NLRC affirms dismissal of former PSE exec

The National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC) has absolved the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) from the illegal dismissal complaint filed by the former head of its capital market development division.

The PSE disclosed on Friday it had received a copy of the NLRC decision dated Dec. 22, 2016, which affirmed that former executive Leonardo Garcia Quinitio had been “validly dismissed.”

The NLRC said Quinitio had “failed to substantiate his claim of illegal dismissal and bad faith on the part of the respondents.”

The NLRC denied Quinitio’s appeal “for lack of merit,” affirming a labor arbiter’s decision dated Aug. 3, 2016 that also dismissed monetary claims against the PSE and president Hans Sicat and chief operating officer Roel Refran.

Quinitio’s employment was terminated by the PSE in March 2013, citing “findings of breach of company policies and protocols.” Quinitio was also accused of “falsification of documents, fraudulent expense claims and undocumented arrangements.”

Three years after his dismissal, the former PSE official brought the case to the NLRC, alleging he was not given due process. His camp believed it was a “frame up” by a former subordinate, Jose Cecilio Peñaflor, who was also relieved of his post and faced separate charges of perpetrating an alleged investment scam. The PSE found out that even when Peñaflor was no longer connected with the local bourse, he still continued organizing stock market seminars and even solicited investments.

In the case of Quinitio, the PSE presented grounds for dismissal which were not related to Peñaflor’s case. —DORIS DUMLAO-ABADILLA