Acting Solicitor General Florin Hilbay. Screengrab from https://law.upd.edu.ph
MANILA, Philippines鈥揟he Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) on Wednesday welcomed the Supreme Court鈥檚 ruling suspending its earlier order for National Power Corp. (Napocor) and Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM) to pay P62 billion in back wages to retrenched NPC employees, saying such hefty payout would have imperiled the power sector, the economy and consumers.
Acting Solicitor General Florin聽Hilbay聽said the Supreme Court resolution prevented 鈥渢he infliction of unimaginable damage to NPC [Napocor] and PSALM, which in turn shall have ramifications on the economy and the consumers.鈥�
Hilbay聽also called on the high court to tackle the case聽en聽banc, as the OSG had manifested last month, asking the court鈥檚 Special Third Division to refer the matter to the full court.
鈥淲e hope that eventually the Supreme Court will hear the case聽en聽banc, as is presently required by its own internal rules,鈥� he told the Inquirer.
On Tuesday, the court鈥檚 Special Third Division decided to put on hold its Sept. 26, 2006, order for the Quezon City Regional Trial Court to execute the garnishment of聽Napocor聽and PSALM assets to cover the payout of back wages and damages to employees鈥攔epresented by the NPC Drivers and Mechanics Association (Dama)鈥攚ho were laid off on Jan. 31, 2003, as part of the power sector鈥檚 privatization.
The high court said the move was aimed at identifying 鈥渨ho are entitled to be paid鈥� and how much each is entitled to be paid.鈥�
In a manifestation and motion filed on Aug. 22, the OSG, which represents聽Napocor聽in the case, underscored the potentially damaging impact that the settlement would have on the country.
The OSG pleading asked the high court to permanently stop the execution of the 2006 court decision, to reverse court resolutions that enforced the ruling and, ultimately, dismiss the petition.
鈥淭he judgment claim鈥� will bankrupt NPC and PSALM and put our electric industry in peril, with unimaginable related consequences to various sectors of the economy. This is no exaggeration,鈥� warned the manifestation filed more than two weeks ago.
The OSG noted that the claim against public funds would cause 鈥渁 huge financial impact on businesses invested in power and the government, which operates only on a P1.6-trillion programmed budget for 2014 for the entire country.鈥�
It said the sizeable claim and 鈥渋ts impact on the country鈥檚 limited funds cannot be overemphasized.鈥�
鈥淭he sheer magnitude of the public money at stake and the imminent prejudice to the public should at least warrant due consideration by the court聽en聽banc,鈥� the OSG said in its pleading.