MANILA, Philippines – Malacañang said yesterday the issue involving the Philippine Airlines Employees’ Association (PALEA) was already with the Court of Appeals and that it was not aware of any request from the union to have a closed-door meeting with President Aquino.
In a press briefing, Presidential Spokesman Edwin Lacierda said the Palace had decided to uphold the decision of PAL to outsource some of its services that would result in the lay off of more than 2,000 employees. But the Palace, through the Office of Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr., increased the separation benefits of the workers.
“We are now in the implementation state, there is no TRO (temporary restraining order) from the Court of Appeals. We would hope that again, the only concern of the government here is to make sure that PAL is able to normalize their operations as early as possible… provide security in the airports, and third, that we protect the riding public,” Lacierda said.
Lacierda said they were not yet informed of the request for a dialogue from the PALEA members but indicated the case was already out of the Office of the President’s hands because it had been brought before the CA.
“We will see first. I don’t know what will be the decision (in case a request is forwarded) and but again, this already ongoing. The DOLE (Department of Labor and Employment) should be the one that they should be (talking),” Lacierda said.
Lacierda said DOLE Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz was the alter-ego of the President and they could discuss their concerns with her.
Meanwhile, PALEA remained defiant on its seventh day of protest outside the airline’s Inflight Center near the Centennial Terminal II yesterday, saying it won’t give up the camp until they win back their regular jobs.
PALEA president Gerry Rivera said they have received reports that the PAL management had been requesting Palace officials and the Philippine National Police (PNP) to break the picketline where PALEA members have been holding out since Tuesday last week.
Rivera, who is also the vice president of the party-list group Partido ng Manggagawa (PM), said the protest camp is a symbol of their continuing fight against the illegal lock out and contractualization.
He said it also serves as a solidarity camp where other trade union, human rights, church, non-governmenty organizations, artists, and international solidarity groups express their solidarity to the PALEA struggle.
The camp also serves as a “school” during daytime where PALEA members discuss labor rights and other issues related to their struggle against outsourcing and contractualization.
Rivera said professors from the University of the Philippines have signified their willingness to discuss relevant issues such as globalization and why firms resort to outsourcing and contractualization.
After seven days of protest, he assured that the fighting spirit of every PALEA member remain fully charged in contrast to the depressing environment inside the PAL terminal.
Rivera said he believes that the union, the PAL management, and the government with some help from other important sectors in our society, can still come up with a just and reasonable solution to the problem. –-Aurea Calica (The Philippine Star) with Michael Punongbayan
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