Congress: Pay workers of Pantranco

By Mario. T. Supnad

After two years of public hearings, the House subcommittee on labor and standards urged the Department of Transportation and Communication to immediately approve the decision of the Land Transportation Regulatory and Franchising Board (LTFRB) for payment of claims and benefits of displaced thousands employees of the defunct Pantranco, a government –owned bus company.

In his six-page report, Rep. Ronald M. Cosalan, chairman of the House SLS, together with Reps. Rafael Mariano and Angelo Palmones, urged the DOTC to implement the   LTFRB decision in favor of the Pantranco Employees Association (PEA) and the Pantranco Retrenched Employees Association (PANREA), two labor unions of the company with more than 2,500 employees,  noting employees have been waiting for almost three decades. 

Cosalan also urged the DOTC to review its rules of practice and procedures before the LTRFB, and the review of powers by the DOTC secretary to avoid a repeat of the Pantranco case. “Justice delayed, justice denied,” said Cosalan due to the long delayed of claims of the employees.

The Benguet representative also wanted that strict penalties be imposed on those not complying with Article 110 of the labor Code and other laws on execution of judgment in favor of a worker.

Congress’ action came after the employees headed PANREA president Romy Alfonso and the PEA, now headed by Rolando Malana,  sought Cosalan’s action following the order of then DOTC secretary Mar Roxas, temporarily suspending “for review” the sale and transfer of the Pantranco’s Certificate of Public Convenience (CPC), although this had been approved by LTFRB on May 21, 2012.

After the hearings, the committee had also found out that PANREA and PEA have outstanding labor claims which are valid and legitimate in accordance with the decision of the National Labor Relations Commission, amounting to hundreds of millions of pesos after the bus firm closed shop due to mismanagement.   

To satisfy their monetary benefits, the NLRC ruled  the assets, together with the 777 franchises of Pantranco be awarded to the employees after a public auction sale.          Initially, 150 franchises had been sold by the employees.

Suddenly, Roxas suspended the selling of the remaining franchise pending review earning the ire of the employees.

Citing Labor Code of the Philippines, under Article 110, Cosalan said “in the event of bankruptcy or liquidation of an employer’s business his workers shall enjoy first preference as regards their unpaid wages and monetary claims and shall be paid in full before the claims of the government and other creditors may be paid.”

“Despite the existence of laws that institutionalize the protection of  workers, the Pantranco case demonstrates that the law is only as effective as its proper and timely implementation. The three-decades long struggle of PEA and PANREA to claim what is legitimately theirs is a clear violation of their constitutional rights and a mockery of the laws of the land,” added Cosalan.