AFTER losing his older sister to the deadly landslide in the City of Naga more than three months ago, 51-year-old Nestor Embalsado never thought that more misfortune was coming his way.
Embalsado, an employee of the Apo Cement Corp., was one of more than a hundred of its employees who will be temporarily laid off for six months after the company’s operations were suspended due to the landslide.
Embalsado and his colleagues protested in front of the regional offices of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) to air their concerns.
They urged the DENR to lift the suspension order on the quarrying operations of the Apo Land and Quarry Corp., which provides the raw materials to ACC, which will allow their operations to normalize.
Embalsado, who has been working for ACC for 27 years, urged the two agencies to help him and his colleagues save their jobs their jobs.
“For the longest time that I have been working for Apo, this is the first time that we have been struck by a natural calamity. Our situation is indeed painful, but we are trying our best to help the company lift itself from crisis so it can continue providing employment for us,” Embalsado said in Cebuano.
Despite their situation, Embalsado clarified that ACC has never abandoned them even after the landslide.
Embalsado is a resident of Sindulan 2, where the landslide claimed a lot of lives.
Johnrel Goles, president of the Apo Cement Corporation Employees Union (ACCEU), said that 65 regular employees and 300 contractual workers will temporarily lose their jobs starting Dec. 13.
Though the DENR has already given ALQC the approval to proceed with the implementation of its hazard reduction plan, the firm has been prevented from using materials such as limestone, which will be used for producing cement, Goles said.
Despite their dialogue with concerned government agencies, Goles claimed that they have not provided any concrete solutions to help the affected employees.
Last year, the ALQC paid the most taxes to the City Government of Naga, paying P11.7 million in business and real property taxes and other fees.
SunStar Cebu tried to get ACC’s comment, but all calls and text to their spokesperson remained unanswered. (from HBL of SuperBalita Cebu)