Akbayan: FASAP MR offers SC chance to redeem itself
Akbayan Party joined the Flight Attendants and Stewards Association of the Philippines (FASAP) in calling on the Supreme Court to “fix the fiasco” it created last week when the high court recalled its resolution on the case of the 1,4000 members of the cabin crew that were illegally retrenched in July 1998 by Philippine Airlines management.
“The Supreme Court now has the chance to do it right for FASAP,” Akbayan Representative Walden Bello said this morning, as the labor group filed a motion for reconsideration appealing to the high court to uphold the resolution of the retrenchment case which was supposedly “resolved with finality” on September 7, 2011.
Highly Irregular Decision-making
“Was it due process to reverse the decision that PAL management illegally terminated the employment of 1,400 workers when, since 2008, the Supreme Court consistently declared management to be in the wrong on this issue?” Bello pointed out. “FASAP was further denied due process when the court reversed the decision based on a simple letter from the management’s legal counsel, without even giving FASAP the chance to reply.”
Bello further pointed out that this “highly irregular decision- making” compromises the high court’s credibility to act as the people’s court of last resort.
“Will the court now allow cases to be reopened and resolutions to be reversed based on a simple letter? Let us remember, the high court has done this before, when it approved the appointment of midnight Chief Justice Renato Corona,” Bello demonstrated the complex situation that the court face due to this precedence, referring to a letter sent to the Court by the same lawyer, Atty. Estelito Mendoza, that merited the approval of the appointment of CJ Renato Corona despite the ban against appointments in the run up to the 2010 elections.
“O baka naman ang puwede lang sumulat para baliktarin ang mga naunang resolusyon ay yung may sapat na kapangyarihan at impluwensya sa lipunan, tulad ni Lucio Tan?” Bello added.
Bello explained that the Supreme Court’s decision was highly suspect as PAL is besieged by another labor row prompted by the massive retrenchment of its ground crew to make way for its outsourcing plan.
“What I fear is that the reversal of the SC decision will validate the retrenchment of the ground crew. The two cases are very similar: 1,400 cabin crew were terminated in an effort to downsize the costs of the airline and maintain commercial viability in 1998. Now in 2011, PAL terminated the employment of 2,600 of its ground crew for the same reason. Meanwhile, Filipino workers are pushed deeper into destitution,” Bello explained.
In order to remedy this problem, Bello called on the Supreme Court to remain true to its mandate and act as the marginalized and powerless people’s last resort against injustice.
“The Supreme Court must prove that it is an ally of the Filipino people, of the Filipino workers, more than an ally of Lucio Tan, who is notoriously recognized for his anti-labor management policies,” Bello concluded. “The motion for reconsideration that FASAP filed today could serve to be the high court’s saving grace, if only they could play their part right.” ###
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