PANASIATIC Solutions, Inc. Site Director and General Manager Siony Hijara-Ferraris vehemently denied baseless reports that they have 200 coronavirus disease (Covid-19) cases involving employees.
"We do not have 200 positive cases. This is fake news circulating around and legal actions were already initiated to address this," she said in an online press briefing held on August 13.
They have one positive case involving a trainee but it was already taken care of.
As to the report of an employee who passed away, she said that they have not yet received any official results from her swab test.
"It is likewise not true that her mother and roommate, who work from home, are said to be Covid-19-positive. The mother just underwent a swab test yesterday, August 12, lunch time, and the agent in the evening of Tuesday. We do not have the official results of all their swab tests yet, " she said.
She added that now their employees are being discriminated against because of fake stories that spread.
As of Thursday, Bacolod City Mayor Evelio R. Leonardia gave his commitment to addressing the issue.
"It is unfortunate, that our communities chose to discriminate, to turn away our employees, to instigate libelous attacks on their persons, and even locking them out of their homes or apartments which they have paid for with their hard-earned money. What is happening in other cities is suddenly happening in Bacolod City, where frontliners are barred from entering their own homes," Hijara-Ferraris said.
"What will we gain by allowing widespread contamination? Our employees are our most productive assets. The healthier, safer and happier they are, the higher is their productivity. We are willing to pay extra for their health care, for their security. We are already spending extra to transport them from home to work and back. We are allowing them to take leaves if they are afraid to come to work. We will pay them to work at home but we cannot stop them from reporting for work to be with their colleagues and their friends in spite of the risks. To a lot of employees, this is the closest they get to a second home outside their hometowns, " she said.
PanAsiatic employs several thousands of CSRs.
Its payroll disbursement alone infuses hard cash into the Bacolod City economy with an estimated P42 million every payday or around P1.1 billion yearly.
She added that some people believe that they can hurt PanAsiatic by hurting the employees.
"Remember that our employees are your father, your mother, your brother, your sister, your sons and daughters. All they are doing is get a decent job and provide their families with the health and happiness they deserve. For as long as we are here, we will take care of our employees. We will always be the PanAsiatic that values its people, " she said.