By Dolly Yasa
BACOLOD City – Bacolod City Water District (Baciwa) Chairman of the Board Atty. Lorendo Dilag said the 60 employees of the water utility firm were properly informed and notified of their fates contrary to claims of the union president that they were “terminated without notice.”
The 60 BACIWA employees were barred from entering the Baciwa premises Monday, after they were declared “redundant.” Dilag said in a press conference that the union’s allegations are “half-truths.”
“Half-truths are more dangerous than lies, half-truths mislead,” he said.
Dilag said that as far as the board’s action declaring the 60 employees as redundant is concerned, “it is legal, it is supported by the Office of the Government Corporate Counsel and the employees were served notices but did not reply.”
Dilag was with Vice Chairman Lawrence Villanueva, Corporate Secretary Mona Dia Jardin and Acting General Manager Michael Soliva during the press conference. Jardin said the Joint Venture Agreement (JVA) with Prime Water was three years in the making and proper consultations as well as general assemblies were held.
The JVA was approved on July 17, 2020 and took effect on November 2020. She said the employees were given two options: either to be absorbed by Prime Water or avail of early retirement.
Jardin said 250 opted to be absorbed by Prime Water while more than 100 chose to retire and 60 signified they will stay with Baciwa. She said the board issued a resolution declaring the 60 as “redundant” after exhausting the procedures. Earlier, Baciwa Employees’ Union President Leny Espina told reporters that they were surprised why they were not allowed to enter their respective offices.
Espina claimed there was no termination order issued to them. She said this is an offshoot of the joint venture between Baciwa and Prime Water which took over the water utility firms operations last Nov 16, 2020.
