SOME FACULTY members filed a complaint last Feb. 4 before the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) against the officers of the UST Faculty Union (USTFU) over the “unjust distribution of USTFU savings.”
Complainants Rene Tadle, Noel Asiones, Michelle Desierto, Leonardo Guevarra Jr., Gemma Aboy, John Vincent Ignacio and Ramil Sotelo Sasi opposed the release of P22 million in union savings to members, claiming that USTFU officers were not mandated to distribute funds or savings of the organization in any form.
“You only distribute the money if you’re going to dissolve the union already. Tingin ko maraming mali, the ones that contributed to that fund were even people who have [either] retired or died already…pero wala naman silang natanggap,” Aboy told the Varsitarian.
Lawyer and faculty member Danielito Jimenez, who stands as the legal counsel of the complainants, argued that USTFU savings are meant to fund collective bargaining negotiations, labor education programs, and welfare and cooperative programs to promote the interest of the union and its members.
“Morally and legally, the complainants believe that it is not right to distribute union funds. This is a legal action meant to seek a ruling on this questionable act and not against those members who may not have been properly guided of the consequences [of their actions],” Jimenez said.
The complainants also lashed out on the lack of an open forum and the presence of security personnel in their general assembly last Oct. 18, 2018, where USTFU President George Lim first announced the distribution of millions in savings.
“[We are in a] Catholic University tapos ganyan [nila] tratuhin ‘yong mga faculty members. I don’t know the reason kung bakit sila naglagay ng guards [sa general assembly]… it was really a violation of the dignity of the faculty. Tapos ngayon, dinaan pa sa pagbibigay ng pera,” Aboy said.
“Hindi naman sa pera lang nabubuhay ang faculty, it’s more of principle. Lalo na at mga guro kami, [dapat] maging mabuti kaming halimbawa sa mga estudyante,” she added.
Lim and other union officers tagged in the complaint have yet to comment on the matter.
In 2014, Lim ordered the distribution of an accumulated P10 million excess union funds to faculty members and retired professors based on their teaching loads from 2010 to 2015. with reports from Ahmed Khan H. Cayongcat and Neil Joshua N. Servallos
