UST FACULTY Union (USTFU) President George Lim on Tuesday failed to secure the approval of the union’s special general assembly for last year’s distribution of P22 million in savings.
Lim was supposed to explain the distribution of P22 million in union funds upon an order from the labor department, but there was no quorum during the heavily guarded assembly at the Medicine Auditorium.
“We understand [that the lack of attendees] means that many of our faculty members could no longer be dissuaded from prior commitments,” Lim said in a statement.
There should be 620 attendees for the meeting to proceed, but only 490 faculty members attended. USTFU officers will report the turnout to the labor department and will wait for further instructions.
In a resolution dated May 9, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) stated that if the USTFU officers failed to explain the issue to the general membership within 30 days, members of the union would be required to return the amounts they had received to the union fund.
Faculty members Rene Tadle, Noel Asiones, Michelle Desierto, Leonardo Guevarra Jr., Gemma Aboy, John Vincent Ignacio and Ramil Sotelo Sasi filed a complaint against some USTFU officers last February for the alleged unjust distribution of union savings.
“[The general assembly was a directive from DOLE] where all members were supposed be allowed to freely express their consent or dissent on [the distribution of funds],” said Asst. Prof. Danielito Jimenez, legal counsel of the complainants.
