DAVAO CITY — The Federation of Davao Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FDCCI) has backed the call of the Davao City Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Inc. (DCCCII) in its appeal to President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to recall the new appointee to the Regional Tripartite Wage Productivity Board (RTWPB).
DCCCII president Domingo Duerme, during The Marco Polo Hotels Club 888 Forum on Wednesday, said they had submitted their formal appeal to the president in a letter dated March 6, 2007, supported by the FDCCI resolution and the board of the DCCCII.
The DCCCII likewise asked Mayor Rodrigo Duterte to intervene in their behalf in a letter dated March 22, 2007.
Duerme said lawyer Bienvenido Cariaga, one of the employer sector representatives, was endorsed by the business community to the RTWPB.
The new appointee, Rebecca del Rosario Recto, who resides in Tagum City, was appointed by the president to the RTWPB XI, replacing Cariaga effective February 2, 2007.
In an earlier report, DCCCII had gathered that Recto was not nominated by DCCCII nor any of the other large chambers of commerce and industry in the region.
Based on the Personal Data Sheet of Recto, it would appear that she is an administrative assistant of the Office of the Presidential Consultant for DILG affairs, receiving a salary of P16,000 a month.
Duerme said with such background, it already creates a conflict of interest situation, where the employers sector cannot expect adequate or proper representation and advocacy to the Board.
In their letter to Rodrigo, Duerme said Recto has not taken her oath of office allegedly due to the vehement and serious protest of the business sector in Region XI where she is going to represent.
Meanwhile the FDCCI resolution was signed by Pastor Lozada, president, Island Garden City of Samal Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Lemuel Podador, president, Tagum Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Severino P. Mercado, president, Kapalong Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Louis N. Rabat, president, Davao Oriental Eastern Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Braulio A. Lim, president, Sta. Cruz Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and Atty. Domingo T. Duerme, president, DCCCII.
Among others the FDCCI stated that the purpose of the law requiring that the employers sector representatives be nominated by the employers sector is to guarantee that their interests and rights will be protected and advanced, and that they have proper representative in a person who has their trust and confidence.
Under Republic Act 6727, or the Wage Rationalization Act, it mandates that the RTWPB of each region shall be composed among others of two members from the employers sector, who shall be appointed by the President upon the recommendation of the Secretary of Labor and Employment on the basis of the list of nominees submitted by the employers sector.
Duerme said Cariaga is very knowledgeable on wage fixing and could ably represent the business sector he who comes from the biggest and prestigious chamber of Region XI, the DCCCII.
Cariaga, when interviewed to comment on the appeal to the President to recall the appointment of Recto, said he does not want to sound that he wanted to continue as business representative to RTWPB.
I go for what the law says that the appointee to represent the employer sector must be endorsed by the business sector, he said. (PIA XI/prixdbanzon).
