Anti-CJ witness assured of John Hay position
BAGUIO CITY, Philippines—A witness that House prosecutors planned to use in the impeachment trial of Chief Justice Renato Corona has received assurance she was keeping her position at a government corporation overseeing Camp John Hay despite fund misuse charges filed against her by employees.
The board of directors of the John Hay Management Corp. (JHMC) passed a resolution affirming trust on the leadership of Jamie Eloise Agbayani, president and chief executive officer of JHMC and wife of former Pangasinan Gov. Victor Agbayani, a stalwart of the ruling Liberal Party.
Agbayani has been tapped by the House prosecution team to testify on the alleged abuses committed by the wife of Chief Justice Corona, Maria Cristina, during her stint as predecessor of Agbayani at JHMC.
A group of employees has sued Agbayani for alleged misuse of funds. Three have complained to the Department of Labor and Employment against their suspension ordered by top officials of JHMC.
The suspension order, however, has been withdrawn, according to Nestor Gayo, lawyer of the employees.
Gayo said the JHMC agreed to reinstate the employees on Wednesday after a dialogue called by the labor department.
A JHMC board resolution, issued on Feb. 3, “expressed its full support [for] president and chief executive officer (CEO) Jamie Eloise Agbayani and vice president and chief operations officer (COO) Mita Angela Dimalanta in leading, running, and managing JHMC, and supports their actions to pursue the major projects of the corporation.”
The resolution was the subject of a JHMC secretary’s certificate signed by Marissa Bondoc, corporate secretary and a member of the board, which was distributed to reporters here on Saturday.
In a Feb. 4 statement, JHMC said Agbayani had assured the board that the graft case filed against her would not affect operations at the former American rest and recreation area.
Eighteen employees from various JHMC departments signed a Jan. 16 complaint sent to the Office of the President which accused Agbayani of using JHMC funds to pay for personal purchases. The Office of the President received the complaint on Jan. 20.
The same complaint accused Dimalanta of similar excesses.
The JHMC reported that 10 of the original complainants have since retracted their support for the complaint.
A detailed account of the officials’ alleged financial abuses was sent on Jan. 20 to the Office of the Ombudsman. The complaint was signed by public relations officer Arthur Leonard Odsey, Melquiades Bada and Benjamin Quiño Jr.
But Agbayani said her office has yet to hear from the Ombudsman.
Odsey, Bada and Quiño also complained to the labor department that they were illegally suspended on Jan. 23. JHMC denied their claims.
In a statement, JHMC said two of the complaining employees have pending administrative charges and have signed the complaint to preempt disciplinary action against them.
It said Agbayani had assured the board that she would “disprove all their allegations at the proper time and forum … with transparency, professionalism and integrity.”
