(Votes on candidates being tallied after the elections. Photo by Alvin Joseph Kasiban)
29 September 2015, 2:15 a.m. – MEDICINE professor Dr. George Lim secured a fresh term as president of the UST Faculty Union (USTFU) on Monday, with his “Kabalikat” party securing a majority of executive positions as well as board seats.
Lim mustered 369 votes and cruised to victory as his two rivals split the larger bloc of faculty members who voted for a change in leadership.
Rene Luis Tadle, a long-time union executive who quit USTFU’s number two post to run against Lim under the “Lead 4 Change Alliance,” obtained 314 votes. Philosophy professor Jove Jim Aguas got 175 votes. Aguas ran as an independent.
Lim, who took over the USTFU presidency in 2011 following the sudden resignation of Dr. Gil Gamilla amid controversy over union funds, will serve a five-year term as USTFU chief until 2020.
The other newly elected union officials are: the Faculty of Engineering’s Patrick Go, executive vice president; the College of Science’s Edilberto Gonzaga, vice president internal; the Faculty of Arts and Letters’ Pablito Marasigan Jr., vice president external; the College of Commerce and Business Administration’s James Platon, vice president for labor education; Aurora Bermudez of Artlets, vice president for legal affairs; UST-Alfredo M. Velayo College of Accountancy’s Jose Ngo, vice president for grievance and complaints;
The College of Architecture’s Susan Petilla, secretary general; Science’s Joyce Tan, treasurer; Accountancy’s Marie Ann Guanzon, auditor; the College of Education’s Arlene de Leon, public relations officer; and the Institute of Physical Education and Athletics’ Rebecca Adri, sergeant at arms.
Lim’s Kabalikat nearly swept the executive posts, save for those won by Gonzaga, Ngo and Adri, who ran under Tadle’s Lead 4 Change Alliance.
Kabalikat also won majority of the seats in the USTFU board of directors, at six, versus Lead 4 Change’s four.
The new directors from Kabalikat are the Institute of Religion’s Revenendo Vargas, Education’s Beatriz Ribleza, the Counseling and Career Center’s Claudine Say, Engineering’s George Chao, UST Junior High School’s Frederick Manubay and the College of Tourism and Hospitality Management’s James Nidea.
The new directors from Lead 4 Change are the Institute of Religion’s Noel Asiones, Artlets’ Michelle Desierto and Emerito Gonzales, and Accountancy’s Norman Garcia.
“Based on the feedback we are getting, it was a successful exercise of our voting rights, although I would say sayang pa rin ‘yung mga hindi nakaboto. [They] could have made the difference,” USTFU Central Commission on Elections Chairman Robert Lao said in an interview.
Turnout reached 77 percent, with 867 voting out of 1,126 eligible union members. Kathryn V. Baylon and Clarence I. Hormachuelos
