MANILA, Philippines—The Philippine Airlines on Monday lashed out at people blaming the airline management for Saturday’s confrontation at the PAL Inflight Center (IFC) in Pasay City.
In a statement, PAL said that “those who know nothing better than make wild and baseless accusations against the airline should shut up and let the police do the investigative work.”
The airline said it was “grossly irresponsible” to accuse PAL management of harassing laid off workers. “It was clear from news reports and photos taken from the scene that former PAL workers barred the airline’s catering truck from leaving its own facility. They were armed with rattan truncheons, planks with nails and even burned a carton box all with the aim of inflicting harm should the truck driver insist on leaving PAL’s Inflight Center. So who’s harassing who?” the PAL statement said.
PAL also lamented that police authorities “were nowhere to be found” when it said its truck was being blocked by protesters. It said that police instead “arrested” someone who claimed to have been hired by PAL management to “disperse” its former employees’ camp. “Worse, authorities were reportedly
unable to apprehend those responsible for the death of a hapless bystander,” PAL said.
As to the stench allegedly emanating from its Inflight Center, PAL blamed the protesting former PAL workers since “they won’t allow our trucks to leave the facility; even a garbage truck from Pasay City’s waste management office was prevented by protesters from picking up garbage unless these were brought to the IFC gate.”
On PAL’s alleged refusal to provide protesting former workers with free tickets, it said: “PAL reserves the right to refuse conveyance to those who make false and malicious claims that the airline is unsafe and whose ultimate goal is to bring down the company.”
Meanwhile, PAL staff based in the North America regional office in San Francisco denounced the picket staged last October 27 by American unionists in the Bay Area in support of dismissed PAL workers in Manila.
The San Francisco-based PAL union members expressed collective support to the airline’s efforts at normalizing operations after implementation of its outsourcing program last October 1.
In a signed manifesto, 10 US-based PAL unionists rejected calls to join the October 27 picket held in front of the Philippine Consulate led by members of the Burlingame, California-based International Association of Machinists & Aerospace Workers.
“In these hard and difficult economic times, let us not aggravate the situation with noisy and disruptive demonstrations,” said the group in reply to a letter-invitation by union steward Danilo Mirabucao.
The letter was signed by the following PAL union members: Jennifer del Rosario, Maria Josephine Encarnacion, Editha Gelasio, Teresa Jante, Carmencita Macante, Shirley Ong, Edwin Perez, Emilyn Roxas-Liwag, Rosita Tobes and Theresa Jasmin Houwer of the San Francisco station.