Former employees of the Light Rail Transit Authority (LRTA) on Tuesday, March 12, asked the Supreme Court (SC) for oral arguments in their illegal dismissal case against the agency's officials and management.
In an interview by RH Boy Gonzales, Sammy Malunes, chairman of Pinag-Isang Lakas ng Manggagawa sa Metro-LRT Union, insisted that the SC en banc should debate and decide the case so that the Commission on Audit (COA) and LRTA will recognize the verdict.
"Mahigit na singkwenta ang sumikabilang buhay, marami na rin ang may sakit, marami na rin ang may maintenance, kasi average sila sa 63, sa 65 ang mga employee. Ito ang masakit na hanggang sa ngayon, 24 years na para kaming bola na pinagpapasa-pasahan," Malunes remarked.
"Gusto naming tapusin sa pamamagitan ng en banc o oral argument para maipaunawa sa tatlong division ng Korte Suprema na ito yung tunay nakalagayan... ito yung legal na mga batayan, bakit napunta sa COA binago?" he furthered.
In 2004, the Labor Arbiter of the National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC) sided with the case of the former employees and ordered the LRTA to give them the appropriate separation pay, wages, damages, and other benefits that had not been provided.
The NLRC 3rd Division also affirmed the judgment in 2006 after the LRTA failed to file an appeal supported by the same decision of the Supreme Court 3rd Division in 2008.
COA, however, reversed the said decisions, stating that the LRTA must also pay the accrued interest that the fired employees will receive, which will reach a total of more than P461 million.
The group added that the long delay in the case can be considered "justice denied" because they will not be able to achieve justice as long as the case is pending and not heard.
Mga dating empleyado ng LRTA, umapela sa Korte Suprema na pagbigyan ang kanilang ‘motion for oral argument’ | RH 29 @boy_gonzales #MBCTVNetworkNews #SamaSamaTayoPilipino
— DZRH NEWS (@dzrhnews) March 12, 2024
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