TO FULLY dignify educators’ contributions is to provide them with a safe space in policy-making and the means to shape their working conditions, UST Faculty Union (USTFU) President Emerito Gonzales said.
During his speech at the 2025 Dangal ng UST Awards, Gonzales said beyond trophies and awards, faculty members must be given latitude to influence improvements within their workplace.
“Ang pagbibigay-dangal ay hindi lang damdamin — ito ay katarungan,” the union chief said at the Quadricentennial Pavilion on Friday, Aug. 15.
“Upang tunay na parangalan ang guro, dapat silang bigyan ng tapang at pagkakataong magsabi ng katotohanan sa harap ng kapangyarihan, at ng boses at ligtas na espasyo sa paghubog ng mga patakaran at kundisyong nakaaapekto sa kanilang gawain,” he added.
Recounting the collective bargaining agreement (CBA) dispute between the USTFU and the UST management, which he described as “painful” and “challenging,” Gonzales said the process ultimately unified the roles and mission of both parties.
“Ngunit sa paglingon, makikita na kahit mahirap, nagbunga ito ng mas matibay, makatarungan, at pangmatagalang kasunduan. Pinaigting nito ang ating pagkakaisa, pinatalas ang ating layunin, at pinatatag ang ating paninindigan sa misyon at bisyon ng Unibersidad,” he said.
The industrial issue triggered the postponement of the Dangal ng UST Awards originally scheduled on May 9, after Vice Rector for Academic Affairs Cheryl Peralta said in an April memorandum that the ceremony would be rescheduled to ensure a “more conducive [and] celebratory atmosphere.”
USTFU filed a notice of strike in March due to an impasse in the CBA talks. The two parties went under government mediation and reached a deal weeks later, on May 20.
Tensions cooled after UST agreed to release the faculty’s mandatory 70% share of tuition increases from Academic Year 2020-2021.
“[K]apag ito ay ginabayan ng mabuting hangarin, paggalang sa isa’t isa, at pagmamahal sa Unibersidad, nagiging pagkakataon ito para sa paglago—at patunay na ang tapat na diyalogo ay maaaring humantong sa tama at makatarungan,” Gonzales said.
Gonzales said educators must continue to be included in University dialogues, not only to live out the tradition, but also as a way to impart the knowledge that the society needs.
Aside from the awards, he also urged UST educators to find honor in the lives they changed, the truths they continue to defend, and the hope that they share with students.
The University and the faculty union honor faculty members and non-teaching staff for their exemplary contributions to teaching, research, and the arts through the Dangal ng UST Awards, which started in 1998. Micah G. Pascua
