Miriam warns prosecutors: Mass leave is illegal

MANILA, Philippines — It's illegal for government employees to go on mass leave, because that is like going on strike. That's the warning issued by Sen. Miriam Santiago on Wednesday to prosecutors' groups planning such an action to protest the forced leave of some of their colleague implicated in the "Alabang Boys" bribery mess. "The law prohibits strikes in the public sector because they prejudice public services," she said. The remark is Santiago's reaction to the National Prosecutors' League of the Philippines, the Chief Prosecutors Association, and the State Prosecutors' Association – all of which said they were considering the option of going on mass leave after President Arroyo ordered the "Alabang Boys" prosecutors to go on leave. "It would be illegal for prosecutors to go on strike, because it is prohibited by a 2002 resolution of the Civil Service Commission (CSC)," Santiago said in a statement posted on the Senate Web site (www.sentate.gov.ph. Santiago was referring to CSC Resolution No. 021316 titled "Omnibus rules on prohibited concerted mass actions in the public sector." Section 4 of the resolution says: "The right to self-organize accorded to government employees... shall not carry with it the right to engage in any form of prohibited concerted activity or mass action causing or intending to cause work stoppage or service disruption, albeit of temporary nature." On Sunday, Mrs. Arroyo issued an order officials implicated in the “Alabang Boys" bribery mess to take a leave while investigations was being conducted on the case. Following the order on Monday were chief state prosecutor Jovencito Zuño, Justice Undersecretary Ricardo Blancaflor, senior state prosecutor Phillip Kimpo, and state prosecutors Misael Ladaga and John Resado. It was Resado who penned the controversial Dec. 2 resolution dismissing the case against the "Alabang Boys." "Since there are laws that prohibit mass leaves by government employees, any mass leave is illegal, and does not fall under the protection of the Constitution," Santiago said. "Any mass leave by prosecutors would fall under the prohibition of the CSC, which was first laid down in 1987 by means of Memorandum Circular No. 6." Santiago said that CSC Memorandum Circular No. 6 was accompanied by Executive Order No. 180, both issued in 1987. The senator explained that the prohibition against strikes by government employees is a rule of common law, which has been adopted by the Supreme Court in a long line of cases beginning in 1983. Instead of staging mass leave, the solon suggested that the prosecutors exhaust all administrative remedies, or else wait for a bill pending in Congress allowing government workers to go on strike to become a law. - Aie Balagtas See, GMANews.TV