Two crew accuse fast-food supervisor in Bacolod of sexual harassment

BACOLOD CITY: A supervisor of a fast food giant in Bacolod City is in hot seat for alleged sexual harassment filed by two female service crew workers while another victim may follow suit with an additional case.

In a complaint filed before the Women and Children Protection Center of the Bacolod Police Office, two 19-year-old crewmembers of the fast-food chain, McDonald’s, located in Luzuriaga Street, Bacolod City, alleged that their manager, Jan Michael Dequiña, sexually molested them in separate incidents.

In an e-mailed statement, Margot Torres, vice president for marketing of McDonald’s Philippines said they are “closely monitoring” the incident in Bacolod and the case has been forwarded to their Committee on Proper Decorum and Investigation (CPDI).

One of the complainants, a Third Year college student at the University of Saint La Salle said that the first incident happened sometime October 2008 when she was preparing herself for duty inside the establishment’s crew room.

She said Dequiña went inside the room to talk about work schedules when he suddenly started “hugging and kissing” the complainant. “I tried to push him [Dequiña] out but I can’t coz he was too strong,” the victim said in her affidavit, adding that a few days later, the incident was repeated again.

She said the worst incident was when she had to go to the upper floor to get some stocks and Dequiña followed her and started touching her private parts and ask her to do the same to him. “I didn’t know what to do after that incident,” she said, adding that because of shame, she kept quiet about it “cause I was afraid what would happen next.”

What prompted her to report the incident was when she found out that Dequiña did the same thing to her co-workers.

The other complainant, a resident of Kabankalan City, Negros Occidental, said the harassment happened early this year still in the same crew room and when she was about to go off-duty. The girl said Dequiña followed her inside the room and accused her with carrying on a relationship with another married employee, which she denied.

She said the supervisor asked to kiss her and when she declined, he went out but came back again and started hugging her. “I threw foul words against him and he told me to keep quiet because someone might hear us,” she said, adding that she soon learned there were other molestation incidents, some worse than hers.

McDonald’s, meanwhile, said they are “committed to maintaining a respectful, conducive and healthy working environment in all our restaurant and offices. The company adheres to all labor policies and guidelines protecting its employees.”

Torres said the CPDI, which is composed of representatives from management, supervisory and rank and file employees, has been convened and will conduct “an impartial and unbiased investigation and ruling of any complaint.”

“Furthermore, McDonald’s Philippines follows a global mandate in promoting employee welfare, a system that is applied and practiced in all McDonald’s stores worldwide. The company is steadfast in fulfilling their commitment to all employees,” Torres added. — Ma. Ester L. Espina, Manila Times