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Wednesday, May 04, 2005
Settlement is management prerogative: univ. counsel
By Jay Dooma Balnig
"THE decision to settle is and will always be a management prerogative."
This is stated in a letter by Attorney Sabino Jose Padilla III after a report came out in Sun.Star Iloilo that a university insider revealed that Father Manuel Vergara, president of the University of San Agustin (USA), turned down the effort of Governor Niel Tupas, saying that it must be Padilla who will entertain matters regarding the dismissal of the striking employees.
Padilla, the counsel of USA also reacted on the supposed meeting last Friday between the governor and the university administration to talk regarding the labor dispute.
In his letter, Padilla stated that in the previous article entitled "Talks Between University President, Guv Flops," the reports made by the "university insider" is full of misinformation.
Padilla added that, "For the record, Governor Tupas in the spirit of fairness, merely wanted to hear the side of the USA anent the current labor dispute as he had already heard from the dismissed union officers. There was no "out-of-court settlement" presented by the Governor to the University of San Agustin as erroneously report by Balnig."
However, Tupas, in an interview with Aksyon Radyo last Friday, April 29, asserted that he is pushing for an out-of-court settlement.
As a lawyer, Tupas added that the termination of union officer is inhumane adding that the decision of Court of Appeals is not final and executory.
In the same letter, Padilla emphasized that on the alleged meeting between school officials and the governor held last April 29, Rev. Fr. Manuel Vergara, the university administrator "has been in Legaspi, Albay and is now in Manila as he is tending to his critically ill father."
Thus, it is a blatant lie that Father Vergara "turned down the effort of Tupas, saying it must be their legal counsel Attorney Sabino Padilla, III who will entertain matters regarding the dismissal of the striking employees" and "the president also turned down the out-of-court settlement proposal of Tupas to once in [sic] for all solve the labor problem."
In a separate radio interview, Tupas said that he tried to communicate with Vergara but the latter was not around.
In his letter, Padilla also stated, "In fact, university officials, led by Father Raul Marchan, OSA pointed out to the governor that during the initial CBA negotiations between the university and Union held last April 22, the issue of the dismissal of the union officers was not even an issue raised by the Union as a pre-condition to negotiate. The parties negotiated the whole day and in fact agreed to meet again on April 29. The university however was forced to walk away from the negotiations since the union struck on April 25. Father Marchan, in fact, stressed to the governor that the university was not engaged in union busting as claimed by Theodore Neil Lasola and the rest of the dismissed union officers since precisely, the university and union were negotiating a new CBA."
Concerned Alumni
Saturnino Borra, a graduate of university's College of Arts class 1963 and an active member of Sigma Chi Fraternity and Sigma Phi Sorority formally launched a signature campaign to all graduates of said institution to save the university from the labor dispute.
In an interview with Borra, he said he officially talked with Reverend Father Eduardo Perez of the Agustinian Order purposely to seek the help of said group to mediate on the said problem.
His group has already sought the help of former USA President Mamerto Alfeche of the Agustinian Order-Philippine Province and the Spanish Province as well.
Last Sunday, Borra officially marked the kick-off of the said signature campaign.
He already talked with Reverend Father Gerome Mesias of the Order of San Agustin in Cebu that administers the University of San Agustin.
(May 4, 2005 issue)
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