The National Labor Relations Commission in Bacolod City has ordered the Rainbow Global Media Arts Inc. (RGMA) Super Radyo to pay broadcaster Edmund Aspero one month salary for every year of service to the company amounting to P43,554.

Aspero filed a complaint last year against RGMA Super Radyo president and general manager Mike Enriquez and Acting Bacolod manager Fernando Yngson for illegal dismissal, non-payment of salary and 13 th month pay, monetary equivalent of leave credits, Christmas bonus, commission on commercials, and for moral and exemplary damages.

In his position paper, Aspero said he was hired by RGMA in January 2000 as a driver and was subsequently designated as reporter and anchorman of the company for Super Radyo Bacolod.

He said Yngson informed them that the company is offering its employees an optional retirement program which he decided to avail of, considering that he had been with the company for seven years.

On March 28, 2007, on the belief that his intention to avail of the offer was accepted, Aspero said, he tried his luck in the field of politics and ran for councilor of Bacolod City in the May 2007 synchronized elections, but unfortunately lost.

He said that after the election, he reported and followed up his letter to avail of the optional retirement program and was shocked to learn from Yngson that he was considered “resigned” when he ran in the last election.

Aspero contended that, if his act of filing the certificate of candidacy was considered as resignation, why did the management, through Yngson, re-admit his fellow employees, Boy Ciocon and Mr. Morden, who were also candidates and also lost in the May 2007 election?

He said he was a victim of illegal dismissal considering that after he wrote RGMA on March 12, 2007, the company declared a close shop on October 15 and paid its employees their benefits.

On the other hand, the company said that, based on the Fair Election Act, and the policies of RGMA embodied in the memorandum dated March 5, 2007 prohibiting its employees from being electoral candidates, Aspero was considered to have resigned from his employment upon filing his certificate of candidacy.

They said that from the date of the filing of his COC, he ceased to report to work for RGMA.

Labor Arbiter Cesar Sideño, in his decision dated Jan. 4, 2008, said the evidence showed that Aspero sent four letters to the company manifesting his intention to avail of the early retirement program verbalized by Yngson. He said it was only on July 25, 2007, that Eugene Ramos, VP Finance and Administration of the respondents, informed Aspero that there was no such offer.

Sideño said they are convinced that there was such an offer, however, it was verbal, and was withdrawn after the respondents learned that Aspero had already filed his COC, thinking that they could save payment of Aspero's retirement pay since there was a memorandum from the respondent president that any employee who registers as candidate is considered resigned.

Moreover, the radio station in Bacolod closed shop due to negative financial performance and paid their employee separation pay, Sideño said.

He said they further took into consideration that the complainant is nearly 60 years old and is eligible for retirement under the Labor Code.

Sideño ordered RGMA to pay Aspero one month salary for every year of service to the company amounting to P43,554 based on his basic monthly pay of P6,222.

The rest of the claims were ordered dismissed due to payment made by the company to Aspero on Sept. 3, 2007.*CGS

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