DAREA prexy lied to us, say employees

The Department of Agrarian Reform Employees’ Association (DAREA) is a "non-government organization."

This was the disclosure of senior agrarian reform program officers Ida Gaa and Althea Oliveros, DAREA board director Carmen Sison and other rank-and-file employees, who accused DAREA president Violeta Bonilla of dishonesty.

Gaa, Oliveros and Sison, among other union members and officers, claimed they were taken by surprise after reading the registration of their articles of incorporation with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

They alleged that Bonilla lied to them when she enticed the 13,000 union members to create a foundation for their own benefit.

"She cheated us. The articles of incorporation show only union officers are foundation members. We have no legal personality to represent the foundation," they said in a statement.

Furthermore, while farmer-beneficiaries topped the three major concerns of the foundation, DAR employees’ welfare ranked fourth.

"The foundation was put up to help rank-and-file employees. But we found out that its objectives were centered on the farmers, and not on us. And that makes the foundation an NGO," said Oliveros, of the litigation division at the DAR central office.

Gaa, Oliveros and Sison, however, clarified there were some DAREA officers who refused to support Bonilla after learning the truth behind the creation of the foundation.

They said Bonilla also misinterpreted their good intention to bridge the gap between her and Agrarian Reform Secretary Hernani Braganza.

They said they had asked DAREA to go back to the negotiating table and even challenged Bonilla to show solid evidence against Braganza, but to no avail.

Gaa, Oliveros, Ma. Elizabeth Faustino, Erlinda Manluctao, Lilibeth Lee, Melinda Dizon, Edgar Amoroso, Olivia Reyes, Guia Abalos, Lynne Aldover, Dominador Sison Jr. and Herminio Romines initiated the filing of a motion for leave to intervene in the graft complaint filed by DAREA against Braganza with the Presidential Anti-Graft Commission.