Academic order restored at MSU but…

ADMINISTRATION of the Mindanao State University (MSU), the premier learning institution in the Southern Philippines, has rightfully reverted to how it should be: in the hands of a professional educator who is organic to the university. Last Monday, Malacañang announced the appointment of Dr. Macapado Muslim as acting president, replacing controversial Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo appointee, retired police general Ricardo de Leon.

Dr. Muslim’s appointment took effect January 4, to the delight of many from the academic community in and out of MSU who consider him the “best man for the job,” although there are also quite a number of academics who would rather have de Leon stay on as president. But why the appointment is only now and in an acting capacity are not immediately known.

In September 2005, outrage greeted Arroyo’s surprise appointment of de Leon as “interim” president of the university upon his retirement as deputy director general of the Philippine National Police (PNP). He replaced then outgoing MSU president, Dr. Camar Umpa, apparently on a mission to “clean (up) the mess” in the institution brought about by alleged interference by “warlords” in the search for the next MSU head.

De Leon’s appointment marked the first time that the long-respected institutional processes observed in the academe were not followed. The retired police officer was not even among the 21 aspirants screened by a five-member search committee formed by Malacañang to select Umpa’s successor in 2005.

Dr. Muslim was actually the unanimous choice of the search committee composed of Dr. Christina Padolina of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) as chair; presidential adviser on education Mona Valisno; former education secretary Ricardo Gloria; Jusie Roxas, alumni representative to the Board of Regents and president of the MSU Alumni Association; and Ponciano Intal, the university’s first summa cum laude graduate.

A professor of politics and public management in the university and a former chancellor of the MSU General Santos City campus, Muslim was one of only three candidates who made it to the short list that was submitted to Malacañang. The other two final nominees were Dr. Nasroden Guro, dean of the College of Public Affairs, and Dr. Abubakr Otinggue Mohammad Masnar, vice chancellor for research and a former dean of the College of Agriculture.

An MSU graduate, Muslim obtained his masters in public administration from the College of Public Administration of the University of the Philippines in Diliman in 1980. He holds a master of arts degree in political science from the University of Hawaii as an East-West Center scholar. He also obtained his doctorate in political science from the same university.

Supposed to serve for only six months, de Leon managed to stay for two years and three months. Views about his administration have been varied. There are those who blame his administration for the “severe deterioration of the academic standards,” particularly of MSU’s main campus in Marawi City. De Leon’s supporters, however, dismissed the allegations as “a sin of past administrators.”

Roxas, who was among those who had criticized the manner of de Leon’s assumption to the MSU presidency, said that he considered his stay “very fruitful.” “In fairness, he has done many good benchmarks for the incoming term.”

The “academic deterioration” being attributed to de Leon, added Roxas, was already there before he came, “caused by deteriorating facilities.” At least now, he said, there is a better chance for recovery with the rehabilitation started during de Leon’s term.

But Roxas, who is now chancellor of the university’s Naawan campus in Misamis Oriental, maintained that the “warlords” issue has been overblown. Back in September 2005, he said the security issue was being used to “justify installing a military man as MSU president.” “If at all, it’s an isolated problem of Marawi. But even then, it’s not like that there are goons roaming around freely in campus,” he said then.

The fears of a “militarized” campus with de Leon as president were also later debunked, said Roxas. De Leon designated only one ex-military officer, Colonel Romeo Magsalos, as his vice president for administration and finance.

A ranking police officer and president of the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) Class 1971, de Leon used to be the concurrent executive director of the Philippine Center for Transnational Crime and chief of the Anti-Illegal Drugs Special Operations Task Force. At the PMA, he was second captain, the second highest rank in the cadet corps. He holds a doctorate degree in police and security administration, which could have been the reason for his appointment, based on the recommendation of national security adviser Norberto Gonzales.