Herrera is TUCP president: CA

THE APPELLATE court has ruled former senator Ernesto F. Herrera is the rightful president of the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) in light of the intra-organization dispute within the country’s largest labor union.

In a 32-page decision, the Court of Appeals’ (CA) seventh division said Mr. Herrera is TUCP’s president in a holdover capacity until the labor union elects its new set of leaders. The CA also ordered its erstwhile president, Democrito T. Mendoza “to desist or refrain from doing any act” that would go against the court’s ruling. “There is simply no evidence that the resignation of Mendoza was whimsical, arbitrary, capricious or uncertain. Hence, on such date, the TUCP Presidency became vacant,” read the decision penned by Associate Justice Noel G. Tijam.

The appellate court also voided all actions of Mr. Mendoza after his resignation. “Thus, any act performed by Mendoza after his resignation has no legal effect and is not binding, for lack of authority,” the CA said.

In 2011, Mr. Mendoza submitted to the TUCP Executive Board his resignation effective Nov. 1 of the same year. After Mr. Mendoza’s resignation, Mr. Herrera assumed the presidency based on the TUCP’s constitution and by-laws.

However, the CA noted Mr. Mendoza continued performing his functions as president even after his resignation. — Mikhail Franz E. Flores, Businessworld