Unfair labor practice (Patterns of persecutions)

Now that it is the season of Lent, it is apropos for us all, especially those in power, to reflect deeply on our acts and omissions. By our human frailties, we might have imprudently made use of our powers, our wealth, our influence and whatever authority vested on us, to the detriment and great damage upon another. We might not have intended evil at all. We might have acted in good faith. But our recklessness and lack of due discernment and reflection might have led us to create undue anguish, sorrows or wounded feelings on our fellow men.  The Good Book says: We shall reap whatever we sow, and indeed, for every action, there shall be a corresponding reaction. And, in the end, we might regret it all.

Every person, according to the Civil Code, in the exercise of his rights and in the performance of his duties, must act with justice, give everyone his due, and observe honesty and good faith. It is not enough that a person does a right thing. He must do it at the right time and for the right reason in the right place. If he is in power, he must wield his powers justly and fairly ad discretion, and must do so with due consideration to the rights of others. An official action, by itself, may be perfectly right. But if the manner of doing it smacks of high-handedness, then there might be a grave abuse of power and discretion, which is actionable in a court of law. For we have a government of laws and not of men.

Based on these fundamental principles as premises, if what have been done to Governor Gwen Garcia, Gov. Espino of Pangasinan and Vice Mayor Isko Moreno of Manila were labor disputes, a strong case of unfair labor oractice would be built against those who exercised their powers. Everyone knows of Garcia's suspension, of Espino's murder charge and of Moreno's arrest due to a bingo game. If these were cases of unfair labor practices, the labor tribunals would have seen a pattern of persecution, in apparent aid of the election of their opponents. Could it be a strange coincidence that all of them are running under the opposition party?

This is not about the merits of their respective cases. In fairness to the government, there may indeed be a strong probable case against each of them. But the timing invites a strong suspicion that there indeed might have been a link between the administrative and judicial actions to the upcoming elections in May. And these officials are all running against the party in power. The people see the writings between the lines. The people are discerning.

They know what is right and what is wrong. They know who remains faithful along the true “daang matuwid”, and who are the pretenders. They cannot fool all the people all the time. The Filipinos may be silly most of the times, but they are not stupid. They are well-informed and they make independent decisions when it is time to separate the wolves from the lambs. In a culture that loves the underdogs, what has been done could very well boomeranged against the powers-that-be.

In labor law and jurisprudence, whenever management exercises its prerogatives to transfer, promote, discipline, suspend or dismiss an employee, that action generally enjoys the presumption of regularity. However, if the employee to be suspended happens to be a union official, in the process of preparing for an upcoming union election or certification election, then management may have to be very careful that its prerogative, by the suspicious timing of its exercise,  may lend itself to a disputable presumption of being an unfair labor practice. Unfair because such action may give aid and comfort to the disciplined employee's opponent.

Our jurisprudence is replete with decided cases where employers were punished by the Supreme Court for such naked abuse of powers.

The proximity between the disciplinary action to the coming certification elections tainted the purity of what could have been a perfectly legal, just and reasonable exercise of management prerogative. Thus, if such actions would escape the discerning scrutiny of judicial review, then the people, the sovereign Filipino people will render the verdict. Considering that the people usually love the victims of highhandedness, then actions of such draconian implications and far-reaching consequences shall, for sure, merit a corresponding backlash in the polls. Mark my word. The people know how to use the power of the ballot when the proper time presents itself. The administration may deeply regret it all at the end.