Labor’s loss

The premier tourism estate at the Clark Freeport has proven anew its apparent anti-Filipino policy when it terminated the services of John Paul Viray as public relations and art department manager.

In the complaint he filed with the Clark Development Corporation’s Industrial Relations Unit, Viray claimed his termination deprived him of his right to due process and comprised a violation of labor laws.

For one, Viray said, he was served his termination notice November 19, 2008 stating that his employment was to end on November 21, 2008, all of two short days later. Which, labor leaders insist, is a clear violation of the “reglamentary one-month minimum requirement.” 

Two, Viray said Fontana failed to present any disciplinary issue against him that would have served as cause of his termination. Thus, giving him cause to suspect that that the management  singled him for nothing more than whimsy.

That there was no other employee terminated along with him buttressed that suspicion, along with his being unaware of any right-sizing moves by the company prior to his termination.

Which negates Fontana’s senior human resources manager Angelita Canlas claim that Viray’s termination was due to the company’s bid “to avoid or minimize cost” as embodied in the termination letter.

“Minimize cost” by terminating the services of Viray even as – he claimed – another person was designated as his replacement make a glaring contradiction, if it does not put the lie, to Canlas’ claim. Very clear there. 

So Canlas cited Article 283 of the Labor Code of the Philippines to justify the termination of Viray’s employment, thus: “The employer may also terminate the employment of any employee due to the installation of labor-saving devices, redundancy, and retrenchment to prevent losses of the closing or cessation of operation of the establishment.”

So Canlas cited the worker’s holy writ in vain. Given the facts – at least from Viray’s and labor’s perspective of things.

Indubitable though is the fact that on August 16, 2007, immigration agents arrested 91 Chinese employees working illegally at the construction site of Fontana. With no less than Immigration Commissioner Marcelino Libanan himself saying that of the 91 illegal aliens, 63 were found to be working without permits while 28 others had job permits with descriptions that did not match their actual work.

Still finding it hard to believe that Fontana is anti-Filipino labor, go, visit the leisure estate and find for yourself that Chinese nationals occupy managerial and rank and file posts.

This is clearly against the spirit and the very words of Republic Act 7227 to convert the former military bases as export-oriented, investment havens generating greater employment, Not for aliens, especially the Chinese but for Filipinos, specifically the locals, meaning those in the greater Clark area.