A manual for the research, extension, and professional staff (REPS) of the University of the Philippines (UP) has been in development for well over a decade. According to the introduction of the earliest draft of the manual, produced in 2012, “[collective] efforts have been made by the REPS, from 2003-2006, to publish the much-needed manual but did not materialize.” In 2006, an attempt was made to consolidate various proposals to craft the manual within several UP constituent universities. However, according to the introduction of the 2012 draft, the attention of the "concerned officers" was diverted by the two-year long negotiations (2007-2009) for the Collective Negotiation Agreement between UP and the All UP Academic Employees Union (AUPAEU). Thereafter, the proposal to produce a REPS Manual continued to be reiterated. Collective efforts of REPS from across the UP System eventually lead to the creation of a UP System Ad-hoc Committee to Draft the REPS Manual, constituted in August 2011. A union-led effort, the eight-member body, along with a two-member editorial board, were able to finalize a 162-page draft manual within the first half of 2012.

Comments on the draft manual were requested from UP REPS soon after. Later drafts better incorporated the 2008 UP Charter (Republic Act no. 9500) and REPS-related decisions of the Board of Regents (BOR) that were left out from the 2012 draft. The review of the manual was among the tasks of Systemwide REPS Ad Hoc Committees to Review REPS Concerns constituted by the Office of the Vice President for Academic Affairs twice within 2013-2018. The AUPAEU also continued to push for and contribute to the development of the REPS Manual during those years.

In December 2018, the BOR approved the proposals of the Systemwide REPS Ad Hoc Committee to create System- and CU-level “REPS bodies,” namely the REPS Welfare Council (RWC), the REPS Personnel and Fellowship Committee (RPFC), and the REPS Development Fund Committee (RDF Committee). Each body has an AUPAEU representative. The first UP Diliman RWC, constituted in August 2019, prioritized the finalization of the UPD REPS Manual via the revision of the most recent draft of the Systemwide REPS Manual.

The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the initial mobility-limiting measures to address it, hindered the progress of the Diliman RWC on producing the UPD REPS Manual. The second Diliman RWC, elected in August 2020, resumed work on the UPD REPS Manual, producing the present document, after several rounds of revision and consultation with the UPD REPS.

This manual draws from the prevailing laws and rules and regulations governing the University of the Philippines, such as the UP Charter, other relevant national laws, decisions and resolutions of the UP BOR, the University Code, orders and memoranda from the administrators of the UP System and UP Diliman, issuances from relevant government agencies such as the Civil Service Commission, and the Collective Negotiation Agreement between UP and the AUPAEU. Most of the contents of the Manual are either quoted verbatim from these sources or minimally paraphrased (at times to reduce excessive “legalese”) to ensure that the contents of the said sources are not misrepresented. The source of each provision of the Manual is provided either within the text or as annotations or footnotes, save, for instance, when the provision is a factual description of a group or any similar detail not necessitating attribution.

An attempt was also made to make the language of the manual more gender inclusive though attenuated to the ongoing normalization of the use of the singular “they/them.” Codified processes that are prone to frequent modification are included as annexes. A list of frequently used abbreviations is included.

This Manual must be updated whenever possible and necessary; in case of conflict with the contents of the Manual and those of official issuances from UP or relevant government authorities, the latter shall prevail. May this Manual—and later editions of it—continue to help uphold the value of the REPS as a distinct sector of the University that greatly contributes to the fulfillment of UP’s mandates.

This manual is considered a permanent record and subsequent amendments and updates should be noted accordingly. Superseded versions must be deposited to the University Archives. This policy will be reviewed every three years and will be amended as needed.

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