Ricky Reyes camp: Worker with HIV ‘distorted truth’

A LAWYER who represented Ricky Reyes in a labor dispute said the complainant, a former employee who had tested positive for HIV, “distorted the truth” in the case he filed against the celebrity hairstylist and salon chain owner.

Marcos Estrada, counsel of Ricky Reyes Corp., said his client on Friday appealed the ruling handed down by the National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC) favoring the complainant, 47-year-old hairdresser Rene Nocos.

The NLRC last week found Reyes and business partner Tonneth Moreno guilty of “discrimination and unlawful termination,” saying they caused Nocos to lose his job by transferring him to a salon branch that was facing closure after learning he had shown symptoms of HIV (human immunodeficiency virus).

Labor arbiter Joanne Hernandez-Lazo ordered them to reinstate Nocos and pay him some P615,313 in back wages and benefits. Nocos, who filed the case days after he was “fired” in March 2014, obtained free legal assistance through the Associated Labor Unions–Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (ALU-TUCP). The workers’ federation announced the NLRC ruling on Sunday.

In an interview Monday, Estrada pointed out that Reyes had actually paid for Nocos’ treatment for “pulmonary tuberculosis” in 2013, based on the diagnosis he declared to the company at the time. He was asked to go on sick leave, with pay, and secure a medical certificate indicating he was still fit to work, he added.

Nocos returned with such a certificate and was reassigned to the salon branch in España, Manila, but Moreno noticed that he was “still coughing.” This prompted Moreno to ask Nocos how he was able to obtain a medical certificate declaring him fit despite his condition.

“It was then that he admitted he also had HIV and that he didn’t tell his doctor he had HIV,” Estrada said.

Because of this disclosure, Nocos was once again asked to take a paid leave and secure another clearance saying he is indeed fit to work. But Nocos didn’t return and went straight to the NLRC to file the complaint, Estrada added. “He was not fired.”

Damage suit mulled

If Nocos produced a medical clearance indicating that he was HIV positive, there’s “no reason for him to be dismissed,” given that HIV isn’t as contagious as tuberculosis, the lawyer explained.

In the appeal, Estrada said he was also questioning the inclusion of Ricky Reyes Corp. in the NLRC ruling when it was Ricky Superstyle, a separate company dedicated to hairstyling, that was named in Nocos’ complaint.

The Reyes camp is also “contemplating” a damage suit against ALU-TUCP, which Estrada accused of politicking and using Nocos “to boost their candidacy” in the May elections. TUCP is running in the coming party-list elections.

Should the case reach the court, they might also summon the doctor who issued Nocos’ medical certificate, he added.

Because of the issue, Reyes may have be unduly portrayed in the public eye as a “heartless” businessman, when in fact he is known to provide opportunities for talented hairdressers, the lawyer added.