Cebu airport employees seek GMA intervention

Employees of the Mactan-Cebu International Airport Authority (MCIAA) are appealing to President Arroyo to intervene in the non-release of their allowances and benefits already awarded to them by the court.

In an open letter to the President dated Aug. 8, the Mactan-Cebu International Airport Authority Employees Mutual Association Inc. (MEMA) said their "saving grace" in the midst of the economic crunch the country is facing comes from the cost of living allowance (COLA) and other benefits, which the workers are entitled to as the Court of Appeals (CA) reaffirmed in April 2004.

"But (the benefits) cannot be received because the management used delaying tactics," stated MEMA president Rizalina Migallen-Erediano in the letter.

The appellate court "laid the case to rest," Erediano said in a resolution dated May 9, adding that the failure of both parties involved in the case "to timely file their respective appeals to the Supreme Court has hammered the final nail to the coffin."

"Even with the prodding of the employees for the management to release the said benefits, it continues to apply delaying tactics, thus, making the yoke heavier," Erediano said.

She did not elaborate, but said that the MCIAA board of directors failed to honor their own resolution dated May 8, 2004, stating they would abide by the CA ruling.

"There is already a garnished amount for this, but why has management refused to release it?" Erediano asked.

In their letter to the President, MEMA did not specify the amount due the employees.

But in its earlier resolution, the MCIAA board of directors said it would honor the CA ruling on the entitlement of COLA and amelioration allowance to its employees from the time the MCIAA was created on Dec. 18, 1990, or from the time of their respective appointments as employees. — Ann Corvera