THREE UST Faculty Union (USTFU) officers, including incumbent president Dr. Gil Gamilla, were “responsible” for the illegal disbursement of P9.5-million worth of union funds to a property developer, according to the final report of a committee tasked to investigate the transactions.
The Committee of Peers (COP), formed on July 16 last year to investigate the loss of millions of union funds for a housing project in 2006, is composed of lawyer Rafael Bautista from the College of Education, Pablito Baybado, Jr. (Institute of Religion), Apolinario Bobadilla (College of Accountancy), Jacinta Cruz (Faculty of Pharmacy), and Fortunato Sevilla III (College of Science). The COP conducted the inquiry from August 19 last year to February 28 this year.
“Dr. Gil Y. Gamilla, [former treasurer] Mr. Gil Y. Garcia, and [former auditor] Mr. Raymundo Melegrito are directly accountable for the unauthorized disbursements, which resulted [in] a considerable financial loss to USTFU,” the committee said in its report, obtained by the Varsitarian.
The report also said that both Gamilla and former treasurer Gil Garcia were responsible for the disbursement of P9.5 million “without the approval of the Board and/or General Assembly.”
Gamilla approved and signed all the check vouchers while Garcia signed and countersigned all the checks issued to Mario Villamor of Saturn Resources, Inc., a property developer contracted to build condominium units for faculty members, the report added.
The Varsitarian tried to get the side of Gamilla and Garcia, but they refused to comment on the issue.
The two officers were also accountable for “confirming the encashment of disbursement checks, for the approval of the release of checks in the absence of the internal auditor’s signature, and for their failure to disclose to USTFU officers and board of directors and to the [members] the problem of non-collection of defaulted accounts,” the report claimed.
Meanwhile, former auditor Melegrito was held liable for negligence in verifying necessary documents “before attesting on the propriety of the check vouchers,” “failure to report transactions of the board,” and “lack of objectivity in the exercise of his function,” the report added.
The Varsitarian tried to get the side of Melegrito, but he has yet to reply.
The committee also said all executive officers and board of directors from 2005 to 2010 were responsible for “indirectly providing the landscape” within which Gamilla and Garcia “went beyond their limits of handling funds of the union.”
“[The committee], relative to the P9.5 million, finds that all union officers and board of directors lacked vigilance, indicating remission of their collective duties and functions as a body and complacency of concern for the funds of the general membership,” the report said.
‘Abuse of power’
“[The unauthorized release of funds was] the unilateral act of [Gamilla, Garcia and Melegrito]. The responsible officials have acted beyond their authorities and abused their power of discretion,” the report said.
The committee urged the union board to execute “appropriate actions” against the three officials. It did not recommend any specific sanctions.
USTFU sergeant-at-arms Rene Luis Tadle said that he, along with other officers, was not surprised with the results of committee’s investigation.
“We (officers) have been saying these things all along during the election. In a way, we have been vindicated by the findings,” he said.
Tadle said the board was still deliberating on the committee’s findings, and the action it would take.
“Right now, we are having meetings concerning the [actions that we will take] and we are consulting people, including lawyers, regarding the matter,” Tadle said.
Transparency and reforms
The report also showed there was a “lack of transparency on the financial status” of the union.
“The general membership assembly and the USTFU board should be informed about the details,” it said.
The committee also recommended policy changes in the union’s financial system, security of funds, and transparency.
“We do recognize that there’s a need to make policy changes and policy review concerning the funds and as of this moment, we are addressing the issue,” Tadle said.
Vigilance and change
“We trust officers too much,” Tadle said. “Union members should also be very vigilant about their rights. There should be a high level of participation among member of the board, faculty club presidents and the faculty members.”
Two union members from the Faculty of Engineering echoed Tadle’s words, saying that members should be “vigilant.”
“As members, we should not rely too much on the officers when it comes to union issues; we should also be vigilant,” Nelson Pasamonte, a professor of mechanical engineering said. “From this experience, we (members) should learn that we also have to do our part.”
Castor Jongko, a colleague of Pasamonte, agreed, saying that members should know what is going on in the union.
“In [crucial matters], the officers and the board of directors should not make decisions by themselves,” Pasamonte said. “Maybe they should consult the members.”
“It’s history repeating itself,” Pasamonte said. “It’s a question of transparency and information dissemination.”
Moreover, the union should not focus on boosting its funds, Jongko said.
“They should focus on strengthening the relationship between the union and the administration,” he said.
Union vice president for legal affairs Noel Asiones said the officers would review the policies of the union.
“The union’s manual of procedures was not properly implemented,” he said. “We should review and amend it especially on disbursements and approvals.”
He added that the board was very satisfied with the result of COP’s investigation and the way the committee exercise the mandate.
