BACIWA, Prime Water urged to reinstate retrenched employees

By Dolly Yasa

BACOLOD City – Atty. Rey Gorgonio, legal counsel of the 60 employees who were retrenched by the Bacolod City Water District (BACIWA) is asking the water utility firm to reinstate his clients as ordered by the Civil Service Commission (CSC) after the latter denied the appeal/ motion for consideration filed by the BACIWA Board of Directors.

Gorgonio, together with Atty. Cesar Beloria and the concerned employees, held a press conference at the Negros Press Club here Monday.

“They (retrenched BACIWA employees) should be reinstated immediately as ordered by the CSC,” Gorgonio told reporters here.

In a statement, the BACIWA Employees Union-NAFLU said they welcome the Oct 27, 2021 decision of the CSC denying the water district’s appeal.

They said that the commission’s decision “favored the cause of the employees who have been damaged and deprived due to the board’s action concerning its contract with a private enterprise through ceasing management of BACIWA, in the guise of a joint venture agreement.”

“Thus, the recent resolution of the CSC should be given much thought by all. We implore the Bacolod Board of Directors and those behind and supportive of the Joint Venture Agreement to respect the commission’s resolution.”

Meanwhile, members of the Sangguniang Panlungsod also appealed to the Bacolod City Water District-Prime Water Infrastructure Corporation to consider the immediate reinstatement of the 60 dismissed BACIWA workers per decision of the Civil Service Commission Regional Office.

The resolutions authored by Councilors Archie Baribar and Wilson Gamboa Jr. said the 60 BACIWA employees were terminated from work as a consequence of a Joint Venture Agreement entered by BACIWA and Prime Water, which resulted to a case filed before the CSC by the workers concerned against the management.

Because of the retrenchment, the BACIWA Employees Union-Naflu launched numerous protests and filed a petition before the CSC in Region 6 claiming that their termination was illegal.

Lenny Espina, president of the BACIWA Employees Union (BEU), said they are happy that the CSC released its decision to reinstate them.

‘We are fighting for our rights and we proved that Baciwa made a mistake. Our victory will also serve as an example to other water districts in the country,” she said.

The members of the Board of Directors received a copy of the CSC resolution on Thursday.

BACIWA said it will refer the matter to its lawyer at the Office of the Government Corporate Counsel for advice and appropriate action.