Ex-Pantranco employees ask Noy to step in

MANILA, Philippines - More than 2,000 employees of the defunct Pantranco North Express Inc. urged President Aquino yesterday to intervene so they may be able to sell the 498 bus franchises awarded to them to compensate for what their former company owes them.

“For decades, Mr. President, we have been denied our legitimate dues. Help us, please,” Pantranco Employees Association (PEA) president Jun Pascua said.

Pascua said the National Labor Union (NLU) has already asked the Department of Labor and Employment to assist the Pantranco employees in getting just compensation.

The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) awarded the franchises to the employees as payment for their back wages. The employees sold them after the National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC), where they filed their claim in 1983, ruled their claims as valid.

Competing bus operators opposed the sale, saying the franchises were expired, prompting Transportation Secretary Manuel Roxas II to suspend the sale and order an investigation.

Pascua said the Supreme Court upheld in 1993 the NLRC’s ruling in favor of the workers’ monetary claims.

The workers had to look for the remaining assets of the defunct bus company they could secure to satisfy their claims, as creditors have already gotten hold of most of the Pantranco’s properties.

The Philippine National Bank had reportedly sold the old Pantranco property in Quezon City to a buyer for over P500 million, but a creditor took the money and the workers had to settle for the bus franchises.

Pascua said that contrary to reports, “the franchises never expired even as the bus firm closed due to bankruptcy.” Franchise verification documents, he said, will show that the 498 franchises were listed as “active” by no less than the LTFRB itself, and the expiry dates were left blank.

“We sincerely hope that, in the interest of truth, accuracy, and fairness, we have enlightened (the) President and the public on the matter,” he added.