Accused NLRC official faces suspension

An official of the National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC) and two lawyers of the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) face immediate suspension accused of attempting to extort P400,000 from a Filipino-Canadian.

Labor Secretary Arturo Brion said he is moving for the suspension of NLRC commissioner Victoriano Calaycay and lawyers Zomer Ochavillo and Augusto Hidalgo.

"I will meet with NLRC chairman Gerardo Nograles to discuss the case against Calaycay, and if he will not take action I will recommended his suspension to the President and the Presidential Anti-Graft Commission (PAGC)," Brion said.

It will be up to President Arroyo or the PAGC to order the suspension in Calaycay’s case because he is a presidential appointee, Brion said.

He is waiting for the POEA’s recommendation on Hidalgo and Ochavillo. "I am now awaiting the recommendation from POEA chief Rosalinda Baldoz for the suspension of Ochavillo and Hidalgo and I will approve it immediately."

According to court records, Calaycay, Hidalgo, Ochavillo and another co-accused, businessman Dennis Gabionza, allegedly demanded P400,000 from Jocelyn Enriquez to speed up the processing of her license that would allow her to operate a recruitment agency in the Philippines.

They initially asked for a downpayment of P200,000 so the POEA could start processing the papers.

But Enriquez went to the NBI and sought assistance on Nov. 27 and a trap was set for Calaycay. The payoff was set on Dec. 1 at around 7 p.m. at Century Park Sheraton Hotel along Vito Cruz Street, Manila. Enriquez was accompanied by her secretary, Cherubyn See.

For the entrapment, the NBI prepared two pieces of P100 bills that were dusted with fluorescent powder. Enriquez allegedly handed the P200,000 that included the marked money to Calaycay, who in turn turned it over to Gabionza. NBI agents then swooped in.

Calaycay and his co-accused are out on bail, which was set by a Manila court at P30,000 each.

Meanwhile, the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) urged the Ombudsman to subject the three accused to lifestyle checks and swiftly file graft charges against them.

TUCP secretary general and former senator Ernesto Herrera said the Ombudsman should teach Calaycay and his co-accused a lesson by filing graft charges against them.

"Over the years, corrupt NLRC commissioners and arbiters have perverted the labor justice system to the detriment of thousands of aggrieved workers, thus I am counting on the NLRC to promptly suspend the erring public officials," Herrera said.