Atienza memoed over flag ceremonies
By Margaux Ortiz
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 22:17:00 10/06/2008
MANILA, Philippines -- It was the employees' turn to issue a memorandum to Secretary Lito Atienza of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).
After DENR Undersecretary Mary Anne Lucille Sering issued a memorandum to several employees for allegedly failing to attend the flag raising ceremony on September 15, members of the DENR Employees Union (DENREU) struck back at the top environment officials.
The DENREU said Atienza and Sering failed to attend the flag ceremonies on September 22 and 29.
The union members displayed a huge copy of the memorandum in a protest rally in front of the DENR office Monday noon.
The employees, aside from protesting against the issuance of the memorandum, also demanded the relief of the agency's financial management service director Elvira Caparas “for her lack of transparency in making decisions affecting them.”
In response, Atienza ordered the relief of Caparas and assigned her to head the Internal Audit Service instead.
“This is a good development, but we hope that Secretary Atienza will also consider our other demands such as giving the employees due process with regard to the flag ceremony issue and releasing our transportation allowance,” DENREU president Camilo Garcia said.
Sering earlier issued several memorandums to different divisions and offices of the DENR, about the absence of personnel from the flag raising ceremony.
Citing rules and regulations of the Civil Service Commission (CSC), Sering, a lawyer by profession, pointed out in her memorandum that failure to attend the flag-raising ceremony would violate the “reasonable office rules and regulations” and would be meted penalty.
However, the DENR employees condemned the “lack of due process” in the way Sering handled the issue.
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