news The Manila Times SATURDAY BY JOVEE MARIE N. DELA CRUZ REPORTER


A 3


D e cember 11, 2010


Customs nabs P30M smuggled rice, fake goods T


HE Bureau of Customs (BOC) on


Friday said that it nabbed about P30-million worth of smuggled rice and counterfeit goods from Vietnam and China.


The Customs bureau presented to media 32 container-vans of smug- gled rice worth P20 million from Vi- etnam and P10-million worth of fake goods shipment from China. According to the bureau the smuggled rice, which came from Vietnam, was described in the in- ward manifest as metal rods, elec- tronics boards and parts, alumi- num bars, tank regulators and ce- ramic base.


■ Customs Commissioner Angelito Alvarez Jr. shows to the mediamen on Friday some of the 20 containers filled with smuggled sugar worth P16 million. PHOTO BY JESSIE LAURETA


All shipments were consigned to legitimate locators in the West Cebu Industrial Park and the NCTO Spe- cial Economic Zone in Cebu City— Asian Craft, K & A Metal Industry,


E.P. Prescision Cebu Parts, Air Liq- uid Philippines and Kyocera Cebu. The five companies, however, denied their involvement in the il- legal rice shipment.


On the other hand, the P10-mil- lion shipments of apprehended fake goods were steel bars, plastic resins, Christmas décor, car parts and ac- cessories, home and office furniture, Chinese ham and footwear— Havainas, Adidas, Vans, Diesel, Nike, Puma, D & G, Dior, Gucci, Supra and Puma shoes. The fake products arrived on No-


vember 8 from China and con- signed to R.D.C.M Enterprises.


According to Port of Manila Dis- trict Director Rogel Gatchalian, Ruben Frugoso, an official of the Revenue Integrity Protection Service under the Department of Finance, facilitated the unlawful release of the shipment.


Gatchalian said, “Mr. Frugoso in-


tervened and threatened to use ma- licious and baseless attacks, criti- cism and defamation against the character of POM [ports of Manila] officials using Raffy Tulfo and Ben Tulfo’s radio and TV program in or- der to coerce them to release the subject illegal shipment.” Meanwhile, the bureau declared abandoned 20 containers filled with refined sugar from Thailand, after consignee Unitrade Industrial Manufacturing Corp. failed to pay the assessed duties and taxes of P2.7 million within the 15-day grace pe- riod allowed by law.


Customs Commissioner Angelito


Alvarez said the P16-million worth of unclaimed sugar, which arrived


LTO to determine losses incurred in failed Stradcom hostile takeover


THE Land Transportation Office (LTO) is now in the process of de- termining the damage it incurred during the incident on Thursday that paralyzed its nationwide opera- tions for more than six hours. LTO Public Information Office chief Bobby Ricohermoso in an in- terview said the agency is yet to find out the amount of income loss brought by the foiled takeover of Stradcom Corp., the company in charge of computerized system of the LTO, on Thursday.


“Our priority is to keep the LTO


system up and running and now that the LTO operation has returned to normal we can focus on other


matters,” Ricohermoso said. Meanwhile, multiple criminal charges are now being readied by Stradcom against the individuals behind the foiled takeover of the company Thursday. According to Vince Dizon, vice president for Corporate Affairs of Stradcom, the inability of the group who attempted the takeover to pro- duce any legal documents or court order to justify their actions proved that their actions are illegal and punishable by law. Dizon was referring to a group of businessmen and private security personnel led by Aderito Yujuico and Bonifacio Sumbilla, who forci-


Lawmaker insists Senate wants bigger budget


THE Senate wants a P400-million budget hike for 2011, an opposition lawmaker reiterated on Friday. Rep. Mitos Magsaysay of the First District of Zambales made the state- ment after Sen. Franklin Drilon said that Senate only proposed an additional P400 million for the Senate budget for 2011 to level it with 2010 levels. The P1.645-trillion proposed budget for 2011 is higher than the 2010 General Appropriation Act worth P1.540-trillion budget. “I was not misinformed. The facts with regards to the 2011 Senate budget version speaks for itself vis- à-vis the 2011 budget submitted by the Department of Budget and Man- agement which was P400 million less for the Senate,” Magsaysay said. Drilon said that the Senate is not seeking unnecessary budget increase. “I was asked by the media and I just stated as is, without implying anything to it as it is still subject to discussion by both chambers. I have not violated any rule as I am following President Noynoy Aquino’s request of transpar- ency and accountability which I have espoused ever since I became a public servant in 2004,” she added. Magsaysay and Deputy Minority Leader Danilo Suarez earlier ex- pressed concern over their Senate counterparts’ proposed P400-million increase on the latter’s budget, con- sidering that only 21 of the 24 Senate slots are occupied as of the moment.


Sen. Panfilo Lacson is hiding since


a warrant of arrest was issued by the Department of Justice in January for his alleged involvement in the Dacer- Corbito double murder case, while Sen. Antonio Trillanes 4th is still de- tained on coup d’ etat and rebellion charges. Another seat was vacated when then Sen. Benigno Aquino 3rd won the Presidency in June. As it stands, the Senate budget is at P2.7 billion according to Suarez, while the House budget is at P4.7 billion. The Bicameral Conference Com-


mittee, of which Magsaysay and Drilon are members, has decided to create two small groups, one for the House of Representatives and the Senate to thresh out issues regarding the proposed P1.645-trillion budget within their respective jurisdictions. The House’s small group will be led


by House Committee on Appropria- tions Chairman Jun Abaya, House Majority Leader Neptali Gonzales, House Minority Leader Edcel Lagman and Rep. Rolando Andaya Jr of the First District of Camarines Sur. The Senate’s small group, on the other hand, will have Drilon and Majority Leader Vicente Sotto. Chairmen Abaya and Drilon


would then meet to discuss the budget bill. In case there are issues that need to be addressed, then the two chairmen will convene and con- sult their respective small groups. LLANESCA T. PANTI


bly took over the Stradcom build- ing inside the LTO main office com- pound in Quezon City and dis- armed the security guards of the building early morning Thursday. Because of the hostile takeover,


employees of the company, mostly computer technicians were not al- lowed to go inside the building pre- venting the computer program that handles all LTO transactions to run paralyzing the operation of the agency for more than six hours. “We will be filing multiple crimi- nal charges against Yujuico and co- horts,” said Dizon.


The operation of the LTO went back to normal at about 2:45 p.m.


on Thursday after Transportation and Communications Secretary Jose de Jesus, directed the agency to take over the operational control of the computerized system of the LTO and allowed Stradcom technical team to resume operation. De Jesus said that the LTO would remain in control of the computer- ized system, until Stradcom resolves its leadership issues internally. The Transportation and Commu- nications secretary also directed the legal team of department to conduct further investigation on the incident and file charges against those re- sponsible for the service disruption. For her part LTO chief Virginia


Torres urged Stradcom to “settle its intra-corporate dispute at soonest time possible” to prevent any simi- lar incidents from happening. It is the second time that the group of Yujuico and Sumbilla at- tempted to take over Stradcom, claiming that they are new officers of the company.


But when de Jesus asked the group for documents to justify their claim, the group failed to present any. The service disruption at the LTO did not only bring inconvenience to the individuals transacting with the agency but also resulted in huge in- come loss on the part of the LTO. JEFFERSON ANTIPORDA


Comelec proclaims party-list for laborers


FORMER President and now Rep. Gloria Arroyo of Pampanga will have more allies in Congress after the Commis- sion on Elections (Comelec) has proclaimed the party-list group of her cousin to sit in the House of Repre- sentatives. This was after the Comelec en banc issued a Certificate of Proclamation to party-list group Association of Laborers and Employees (ALE). ALE will be represented by one of its nominees, Erlyn de Leon, who will sit in the Fifteenth Congress representing the workers group. De Leon has good credentials, being


a certified public accountant and a lawyer. She is married to former


Department of Justice (DOJ) Regional State Prosecutor Carlos de Leon. She was a former official in Malacañang during Arroyo’s time as she was the one in charge of the appoint- ments in government that will be signed by Arroyo. Besides de Leon, ALE party-list


group has three nominees in their website which includes former Sasmuan, Pampanga Mayor and now Provincial Board Member Catalina Cabrera-Bagasina and Mitz Magtoto. The Manila Times learned that while


de Leon was the second nominee of ALE after Bagasina, she would have a term sharing with Magtoto since Bagasina was currently occupying a


government position in Pampanga. In the Fifteenth Congress, there are


five Arroyo relatives starting with the former president, Rep. Diosdado “Dato” Arroyo of Camarines Sur, Rep. Juan Miguel “Mikey” Arroyo of Ang Galing Pinoy (AGP) party-list, Rep. Ignacio Arroyo of Negros Occiental and De Leon. The Comelec has also proclaimed


party-list group Adhikaing Itinataguyod ng Kooperatiba and the group Kasosyo, Producers-Consumers Exchange Association Inc. The three additional party-list


groups were proclaimed on the basis of the special elections held by the Comelec in Bulacan, Lanao del Sur and Basilan.


Anti-firecracker campaign launched


THE Departments of Education and Health on Friday joined forces in a campaign launched with local gov- ernments to protect children from firecracker-related injuries by strictly enforcing the ban on their use dur- ing the Holiday season revelry. Education Secretary Armin Luistro said there is a need to edu- cate children to shun firecrackers noting that they are the most prone to firework-related injuries. “We encourage students and par- ents to celebrate the holiday season in a simple and peaceful way to pro- tect our children from injuries,” Luistro said.


Report from authorities during last


year’s Christmas celebrations re- vealed that 990 of the total injuries recorded were because of fireworks while 45 were caused by stray bul- lets—a 164-percent increase com- pared to 17 reported cases in 2008. Meanwhile, the 2009 report of the Health department on injuries from the use of firecrackers/fireworks in- dicated that the ages of the victims ranged from two months to 78 years old where the median age is 14 years. The most affected group be- longed to the 1 to 10 years and the 11 to 20 year age groups. “We therefore reiterate this call


because data show that children are most prone and vulnerable to fire- work-related injuries,” the Educa- tion chief stressed.


He added that the department


would join the Health department, local governments and other con- cerned sectors in raising the aware- ness of the public to this danger. Earlier, the Health department suggested that local governments should designate a common fire- works display area, which should be handled only by professionals cit- ing that even bystanders can be in- jured during the holiday festivities. MARIA NIKKA U. GARRIGA


Suspended employee wants to resign, asks about quitclaims


Dear PAO, I was suspended for two


months. Now, I am thinking about resigning. About the com- putation of my quitclaim if I re- sign, our personnel said there is no formula for how much I will get. What will I get if I resign? They said it would be just my 13th month less my taxes and payables in the office? What is really the meaning of quitclaims? And how do we compute it?


Sincerely yours, Fe


Dear Fe,


Under the law, employees who opt to resign do not get separation pay. All they are entitled to is their earned salary. Thus, to be entitled to a separation pay, the employee must have been separated or ter- minated from employment for a cause other that his own act or will and for specific causes as provided by the law.


It will indeed be highly onerous to require employers to pay separa-


tion pay to employees who them- selves have willingly resigned from their jobs or who have done acts inimical to the employer or the lat- ter’s business.


This is not what the law intends. Under the Labor Code, separation pay must be paid to employees who have been separated from employ- ment not by their own fault or choice but due to the exercise of the employers’ prerogative afforded to them by law because of business exigencies or those authorized causes as specified under the law, such as installation of labor saving devices, redundancy or retrench- ment to prevent losses. (Art. 283) Therefore, if you wish or intend to resign, you cannot expect or de- mand to be given some financial grant from your employer. However, if the employer, habitu- ally grants separation pay to em- ployees who resign such that it has already ripened to a company policy or established business practice or if such concession is stipulated in your employment contract, you may


as quitclaims are not benefits but are written documents to be signed by the employee stating that he/she no longer has any right to claim against employer and as such the same is dis- charged of all liabilities pertaining to his /her employment.


then claim for separation benefits from your employer. Thus, the Supreme Court held in the case of Alfaro v Court of Appeals (GR 140812, August 28, 2001, 363 SCRA 799) that “(g)enerally, sepa- ration pay need not be paid to an employee who voluntarily resigns. However, an employer who agrees to expend such benefit as an inci- dent of the resignation should not be allowed to renege in the perform- ance of such commitment.” Anent your query on quitclaims, no computation is provided for the same


Quitclaims are essentially akin to compromise settlements or agree- ments where both parties give cer- tain concessions to each other to avoid the rigors of filing and pros- ecuting/defending a case. The Supreme Court characterizes quitclaims in this wise:


It is true that the law looks with


disfavor on quitclaims and releases by employees who have been in- veigled or pressured into signing them by unscrupulous employers seeking to evade their legal respon- sibilities and frustrate just claims of employees.


In certain cases, however, the Court has given effect to quitclaims executed by employees if the em- ployer is able to prove the follow- ing requisites, to wit: (1) the em- ployee executes a deed of quitclaim


voluntarily; (2) there is no fraud or deceit on the part of any of the par- ties; (3) the consideration of the quitclaim is credible and reason- able; and (4) the contract is not con- trary to law, public order, public policy, morals or good customs, or prejudicial to a third person with a right recognized by law. Our pronouncement in Periquet v National Labor Relations Commission on this matter cannot be more explicit: Not all waivers and quitclaims are


invalid as against public policy. If the agreement was voluntarily en- tered into and represents a reason- able settlement, it is binding on the parties and may not later be dis- owned simply because of a change of mind. It is only where there is clear proof that the waiver was wan- gled from an unsuspecting or gulli- ble person, or the terms of settle- ment are unconscionable on its face, that the law will step in to annul the questionable transaction. But where it is shown that the per- son making the waiver did so volun- tarily, with full understanding of


what he was doing, and the consid- eration for the quitclaim is credible and reasonable, the transaction must be recognized as a valid and binding undertaking.” (citations omitted) (Goodrich Manufacturing Corp. and Goy v Ativo, et.al., GR 188002, Feb- ruary 1, 2010 , citing Periquet v Na- tional Labor Relations Commission GR 91298 June 22, 1990) Thus, the terms of the quitclaim and the consideration for affixing your signature on the same depend upon your claim and your employ- er’s offer. Should you choose to just sign the quitclaim and waive your right to claim against your em- ployer, if warranted by the circum- stances, the guidelines for the deter- mination of the validity of such is set forth above.


Editor’s note: Dear PAO is a daily col- umn of the Public Attorney’s Office. Questions for Chief Acosta may be sent to dearpao@manilatimes.net or via text message (key in: Times dearpao <YOUR QUESTIONS> and send to 2299).


the Port of Manila on July 20 had been forfeited in favor of the gov- ernment and would be sold in pub- lic auction early next year. The Tariff and Customs Code of the Philippines’ Section 1801 (b) as amended, provides that the failure of the consignee to claim the subject shipment by paying the duties and taxes thereon within the 15 days from the filing of the covering import is sufficient ground for the gov- ernment to declare it “aban- doned in favor of the government to be disposed in the manner provided for by law.”


The bureau added that it is still


yet to find out why Unitrade was not able to have its sugar shipment clear customs before the bureau issued the decree of abandonment. Bureau’s sources, however, said it


was possible something went wrong with the company’s tax subsidy ar- rangement with the National Food Authority.


FAPSA still not keen to adopt K+12 plan


THE country’s Federation of Asso- ciations of Private Schools and Ad- ministrators (FAPSA) said it would prefer the Department of Education to observe first the results of the plan to add two more years in the 10-year basic education curriculum. Eleasardo Kasilag, FAPSA presi- dent, stressed the sector would rather adopt “a wait and see” atti- tude and observe how the program would be implemented and its ef- fect to the private education sector. “We, at the private sector, we have no problems regarding the 10-year basic education system and its fine with us. If the Education department would implement the K+12 next, then we will have to wait and see,” Kasilag said. He added that there are several concerns the private education sec- tor would like to be addressed— such as the effect of the program on aspects of curriculum content, teachers training and tuition fee, among others. Kasilag also believes that the gov- ernment cannot impose on private schools to adopt the program as en- shrined in the freedom of education doctrine under the 1987 Constitution. “The government can only exer- cise persuasion but they cannot im- pose,” Kasilag said.


The Education department has earlier said it is now on phase two of the consultation process in prepa- ration for the implementation of enhanced K+12 program that would add two more years to the current 10-year basic education system. According to Education chief Armin Luistro, the department will hold a national conference with all education stakeholders on April next year to discuss the implication of the controversial program. The summit is set to focus on the completion of a series of consulta- tions and focused group discussions being conducted by the department to study and assess the plan—par- ticularly on the costs and the cur- riculum changes bound to be made. MARIA NIKKA U. GARRIGA


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