About 80 members of the Labor Organization of VRESCO Employees held a protest action at the V-M-C Rural Electric Service Cooperative compound in Manapla during their lunch break yesterday to oppose moves to block the release of their P11.7 million salary differential.

The Court of Appeals, through its 19th Division, has issued a temporary restraining order preventing the National Conciliation and Mediation Board from taking further action on the amount garnished from VRESCO for the payment of the amount.

LOVE secretary Leonardo Baranda told the DAILY STAR they are directing their call to VRESCO Board president Jose Alan Leonor, who had asked the Land Bank of the Philippines Bacolod Branch to hold the payment or clearing of the check.

In a letter received Jan. 26, 2005, Leonor told the bank manager that VRESCO may be constrained to file contempt of court proceedings against the bank before the CA if it releases the funds despite his notice.

Baranda said that, together with their lawyer Edmundo Manlapao, they are preparing to file a petition before the CA seeking their lifting of the TRO.

LOVE director Roberto Antibo said they were already scheduled to withdraw the amount from the union's account with Philippine National Bank in Victorias City on Jan. 27. Three days before that, however, the CA issued the TRO.

"The people are angry over what happened," Antibo said in a telephone interview. "We're surprised. Why the TRO, when everything is supposed to be already okay?"

The rank-and-file employees of VRESCO filed a case in 1997 demanding similar wage adjustment as their managers and supervisors, who failed to inform them of the National Electrification Administration circular standardizing the employees of electric cooperatives.

NCMB voluntary arbitrator Mateo Valenzuela had ruled in their favor.

VRESCO however has resisted all their efforts to secure payment. We bewail this continuing refusal of VRESCO to pay, LOVE said in a press statement issued yesterday.

The union also scored the management for its purchase of a 10 MVA transformer worth P32 million for its Cadiz substation. They said that if VRESCO can afford to pay an initial P13 million for the equipment which has not even been delivered until now, why can it not spare P11.7 million for the differential pay of the employees?

'SUSPENSION WITH PAY'

Meanwhile, the president of Victorias Power Consumers for Reforms Inc., Elinore Cabanilla, yesterday questioned the decision of the VRESCO Board of Directors to suspend assistant general manager/finance services manager, Antonio Magno Jr., for 30 days effective Jan. 19 but with pay. she claimed that this is unacceptable, since he is being penalized for a wrongdoing, based on NEA audit findings.

Magno had been suspended for alleged window-dressing of VRESCO's financial statement/records/ to improve its categorization; manipulation of coop policy on purchasing pre-bids and actual purchasing procedure and other issues; Cabanilla cited page 24 of the NEA audit report, stating that Magno had been suspended without pay effective May 3, 2005 to ensure a transparent and unhampered investigation on the complaints of VRESCO consumers.*NLG

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