Biz Buzz: Bad breakup

A lady executive formerly tasked with making this foreign bank look good has now turned into the same bank’s worst PR nightmare locally in what’s shaping up to be a costly legal battle.

A labor arbiter at the National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC) ruled that Standard Chartered Bank had “illegally dismissed” its former vice president/head of corporate affairs in the Philippines. Stanchart, the first foreign bank to set up shop in this country, was ordered to reinstate the official and pay full back wages amounting to P10.92 million plus 10 percent for attorney’s fees.

The amount that the lady used to earn at Stanchart is no peanuts. Based on the NLRC ruling, she earned P300,000 a month plus a monthly allowance of P74,000 and an annual performance bonus that ranged from P600,000 to P800,000. The back wages that NLRC ordered to be paid were computed based on 36.4 months worth of the basic monthly wage of P300,000. (In its pleadings, Stanchart reckons that the executive earned only P237,000 a month.)

The lady had complained that her dismissal was “an act of clear discrimination, insensibility or disdain on the part of the employer which has become so unbearable as to leave an employee with no choice but to forgo continued employment.”

This official was told she had fared poorly during the performance evaluation because “she did not really write in a manner suited to business communications” and “did not really provide strategic directions.”  She argued that these were “vague” and “highly subjective” reasons.

In exchange for separation pay equivalent to P1.84 million, the complainant tendered her resignation and executed a “quit claim” that would have released Stanchart from any future liability. However, the lady later on claimed that these were done “under duress,” sued the foreign bank at the NLRC and won a favorable ruling on May 25.

As expected, Stanchart has asked for reconsideration, arguing that the labor arbiter had committed “grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction” in ruling that this was constructive dismissal and in entitling complainant to reinstatement and back wages. In its appeal, Stanchart said the resignation was voluntarily submitted by the executive, citing her decision to “pursue long-term personal goals” after four years of working with the bank.

Stanchart underscored that the resignation letter was dated more than two weeks before actually served, suggesting that she had “thoroughly weighed her options” and had “painstakingly reflected on the consequences of her action.” The bank maintained that the resignation letter was “voluntary issued, free from any form of duress or threat of intimidation” and that the management even hosted a farewell lunch.

After getting her separation package and executing the quit claim (in what was earlier thought by the employer as an amicable parting), the bank said it had never heard from her again until two years after, when the NLRC case was filed.

“Standard Chartered takes its obligations and responsibility as an employer very seriously, ensuring that we comply with the spirit, not just the letter of laws, regulations and group standards. Conducting our business with high standards of ethics and integrity is essential to the long-term success of our organization.  Our approach has always been to handle all employee matters in a fair, open and transparent manner,” the bank said in an official statement sent to Biz Buzz.–Doris Dumlao-Abadilla

Dying for a contract

Small wonder Spanish defense and IT firm Indra Sistemas SA is dying to get a slice of Comelec’s 2016 election budget. Last week, wire reports indicated that the Spanish firm, which also supplies election paraphernalia, suffered a staggering first-half net loss of about $500 million (that’s over P20 billion).

The massive losses were attributed mainly to the “seasonality” of the election business.

To stem the bleeding, the Spanish firm is reportedly making a last-ditch attempt in the Philippines to bag a crucial transmission contract that could make or break the 2016 polls.

Transmission is the critical “third leg” of automatic elections next to vote scanning and counting. However, the million-dollar question is whether Comelec would allow a firm (which disqualified itself thrice for submitting “non-responsive bids”) to yet again bid for a crucial automation component.

It could be recalled that Indra had been accused by lawmakers of making a mockery of Comelec’s bidding processes for three consecutive financial blunders in the bidding for Precinct Count Optical Scan (PCOS) machines. In 2009, Indra overshot Comelec’s approved budget; it again submitted a ridiculously high bid and overshot the budget for 23,000 new PCOS in 2015; and submitted the wrong envelope in the recently concluded bidding for additional 70,000 PCOS machines.

Given what lawmakers say is Indra’s “habitual” failure to comply with the most basic Comelec bidding rules, they have called for the Spanish firm’s blacklisting in the Philippines for wasting Comelec’s time.

It also doesn’t help that the firm is partly owned by the investment arm of Spain’s defense department which raises sovereignty and national security concerns. With all these issues stacked against Indra, insiders are waiting with bated breath if Comelec’s commissioners will accept or flatly reject the Spanish firm’s bid to bag the transmission contract which even local telcos like Smart Communications and Globe Telecom have shied away from. Abangan!–Daxim L. Lucas

Wrong brother, right story

A lawyer of former Iloilo Rep. Ferjenel Biron sent to Biz Buzz a letter from her client complaining that he was erroneously identified as the “insensitive neighbor” in Valle Verde written on this space. Here are excerpts of the letter:

“As a doctor/businessman who abandoned the comforts of a private life to serve our people through public service, it can be said that I am far from being  ‘insensitive.’ Since my youth in Iloilo, I had always been a responsible citizen and I never illegally parked my vehicles at the street loop near my residence, kept dilapidated car in the public parking space and irresponsibly dumped my garbage in prohibited areas. I entered politics to serve and not to abuse power. The people who personally know me can certainly vouch for my integrity as a responsible citizen.

“On the other hand, my brother,  Cong. Hernan Biron Jr.,  who lives in Valle Verde IV, is known for his penchant for fighting cocks. I am not aware, however, if any complaint was filed against him.”

Ferjenel says he lives in Valle Verde VI and  he has “never owned a single fighting cock in my entire life.”

Biz Buzz regrets mixing up the names of the Biron brothers, but it stands by its story on the villagers’ complaint about the insensitive neighbor.–Gil Cabacungan

‘Religious smuggler’ strikes again

A Bureau of Customs official confirmed that the importer of the grossly undervalued luxury vehicles that were confiscated at the Batangas port last Wednesday was no other than the “smuggler in religious robes” exposed on this space.

To recap, the smuggler in robes belongs to an influential religious organization and has been name- dropping the sect’s leaders as well as his connections in politics and government to get around the country’s import regulations. He used his Quezon City house as a showroom and garage for his smuggled toys.

The Inquirer ran a check on Moncat Trading Enterprises, the listed importer of the smuggled cars, but the Securities and Exchange Commission database gave zero results.

Since 2014 when the new BOC management took over, the smuggler in robes emerged as the biggest importer of used luxury vehicles disguised as brand-new and mislabeled as cheaper variants or non-existent models.

While the BOC has acted on the smuggler in robes’ shipments, can we expect the Highway Patrol Group to take off their blinders and finally seize the hot cars with fake conduction stickers he has sold to clients? Among his clients are a movie-television star, a prominent city councilor, a Filipino-Chinese trader, and a billionaire real estate developer.–Gil Cabacungan

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