Retain us, Palace workers appeal to Noynoy

Elmer Castillo and Bernard Solmaro have been working as waiters in Malacañang Palace for 18 years now, having served three presidents: Fidel V. Ramos, Joseph Estrada, and Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. But on the onset of a new administration, the two — along with over a hundred other Palace employees — are unsure if they can keep their jobs. Employees under the Internal House Affairs Office (IHAO) of the Palace, which include cooks and waiters, are calling on incoming president, Benigno “Noynoy" Aquino III, to retain them as they fear the prospect of unemployment. “Sana kaming mga household, magpatuloy pa rin ang serbisyo namin sa kanya kung tatanggapin niya (We hope President Aquino would retain us household service workers)," Castillo said in an interview aired over GMA Network’s “24 Oras“ Monday night.

Solmaro fears he may not be able to get a new job given his age. “Nananalangin at nag-iisip din kami kung halimabawa na (matangal kami) kasi medyo may edad na tayo ngayon. May tatanggap pa kaya sa amin kung sakali? Wala na siguro," Solmaro said. (We pray and worry over the possibility of losing our jobs because we’re quite old now to seek employment. We don’t think someone will still hire us.) Even the head of the Presidential Management Staff (PMS) has expressed hopes that the incoming Aquino administration will decide against replacing the over 100 affected workers. “Pati yung mga VIPs, alam nila kung sino. ‘Yun siguro yung magandang maipamamana kapag sila pa rin ang nanilbihan, saka they're very professional, (They know who the VIPs are. This is perhaps one of the advantages if they are allowed to continue serving, apart from their being professionals)," said PMS director general Elena Bautista-Horn. Apart from the IHAO, over 4,000 positions at the management and executive levels are likewise expected to be vacated when Arroyo’s term ends on June 30. Talks have been initiated to temporarily retain some government officials, Bautista-Horn said. "Ayaw naman natin na pagdating nila wala nang madadatnan na mga tutulong din sa kanila. Napag-usapan naman na magkakaroon ng kasunduan kung sinu-sino ang ilalagay muna on holdover capacity dahil alam naman natin na medyo marami talaga ang kailangang punan," she explained. (We don’t want a scenario where no one will be left to help the new administration. It has already been discussed that there will be an agreement as to which officials will be placed on holdover capacity because we know quite a lot of positions will have to be filled up.) Aquino’s camp had signified the new administration is willing to absorb some of the employees of the outgoing term. - KBK, GMANews.TV