Phi House In Limbo
UPM OSA, UP Police take over Phi House Dorm’s management, operations
by Jermaine Angelo Abcede and James Sablay
With the recent flux in the management of Phi House, there remains a question of who should really run the highly contested dormitory. Despite the dispute being unresolved, the University of the Philippines Manila (UPM), through the Office of Student Affairs (OSA) and UP Manila Police, has already taken over the management and operations of the dormitory following the forced eviction of the live-in partners who serve as Phi House staff members on Wednesday, Jan. 17.
On Jan. 18, OSA already ordered the registration and consolidation of tenants’ rental documents to their office, which include their contract and proof of all payments made. UPM claims the dormitory’s name as ‘UP Manila Phi House Dormitory’ and even opened an application on Jan. 19 for new occupants. However, as per the tenants’ knowledge, slots in the dormitory are usually full, leaving the tenants perplexed as to why the OSA started an application in the first place.
OSA maintains that its takeover of the management of the dormitory is in accordance with the Chancellor’s Directive №2024–004, which notes that the Commission on Audit (COA) has recurring findings and observations in the dormitory’s operations.
Contrariwise, the Phi House’s third-party management stands by its authority in handling the dormitory. On Friday night, property manager Kristoffer Benjamin Reolope advised all occupants to disregard any email correspondence from OSA as their contract falls under their management and not with the UPM administration.
According to the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) dated Dec. 12, 2012, and signed between then UP President Alfredo Pascual and Phi House Foundation Inc. (PHFI) president and founder Emmanuel Lat, Article III of Section 3.1 states that the dormitory should be entrusted to a third-party property manager independent from UP Manila.
Issues surrounding Phi House’s financial record are not new. In the UP system’s executive summary report for fiscal year 2022 released by COA, the dormitory was found to have violated provisions of the MOA, resulting in unaccounted rental fees and disbursements.
COA then advised the UPM administration to take over the accounting for unreported dormitory income starting in 2015, initiate legal actions against the previously hired property manager for disregarding the chancellor’s memorandum on rental fee payments, issue government-prescribed official receipts to student-tenants, and require OSA to take over the processing of dormitory tenant applications to ensure compliance with application guidelines, among other recommendations.
However, Reolope, stated that in their meeting with Lat and outside auditors from COA in February 2023, there were no violations found under the guidelines outlined in the MOA. He emphasized that all necessary documents required by the audit commission had been submitted and complied with.
Despite the contrasting claims of the two parties in the audit report, former Chancellor Carmencita Padilla still reiterated that all rental payments should be made to the UPM’s Cash Office, as stated in various memorandum issuances dated 2017 and 2023. Padilla also directed the tenants to coordinate and file their applications to OSA.
In February 2023, 117 petitioners, including student-tenants and parents, signed a petition urging UPM to refrain from assuming control of the dormitory’s operations.
The fiasco continued with the Bureau of Internal Revenue’s (BIR) unexpected visit to the dormitory on Jan. 8. Officials from BIR informed the Phi House staff that the dormitory is not registered with the agency, threatening her with a lawsuit. BIR then requested a dialogue with a UP official whom Chancellor Michael Tee and UP Manila Police General Onorio Agnilla, attended.
In response to the incident, Lat sent an email to Chancellor Tee reiterating that the ownership of Phi House remains with the UP System, and UPM’s sole obligation is to process documents for obtaining a business permit and insurance needed for the BIR registration. However, Lat claimed that Tee, during his tenure as the Vice Chancellor for Planning and Development, failed to provide the certification that the dormitory is located inside the campus, which was then needed for the permit.
Under Article V of Section 5.9 of the MOA, the UP System is responsible for obtaining necessary permits and issuances for BIR registration. However, certifications are also needed from UPM for this said registration.
In the same email posted at the dormitory’s entrance, Lat informed the chancellor about the lawsuit filed with the Office of the Ombudsman against former Chancellor Padilla. He also intends to include Tee in the case and involve any UP Manila officials who will be found to violate Article V of Section 5.5 of the MOA, which mandates that settling disputes concerning the agreement’s validity should be through negotiation or mediation within 60 days of receiving notice from the other party.
“This harassment and abuse of power from day 1 of the Phi House’s existence with Mu Sigma Phi sorority member Dr. Carmencita Padilla and now with Mu Sigma Phi fraternity member Dr. Michael Tee has got to stop… This petty politics of sorority-fraternity has got to stop,” an email from Lat reads.
To note, Phi House operates under the Phi Kappa Mu Fraternity and Phi Lambda Delta Sorority, both Greek organizations based in the UP College of Medicine, while Mu Sigma Phi is another influential fraternity-sorority in the college. These two have been long known for their strained relationship through the years.
As the OSA’s registration deadline for the submission of rental documents ends today, tenants are still reluctant to adhere, citing that their contracts are still tied to Phi House. Only four tenants have submitted their documents as of writing.
Lat is decided to file for arbitration tomorrow.
