Protesters pals of past admin, says Maza

National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC) Lead Convenor Liza Maza answer questions during her visit at PDI, Wednesday.INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

NATIONAL Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC) chief Liza Maza on Monday hit back at her critics at the agency for spreading “misinformation” in their ranks, as she attributed their protests to their political ties with the previous administration.

Maza singled out Kaisahan ng mga Di-Regular na Empleyado ng NAPC president Joseph Aquino, one of the NAPC’s contractual employees whose contracts expired on Sept. 30, who led a rally outside Maza’s office on Friday to decry the termination of 82 contract of service (COS) employees.

Maza, nominee of Gabriela Women’s Party in the 14th Congress, called Aquino’s take on the issue “misinformation,” pointing out that memoranda issued in early September notified COS employees ahead of time their contracts were about to expire and that they could be rehired upon application and assessment.

Bloated agency

“In the past administration, the contracting of COS personnel contributed to the agency’s bloat over the years, as was the case with the 161 consultants recently terminated by NAPC. Nevertheless, the majority of COS positions reviewed so far have been determined as still required by the agency,” Maza said in a statement, adding that she wanted to retain only “deserving” personnel.

Maza told the Inquirer the review process was in progress, and 40 of the COS employees had been rehired.

Maza said Aquino was “misrepresenting the facts.”

She said that unlike contractuals in other fields who struggle with minimum or below minimum wage, NAPC COS employees’ average professional fees ranged from P31,000 to P46,000 per month.

No inherent claim

Maza said the COS employees, like the consultants, had no “inherent claim” to regularization. If the employees want to be regularized, or to expand the NAPC’s 50-slot plantilla, they should have asked that from the previous administration, she said.

Maza pointed out Aquino’s links to the previous administration, showing the Inquirer photos of him hosting in April a celebration of vice presidential candidate Leni Robredo’s birthday with the urban poor in Caloocan City, which Maza called a “political rally.” Aquino is the NAPC’s focal person for the urban poor sector. Jaymee T. Gamil