Just and Humane Actions

ANTO COMETA

I’ll just be brief about this personal entry.

"The preservation of Roman Catholic views is not pegged by discrimination in any form but through just and humane actions."

This is the last line of the memo I drafted prior to this entry. It just hit me when I realized that were people who deem themselves as righteous by invoking Roman Catholic views and principles in their actions and judgments whereas they themselves are the ones sullying the views and principles they deem revered by the same actions and judgments they carried out.

Although the abovementioned line was used in a different context in the memo, the meaning remains universal.

It is of highest gratitude to those people I got acquainted before who made me understand that people like them deserved what they got.

Memorandum: Worker’s Rights to Religious Affiliation

ANTO COMETA

This is a memorandum I drafted under Atty. Benedicto Bitonio Jr.'s (Former NLRC Chair and DOLE Undersecretary) labor law class as a labor consultant concerning a case of a Physics teacher in a Roman Catholic High School. Aside from the qualification standards based on education and experience, the school requires every teacher to be a Roman Catholic as a condition for hiring and continuing employment. During the instructor's employment in the school he converted to Protestantism. The issues are (1) the validity of the school policy, (2) whether Jessie may be dismissed because of it, and (3) the options to consider in dealing with the situation.

Memorandum: Worker’s Rights to Religious Affiliation

This memorandum seeks to address the underlying issue set forth by the provisions of employment by the school concerning the religious affiliation of Mr. Jessie employed as a member of the faculty of the Science Department, Division of Physics.
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Statement of Facts

The school is considered as a private sectarian academic institution operating under the jurisdiction of the Roman Catholic Church which employs individuals outside the secular domain to run its operations.

Existence of policy or qualifying standards of the school for both hiring and continuance of employment necessitates members of the faculty, staff and administrative personnel to be affiliated with the Roman Catholic religion.

Mr. Jessie an instructor of Physics in the school once part of the Roman Catholic congregation converted to Protestantism on the course of his tenure.

Questions Presented

Whether the school policy concerning hiring and continuance of the employee’s tenure is valid, this entails violation on the part of Mr. Jessie who is an instructor of Physics in the school.

Whether Mr. Jessie be dismissed from the school as a result of his conversion to Protestantism, given the policy that employees and members of the school to be affiliated with the Roman Catholic religion as part of the hiring and continuance of employment.

Response to the Questions Presented

Being considered as a private sectarian academic institution employing individuals outside the secular domain operating in the Philippines, the school notwithstanding its jurisdiction under the Roman Catholic Church is bound by the rules and regulations governing labor and employment relations of the country. This entails that the school as a labor entity with reference to its employment procedures should be in accordance to the rules and regulations set by the State.

The Philippine Constitution recognizes the right to labor and the promotion of full employment and equality of employment opportunities for all.[1] This academic institution should follow the proper guidelines set by the country with reference to labor and employment. The Philippine Labor Code upholds the civil and labor rights of every employee to which religious institutions are not exempted from.[2]

As members of the Roman Catholic Church, the 1983 Code of Canon Law with reference to the Directory for the Application of Principles and Norms on Ecumenism, Section IV B Item 102[3] states that Christians regardless of its denomination may be encouraged to share in spiritual activities as well as its resources. Protestantism is one of the denominations of the Christian religion. Also taking into account, the school under the jurisdiction of the church is considered as a resource which is of value not only for the church but also for its employees and students for their holistic development as Christians and citizens of the State.

The policy of the school administration negates both views and doctrines of the State and the Roman Catholic Church in promoting and upholding the principles of human rights. In this regard, this memorandum recognizes the right to employment notwithstanding the religious affiliation of the individual. Thus, this invalidates the employment policy set by the school.

In the case Mr. Jessie who is an instructor of Physics of this school concerning the continuance of his employment, in accordance to the Philippine Labor Code, he could only be dismissed only if any of the following grounds are committed; (a) serious misconduct or willful disobedience by the employee of the lawful orders of his employer or representative in connection with his work, (b) gross and habitual neglect by the employee of his duties, (c) fraud or willful breach by the employee of the trust reposed in him by his employer or duly authorized representative, (d) commission of a crime or offense by the employee against the person of his employer or any immediate member of his family or his duly authorized representatives, and (e) other causes analogous to the foregoing.[4] It could be argued that the first identified provision of employer termination of the worker has been sufficed. However, it has been established that the policy set by the school is unfounded as both principles of the State as well as the Roman Catholic Church concerning human rights and religious affiliation of the individual in relation to Mr. Jessie’s employment in this academic institution is in contradiction.

This is to inform that the school policy for both hiring and continuance of employment which requires members of the faculty, staff and administrative personnel to be affiliated with the Roman Catholic religion is null and void. As for the case of Mr. Jessie an instructor of Physics, he would be retained as a member of the faculty unless he willfully resigns or there would be violation(s) that fall(s) under the abovementioned provisions of termination under the Philippine Labor Code that would arise in the course of his tenure in which the school will be compelled to end his employment. Nonetheless, proper conduct of dismissal of the employee would be observed.

This is to urge both the congregation and members of the school to practice ecumenism[5] and religious pluralism[6]. This is to promote understanding, cooperation and unity among different religions or denominations within the religion. Tolerance is a condition of harmonious co-existence between members of other denominations and different religions as members of our society. Let us treat all individuals as our equal as we wanted to be treated as equal as well. The preservation of Roman Catholic views is not pegged by discrimination in any form but through just and humane actions.

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[1] Article 13 Section 3 of the 1987 Philippine Constitution

[2] Article 3 Preliminary Title of the Philippine Labor Code – Declaration of Basic Policy

[3] Pontificum Consilium Ad Christianorum Unitatem Fovendam (Directory for the Application of Principles and Norms on Ecumenism) IV B 102 – Sharing Spiritual Activities and Resources, Vatican Church

[4] Article 282 Book VI, Philippine Labor Code – Termination of Employer

[5] Defined as the movement toward unity or cooperation among the Christian churches - Britannica Concise Encyclopedia, http://concise.britannica.com/

[6] Also known as religious diversity which states that there exist significant differences of opinion among individuals who seem to be equally knowledgeable and sincere. individuals who apparently have access to the same information and are equally interested in the truth affirm incompatible perspectives on, for instance, significant social, political, and economic issues. Such diversity of opinion, though, is nowhere more evident than in the area of religious thought. On almost every religious issue, honest, knowledgeable people hold significantly diverse, often incompatible beliefs – Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/religious-pluralism/

UP SOLAIR Student Council Supports Rodolfo Lozada Jr.

ANTO COMETA

It's Our Time

The UP School of Labor and Industrial Relations Student Council would like to support Rodolfo Lozada Jr. in his desire to reveal to the public the truth behind the controversial “NBN-ZTE” broadband project.

The surmounting death threats that he and his family has been receiving for the past few days, and the risks of exposing such anomalies to the public are indications that there are groups who will relentlessly thwart order and destabilize the investigation proceedings.

We believe that curtailment of this freedom not only decelerates the speedy resolution of the case, but it brings millions of working Filipinos clueless as to how their taxes were utilized to finance such projects. We may have varying opinions on the credibility of his statements, but the aim to uncover the truth is based on the principled right that every person deserves to be given a fair chance to speak of and be heard.

And so our vigilance will rise up against these staggering pitfalls of the investigation process. We join the rest of the nation in its search for truth and justice.

For it’s about time that our voices be heard.

UP School of Labor and Industrial Relations Student Council
University of the Philippines - Diliman
February 08, 2008