Thursday, August 12, 2004 Espinoza: Unpaid airport workers caught in crossfire By Elias L. Espinoza
SIDESWEPT. Several casual employees at the Mactan-Cebu International Airport (MCIA), whose appointments were signed by General Manager Angelo Verdan, are caught in the crossfire.
These casual employes, who were appointed for a fixed period, have not been paid their salaries after the Commission on Civil Service (CSC) revoked the appointment of Verdan for alleged lack of CESO eligibility.
The confusion at the MCIA brought about by Verdan’s removal had placed Cristeta Truya, MCIA accounting division manager, in total quandary whether to pay these casual workers, who have rendered work, or not.
Verdan, however, has a pending appeal before the Court of Appeals seeking a reversal of the CSC ruling dismissing him as MCIA general manager allegedly because he is not a CESO eligible.
A source said that some of the casual employees’ term already expired on March 17, 2004 and July 16, 2004. Others are yet to expire on Aug. 31, 2004 and Sept. 1, 2004.
Some of these casuals were not, however, paid their salaries after March 17, 2004, the date when the CSC disapproved Verdan’s appointment as MCIA manager with finality.
PAY. Accounting Division Manager Truya wrote the Commission on Audit, the CSC, and MCIA’s legal department asking their opinion whether to pay or not these casual employees appointed by Verdan.
Being not a lawyer, I will understand the position of Truya. She is probably scared to death she will be in hot water if she pays the salaries of these casual employees.
Personally, however, I believe these casual employees, whose appointments were signed by Verdan before March 17, 2004 and whose term was for a fixed period, should be paid their wages.
Inversely, the principle of “no work no pay” is applicable in their situation. Having rendered service or work for the period covered by their appointment, they are entitled to their remuneration.
Besides, the Mactan Cebu International Airport Authority (MCIAA) board passed and approved a resolution to pay all the casual employees their salaries on a quantum meruit basis. Truya is without basis now to refuse the payment of the wages of these employees.
Even the CSC, in a communication to Truya, recommended the payment of the salaries of the casual employees. It stated that while it denied Verdan’s appeal, the CSC did not deny the appointees of what is due them.
“Although this complexity is of the MCIAA’s own making, the appointees in the instant case whose interest are at stake, do not have control of. Hence, the innocent must be accorded the leniency of the rules,” the CSC ruling said.
Under the circumstance, Truya should not wait for the casual employees to seek redress before the court to compel her to release their salaries. She has no legal basis to withhold the salaries of those who rendered work and whose appointment with a fixed period did not yet expire.
TEST. It will be utterly unfair, if not downright funny, for the Maritime policemen, who arrested drug courier Willy Solon after he stepped down from the ship from Manila, to undergo a lie detector test.
Be that as it may, the arresting officers from the Maritime police, including their chief, are not running away from the challenge of Rep. Tony Cuenco for them to undergo a lie test.
While the arresting Maritime policemen are totally not angels, but the way things are going, they are pictured as villains. It is demoralizing to the police organization.
It is a good thing that although Cuenco did not include Solon to undergo the same lie test, NBI’s Nelson Bartolome is taking the cudgels for the beleaguered cops. He deems it necessary for Solon to also undergo the lie test.
Congressman Cuenco, chairman of the House committee on drugs, can be misunderstood with the way he handled the situation. It will look as if this big-time drug courier is being pampered.
The good congressman should have dug in as to who are the principals of Solon rather than go after the neck of these policemen who have done their job in arresting and preventing Solon from disposing of the shabu in Metro Cebu.
However, I refused to believe the rumors that Solon is a courier of a drug syndicate from Metro Manila, who has strong links in Cebu. The syndicate, I was told, helped finance some politicians in the last elections.
No doubt Solon is entitled to the presumption of innocence. In the same manner, if I may reiterate, the arresting Maritime policemen are entitled to the presumption of regularity in the performance of their duty.
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