Banking scandal

The latest scandal that has hit the banking community is one concerning two senior executives of Citibank.

The Department of Justice has just filed criminal charges for falsification with the Quezon City Regional Trial Court against Alma Horn, vice president and director of human resources, and Eduardo Eviota, head of compensation and benefits of Citibank N.A. Philippine branch.

According to the complaint, Horn and Eviota used a forged document to secure a favorable decision from the National Labor Relations Commission in connection with a case of illegal dismissal filed against Citibank by Ian Grant Fenton, chief financial officer and vice president for finance.

It appeared during the preliminary investigation that Horn and Eviota forged a supposed quitclaim by Fenton in which he allegedly accepted the termination of his employment by Citibank. The Philippine National Police crime laboratory said in its report that there were significant divergences in handwriting movement, line quality, stroke structure and other individual handwriting characteristics  when the alleged signature in the quitclaim was compared with Fenton’s standard signature. PNP handwriting expert Florenda Negre who examined the document said this indicates that they were not written by one and the same person.

Why Ian was terminated by Citibank is still a big question. Prior to his termination in 2001, he got commendations, a hefty salary increase, bonuses, and a rare stock option purchase for special employees. But his mother died which forced him to go back to Australia and stay there for two weeks. When he returned to Manila and reported for work, he received a notice of termination and was told to immediately vacate his position. The notice was given two weeks before his separation, as against the legal requirement of at least 30 days notice.

Ian was advised verbally and in writing (by Horn, but the letter was not printed on a Citibank letterhead) that the reason for his termination was redundancy and that his position would be abolished. But a few weeks after he was terminated, Citibank hired another employee to fill the same position, with the same perks and benefits that Ian had been receiving.

When he filed an illegal dismissal case, Citibank was ordered by the Labor Arbiter to reinstate him and to pay his backwages. On appeal, the National Labor Relations Commission reversed the Labor Arbiter’s ruling, when it gave more weight and credence to the quitclaim submitted in evidence by Citibank to prove that Ian had voluntarily accepted his separation and had already received his separation benefits. This, despite Ian’s claim that his signature was forged. So he filed a motion for reconsideration of the NLRC ruling which remains pending.

What saddens Ian is the fact for four years since he was illegally dismissed, he could not secure a decent employment (senior executive level). All he wants is to clear his name.

Air travel stats

The domestic air travel sector in the Philippines is showing healthy competition inspite of external challenges, the prime challenge being the high cost of aviation fuel, according to the Civil Aeronautics Board in its latest report.

For the period January to August 2006, CAB reported that the nations’s five domestic scheduled carriers fielded a total of 7.58 million seats and carried some 5.57 million passengers. Philippine Airlines got a 47 percent share of the market, followed by Cebu Pacific with 33 percent, Air Philippines with 12 percent, Asian Spirit with five percent, and Seair with three percent.

But Cebu Pacific now claims that it has managed to grab the number one slot for the first time from Oct. 1 to 15 of this year, in terms of flying the most passengers, operating the most number of flight frequencies and routes, and flying to the most domestic destinations.

It said that latest market share report for the period covering Oct. 1 to 15, 2006 showed that CEB has a domestic market share of 45 and is ahead of its closest competitor (PAL) by one market share point. CEB had 149,000 passengers during the two-week period.

CEB is also now offering the most flights of 624 a week, 26 percent more than PAL’s 424. It also flies to more domestic destinations at 20 compared to its nearest competitor at 19, and more routes at 24 in the Philippines compared to PAL’s 18.

Meanwhile, the number of CEB’s passengers (both domestic and foreign) in September this year grew by 108 percent compared to the same month last year. CEB’s domestic passenger level grew 97 percent in the same month (which he attributed largely to increased capacity of the planes) compared to the total market growth of 40 percent.

So has Cebu Pacific really dislodged PAL from the number one slot or are the September to early October figures not conclusive?

For us passengers, it does not matter really who is number one based on CAB figures. Whoever gives us the best service and on-time flights at the lowest possible cost deserves the title.

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