UST SECURITY personnel are now obliged to not only guard the University’s premises but also their tummies, after the security office ordered them to limit their waistlines to 34 inches.
“The idea came from Fr. Manuel Roux O.P. in one of our meetings. According to the (Vice Rector for Finance), if a guard has a bloated tummy, how can he run after criminal elements inside the University?” said Clemente Dingayan, detachment commander of the security office.
Dingayan said the idea is good and there is no reason not to implement it.
“We attend the UST Health Service wellness program and have required our men who are off-duty to attend physical fitness (activities) like jogging and basketball, every Sunday,” he added.
Even the security agency of UST approves of the waistline limit.
“We are all for it. The guards will benefit (from) it that is why we encourage them to attend the fitness programs,” Jhonson Mesuelo, assistant operations manager of Security and Credit Investigation Inc., told the Varsitarian in a telephone interview.
Dingayan said the ban on bulges has been showing positive results as many blue guards have lost several inches since the program started last January.
“Before the training, my waistline was 36 inches, now it is only 33,” Guillermo Paguirian, a roving campus guard, told the Varsitarian.
But some security guards who found it difficult to downsize their tummies expressed qualms, claiming it would have a “negative effect” on their health.
Eduardo Agnes, 50, also a roving guard, fears his health would suffer if he is forced to drastically trim 11 inches off his waist.
“Before, my waistline was 45 inches, now it is 39. If I force my body to meet the 34-inch limit, my body might give up,” Agnes said.
However, cases like Agnes’ would be given consideration as long as they attend the Sunday fitness programs, Dingayan said.
“We do not have problems with new guards since we hire the physically fit ones,” he added.
Dingayan warned security personnel that if they skip the fitness programs without valid excuses, they would be suspended, or worse, fired.
