vistan as the next UP Diliman Chancellor.#UPDChancy2023 pic.twitter.com/ZKxgKgnqgE
— Tinig ng Plaridel (@tinigngplaridel) April 3, 2023
Meanwhile, the UP Law Student Government publicly expressed its support for its college dean on Sunday night, citing Vistan’s strong track record in the UP College of Law and his "earnest desire" to work with the many stakeholders of the Diliman campus.
- Latest
- Trending
