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Wednesday, September 24, 2003
Axed DYSR workers rap NCCP-EBSFI
By Jimmy P. Abayon
FACED with an uncertain future, seven of the 11 employees of the Protestant church-owned pioneer radio station dySR in Negros Oriental will file on Monday charges of illegal dismissal against the National Council of Churches in the Philippines-Ecumenical Broadcasting System Foundation, Inc. (NCCP-EBSFI) before the National Labour Relations Commission (NLRC).
Four others, namely, station manager Nancy Ugsad-Estolloso, news director Jhonggie Rumol, reporter David Bryan Cortes, and Wilfredo Paligsa, earlier filed a complaint for illegal dismissal and other labour charges before the NLRC Sub-Regional Arbitration Branch 7 in Dumaguete City.
The filing of the charges and the motion to admit the amended complaint was prompted by the decision of EBSFI to dismiss the workers effective Oct. 16.
The termination order, dated Sept. 12 and signed by EBSFI Executive Director Rev. Ephraim V. Guerrero, was handed to the workers last Sept. 14, along with another letter dated Sept. 5 informing Estolloso and Rumol of their reinstatement to their former positions.
"What good would that do, we were reinstated only to be dismissed?" Estolloso said.
Reverend Guerrero's letter of termination cited the radio station's failure to generate expected revenues so that it had to borrow money to sustain operations and that if the trend continues, it will be detrimental to the "overall standing" of EBSFI.
EBSFI is the broadcast arm of NCCP and the advisory group for dySR in Dumaguete City.
The executive director said the foundation expects to reach an agreement "soon" with "another organization" to take over the station's management and that the termination will pave the way for a smooth transition from EBSFI to the new entity.
"In order to pave the way for a smooth transition from EBSFI management to the new entity, we regret to inform you that your services with EBSFI-dySR is being terminated effective Oct. 16, 2003. However, you are being placed under terminal leave beginning Sept. 16," the official wrote.
Radio station dySR went off the air last Sept. 16.
The employees were to meet on Sept. 23 with EBSFI to thresh out the labor and other issues affecting dySR and find ways to address them.
This was supposed to be an offshoot of the Sept. 2 meeting of EBSFI and other NCCP representatives mediated by Rev. Noriel Capulong of the Divinity School of Silliman University, who was drawn into the controversy because of, among others, the huge sum of money then dySR chief executive officer Bishop Erme Camba borrowed from the school to improve dySR's Retreat Center and to run the station.
But EBSFI scuttled the scheduled Sept. 23 meeting, and instead will meet with NCCP officials on Sept. 22 to sort out the issues affecting the station.
Meanwhile, NCCP General Secretary Sharon Rose Joy Ruiz-Duremdes said she was hurt by the events that followed the Sept. 2 meeting.
During the meeting, the NCCP top official said the issue of the survival of dySR was to find "creative ways" to survive that should not be in the context of lease and closure because of its radio ministry.
"I am terribly surprised and hurt by the turn of events after our Sept. 2 dialogue. I was not aware that EBSFI had a tacit agreement to do what it did. I am really at a loss now and have called a series of meetings to address the problem," Duremdes said in her letter to Estolloso dated Sept. 16 right after EBSFI placed all dySR's staff on termination leave.
On the other hand, Estolloso said she and her staff had no other recourse to fight for their rights except vindication in court.
She explained that the whole NCCP was dragged into the controversy only because of the actions of the EBSFI.
The NCCP is the umbrella organization of 11 Protestant churches in the Philippines and ten associate members. These include the Convention of Philippine Baptist Churches, the Episcopal Church in the Philippines, Iglesia Evangelica Metodista en las Islas Filipinas, Iglesia Filipina Independiente, Iglesia Unida Ekyumenikal, United Church of Christ in the Philippines, the United Methodist Church, Lutheran Church in the Philippines, the Salvation Army, Christ Centered Church, and the Apostolic Catholic Church.
(September 20, 2003 issue)
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