With four children to support in school and P8,000 in loan payments to shell out monthly, De la Cruz is in a fighting mood after he was fired some two weeks ago from his job as a rockloader in Clark Field that paid him P14,400 every month.
"I will fight for my rights," De la Cruz told The STAR in an interview in the house given to him by real estate developer Benjamin Lim at Benjamin 9 Subdivision in Barangay Tangle here.
Now, he takes turns with his 24-year-old son Juliesis in plying a passenger jeepney, the only investment he was able to make from a loan from the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) after his ordeal in Iraq.
But income from driving a passenger jeepney would not be enough for De la Cruz to ably support his family.
De la Cruz got a hero’s welcome upon his return from Iraq after President Arroyo agreed to the demands of his Iraqi captors to withdraw the Philippines’ 51-member military contingent engaged in civic work from the war-torn country.
His case hogged the headlines for weeks, even as the withdrawal of the Philippine contingent to save his life drew flak from United States leaders.
Five months after his arrival from Iraq, De la Cruz was employed as a rockloader with the Clark Pipeline and Depot Corp. (CPDC) at the Clark special economic zone, thanks to the help of Labor Secretary Patricia Sto. Tomas and former Clark Development Corp. president Emmanuel Angeles. He supervised the loading of fuel into tankers.
Some two weeks ago, however, his immediate superiors barred him from entering the company’s compound unless he signed his termination papers.
De la Cruz said the pressure on him to quit his job started after a tiff with a co-employee reportedly close to one of his bosses over the issue of changing a security guard whom he wanted replaced with a more efficient one.
"As a rockloader, I was made to understand that I was to assume the role of supervisor in the area where tankers were being filled with fuel, so I assumed the right to seek alternate personnel for better work efficiency. Because of that, I was accused of bypassing my immediate superiors," he said in Capampangan.
De la Cruz said he was earlier made to sign a document stating that he was requesting for a three-week training in rockloading in the Subic Freeport so he could become a regular employee.
"I underwent the training, but I was not regularized. After the training in rockloading, I was instead reassigned to supervise the work of contractors such as those cutting grasses within the firm’s premises," he said.
The STAR attempted to get the side of the CPDC management but was referred to its sister company, the Philippine Coastal Storage and Pipeline Corp. (PCSP) based in Subic. A return call promised by a PCSP employee, however, was never made as of press time.
De la Cruz said he refused to sign the termination papers, which his supervisor presented to him. "I will not sign it nor will I resign because I have done nothing wrong," he said.
After being informed about his termination, De la Cruz said he sought the help of Sto. Tomas who later told him that his employers had complained that he had become "swell-headed."
"It is not true. It is not my fault that I have come to know some big people in government because of the hostage incident. I have remained a consultant of Sen. Lito Lapid on overseas workers’ issues, but I have not become swell-headed," he said.
He said his links with high-ranking government leaders might have triggered some resentment among some CPDC workers.
As Lapid’s consultant, De la Cruz said he often went to the senator’s office in the Senate during his Monday dayoff.
"What they did was to change my dayoff to Saturday when the Senate is closed," he said.
He said Sto. Tomas tried to negotiate his reinstatement with the CPDC management and even volunteered to be his guarantor.
"But I was barred by the security guard when I went (there) to get a set of uniform and a shirt that I left. I have not returned there since then," he said.
De la Cruz said former Bulacan Rep. Willie Villarama is helping him in his labor case.
Four of De la Cruz’s children are going to school. Jeric, 7, and Jerome, 10, are in elementary; Joanna Marie, 17, in high school; and Josephine, 20, in college.
Juliesis, his second eldest child, drives their passenger jeepney along the Magalang-Angeles City route during the day, while he plies it at night.
"I earn about P200 a night when there are many passengers," De la Cruz said, adding, though, that his and his son’s earnings are not enough to meet their family’s needs and pay the P8,000 monthly for the P250,000 OWWA loan which he used to buy the jeepney.
"I stood up for the rights of my fellow Filipino workers in Saudi Arabia. Now I will stand up for my rights," he said.