STATEMENT | For the common good of the university

XAVIER University - Ateneo de Cagayan is a Filipino, Catholic, and Jesuit educational community with a long history of forming men and women of competence, conscience, and commitment in service of the Church, the global community, and the Filipino people. We are proud of each and every graduate who has passed the halls of this University.

Furthermore, XU takes good care of its employees. We have shown generosity even during difficult times. In 2015, despite operational losses, XU has adjusted the salary scale and gave a one-time average increase of P2,556 per person per month. All permanent employees of XU receive full tuition subsidies for themselves, their spouses, and partial to full subsidies for all their children from Kindergarten to College.

It is for this reason that we are deeply saddened by the erroneous claims made by XUNTELU-ALU-TUCP about the XU finances. The 2016 Audited Financial Statements of XU showed operational losses of -P89.7M in SY2015-2016 and -P159.4M in SY2014-2015. In fact, the Fund Balance of XU as of 31 May 2016 is P3.8B, down by -P200M from the previous year’s Fund Balance of P4B.

As a non-profit foundation, XU does not have “Retained Earnings.” Rather, XU has a Fund Balance in the form of assets: buildings, land, and equipment valued at P2B and Investment Fund at P1.8B. The XU Board of Trustees has allocated the Fund Balance for the following purposes:

A. P2.2B Restricted Fund for construction and equipment and for purposes identified for by donors (scholarships, professorial chairs);
B. P800M for revaluation of property, remeasurement losses, unrealized gains/losses; and
C. P800M Institutional Fund to cover operational losses and deficit.

The P800M Institutional Fund needs to be managed prudently to cover the expected deficits of the K+12 transition years (2016-2021) when the college enrollment will decrease by as much as 4,000 students. The deficit of the budget for SY2016-2017 approved by the Board of Trustees is projected at -P199M. If the average deficit during the K+12 transition years will be -P200M, then the Institutional Fund will be depleted by 2020.

Xavier is willing to give a Christmas Cash Gift to its employees but the budget will not be drawn from the Institutional Fund because this will increase the already large deficit and it will force XU to withdraw more than the necessary amount from its savings. We have asked each unit to sacrifice some items from their respective budgets to be able to allot Php1,000.00 per full-time employee as a Christmas gratuity.

We appeal to the leaders and members of XUNTELU-ALU-TUCP to set aside their personal interests for the common good of Xavier University. Let us bear in mind that it will be our beloved students who will be most affected if these protests continue. We believe that if we continue to work together, we will be able to overcome this temporary setback and restore the financial health of the University.