Professor Justice's Secret Files

Now, We're Legal

In the previous semester, I felt under fire because my colleagues were raising the issue of my unauthorized field trips. But I suspected they did that because new administrative positions were opened and, after they got the positions they wanted after our department had some minor rearrangements, I felt they were not really against my trips at all.

The one who reported me even supported the succeeding activities I proposed.

The reason why I frequently recommended or encouraged unauthorized field trips because it takes time to get it approved. Others who were more influential could get their proposals accepted easier, but I was still trying to "test the waters."

Sometimes, it takes a month to get an activity approved. Frustratingly, there are administrators who don't approve proposals for reasons they do not communicate and I learned to ask them about it. But the opportunities to have interesting field trips come spontaneously and it's open only for a limited time.

For example, I was invited to appear in a radio program. I was told I could bring three students. When I submitted my proposed trip, it took a week before the administrators approved it. Actually, they were not supposed to. But when I checked the Chancellor's office, I asked why they could not approve it even if we submitted all the papers they were asking. In fact, they require notarized waivers first before they can consider any approval or denial. The Chancellor's office explained that they were not sure how I selected those three students. I said, well, when I asked who are interested, the first three students who confirmed were those I selected. It was only after that explanation when they approved my proposed trip.

In another case, it was an in-campus activity. I proposed that we will have an exhibit of the works and artifacts left by the late National Artist Nick Joaquin. Because of bureaucratic inaction, the dates were postponed and always rescheduled because the papers did not get any action until the proposed date happened. Finally, after more than a month, it was approved. However, it was so strange that the administrators said they would not allow the use of any room. Because the artifacts were delicate and need to be preserved, we did not anymore push through with it.

There were other instances when the administrators were weird. They would ask me to submit different kinds of documents. I complied. I even went to the point of doing ocular inspections of our proposed field trips. It would take long weeks before they get it approved. But, sometimes, they'd cancel it on the very day.

I suspected that sometimes they also did not know what to do. They asked me to pass other documents to discourage or delay me. However, since I did this for four years, I learned and was more prepared with documents every time I submitted a new proposal.

While there were activities or opportunities that were spontaneous, there were field trips that became constant and so we got used to them. This is why these "constant" field trips that became part of the routine program. This includes a tour in the Malacañang Palace which may or may not proceed to a tour in the Philippine Senate.

Resistance to these activities and field trips were less when administrators or other interested parties feel like there was nothing at stake or threatening for them. I learned to observe proper timing and be ready to submit necessary documents or approach certain administrator to explain why this has to be approved. Here, I saw insights from Laswell's description of politics as who gets what, when, and how.