Ceneco union leader insists on legitimacy

By Dolly Yasa

BACOLOD City – The acting president of the employees’ union of Central Negros Electric  Cooperative (Ceneco) contended that they are legitimate despite questions raised by their ousted legal counsel.

In a press conference on Tuesday, Marbie Cabardo said that “I and the majority of the lawful officers are being questioned about our legitimacy by the group of Atty Rey Gorgonio and Mr. Felix Gepilga, it saddens us that the issue about the intra-union dispute is now circulating on social media and getting out of hand.”

Earlier, Cabardo announced that they terminated the services of Gorgonio as their legal counsel.

Cabardo said that the Ceneco Union of Rational Employees (CURE) is a duly organized union bounded by its constitution and by-laws (CBL) and registered under the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and recognized as the sole bargaining agent of the rank-file employees of Ceneco.

The controversy erupted on October 28, 2022 when former CURE president Stefanie Montaner called for a general membership assembly without any authority and impeached Cabardo as vice president.

But DOLE declared the impeachment proceeding invalid in an order dated March 27, 2023 hence, “as the lawful vice president, I shall perform the duties and functions of the President in case of the latter’s absence as stipulated in the CBL,” Cabardo said.

“As a matter of fact, Ceneco acting General Manager Atty. Arnel Lapore validly recognized my leadership as the lawful vice president by virtue of the DOLE order dated March 27, 2023, through his letter dated June 19, 2023, addressed to my counsel Atty. Joseph Brian Perez,” she added.

This was supported by the Ceneco Board of Directors through a Board Resolution passed last July 18, 2023, affirming and acknowledging Cabardo and the rest of the elected board of directors and executive board as the true and lawful representatives of CURE per the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) between CURE and the management.

With this recognition, Cabardo said that “We the lawful and legitimate union officers will always stand to protect the welfare of the employees and members, we will exhaust all possible remedies to protect CENCO, its employees and consumers.”

“We believe in maintaining harmonious or peaceful negotiations/relations in solving grievances complaints, and work-related issues, and concluding the CBA negotiations as soon as possible with guaranteed protection for all employees,” Cabardo added.

As regards the notice of strike filed by Felix Gepilga and Atty. Rey Gorgonio, she said, “we as the duly elected Board and executive officers strongly opposed the said actions.”

Cabardo said that the calling for the conduct of a strike vote and election for the union president and the general assembly were done in violation of the constitution and by-laws of CURE and without the authority of the union vice president acting as the union president and the majority of the executive officers and the board of directors.

“We believe that this is not the time for a strike we will exhaust all negotiation proceeding to maintain the industrial peace and to continue working and deliver reliable service to the consumer owner of Ceneco,” she further said.