Palea picket stays, for now

INQUIRER file photo

Philippine Airlines’ (PAL) attempt to end a picket of PAL employees outside its In-Flight Center (IFC) in Pasay City on Wednesday was foiled by a status quo order issued by a court also on Wednesday.

Tensions rose when court sheriff Virgilio Villar, accompanied by several plainclothes security guards, tried to serve a temporary restraining order issued on Monday by Pasay Regional Trial Court Judge Edwin Ramizo.

After negotiations, it was agreed that there would be no dispersal and that the IFC gates would be opened to allow PAL service providers to operate the facility.

The 72-hour Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) prohibited striking employees from the PAL Employees Association (Palea) from holding demonstrations outside the IFC as they were preventing and depriving PAL of its right to operate the IFC facilities.

The IFC has been the site of protests by union members opposed to the airline’s outsourcing program which Palea claims has led to the layoff of more than 2,000 employees.

Palea lawyer Marlon Manuel said the TRO was no longer in effect as the case that PAL had filed has already been raffled off to another judge, Rosario Ragusa, who ruled for a status quo at Wednesday’s hearing. She is expected to issue a resolution in a hearing Thursday.

But Joey de Guzman, PAL vice president for corporate communications, said status quo meant the TRO was in effect, while also noting that the  status quo ruling was only verbal.

But to avoid violence, he said PAL had agreed that there would be no dispersal of the rally.  Tina G. Santos with Paolo Montecillo