Blame Pat not Cory

AS early as May 1, 2003, DOLE Secretary Pat Sto. Tomas after having been vigorously scolded by GMA in the presence of labor leaders over a faux pas in connection with the Labor Day celebration has been telling all and sundry that she would resign out of disgust with Gloria. Kunwari lang pala yon dahil hanggang ngayon andiyan pa siya sa puwesto.

Ang mga matatalik niyang kaibigan tulad nina Dinky Soliman at Emilia Boncodin ay nagsikalas na sa Arroyo regime as a matter of principle. Kapit tuko ang tawag natin sa mga ganito. Magmula noong sila ay itinalagang mga Kalihim, si Dinky at Emy ay ’di natin naringgan ni minsan man na sila ay nagbalak magresign ’di tulad ni Pat na kung ma-bad mouth si Gloria kapag sila-sila lang ng mga ka-chikahan niya sa DOLE, ay akala mo mas pandak pa si Gloria sa kanyang height na 4’11’’.

Ano ba Pat ang mayroon diyan sa DOLE na, sa suweldo mong P30,000 a month, ay ’di mo maiwan-iwanan? Iyan ba ay isang gold mine na ’di mo basta-basta matalikuran? Kung sa bagay, iyang OWWA funds naman ay bilyun-bilyon na. Kaya lunukin mo na lang ang pambabastos sa’yo Pat ni Gloria.

Tunghayan naman natin itong Luisita Massacre, kung saan pitong manggagawa ay nasawi sa picket line. The bloodshed could have been avoided had Sto. Tomas only invoked Art. 211 of the Labor Code which says, inter alia: "It is the policy of the State to promote and emphasize the primacy of xxx Mediation and conciliation, as modes of setting labor and industrial disputes".

The law used the word "primacy" of mediation and conciliation. What this means is, at any stage of the proceedings in a labor case, the Secretary of Labor, the NLRC Chair, even the Justices of the Court of Appeals or the Supreme Court, may call for a "time out" anytime bago sila mag-decide ng labor case at mag-mediation o conciliation muna dahil ayon sa batas may "primacy" ang mga "modes" o paraang ito.

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