MAILBOX: Former APO chair airs side

Vic Agustin in his column today said a lot of false and malicious things about me with the title “ Join APO, see the world, collect illegal pay.”

Although I was not named in person, the fact was that  the chairwoman that he referred to was me since he referred to the appointees of the Aquino administration to the state-owned printer.

As to the travels that he mentioned, first he mentioned that I went to Japan, then US and then a swing to Paris/Dusseldorf/Valencia on June 1-12, 2016.

The facts are as follows:

-The trip to the US was approved, by the board in March 2016, with APO  briefing DFA consuls and personnel in the Americas about the new e-passport.

-The trip to Japan, also board approved, was done May 2016, contrary to what Agustin reported that I went first to Japan and then the US. The purpose of that trip was to inspect the high-tech machine that would print the e-passport.

- The trip to Paris/Dusseldorf/Valencia from June 1-12 never happened because I was here in the Philippines attending to my job as APO chair and chief executive officer (CEO). Where did Agustin get this? This is an outright LIE! He can go to APO and Bureau of Immigration  and verify for himself whether I left the country on those said dates. 

As to illegal pay, in the first board meeting of the Aquino appointees, I was elected chair and CEO of the corporation on November 2010,  a copy of which was sent to COA. Prior to that, all past chairmen of APO received a certain  renumeration  per month.

COA received a copy and then it wrote the Governance Commission for Government Owned- or Controlled Corporation whether I was entitled to allowances and other benefits in which GCG replied in the negative which I have shown them in my appeal that I was performing the job of chair and CEO like signing cheques and not only conducting board meetings.  I was the only one left to make the turn- over to the incoming chair.

In my letter to COA resident auditor last year, it overlooked the GCG law  Section 11 on the principle of non-diminution of salaries that says,” The Compensation and Position Classification System to be developed as recommended by the GCG and as approved by the President shall apply to all positions, on full or part-time basis, now existing or hereafter created in the GOCC; Provided, that in no case shall there be any diminution in the authorized salaries as of Dec.  31, 2010 of incumbent employees of GOCCs, including those exempt under Republic Act 6758, as amended, upon the implementation of the Compensation and Position Classification System for GOCCs.”

There is now a letter of appeal to GCG about its ruling on my case.

Like what I said in my letters  to GCG chair Samuel Dagpin Jr. and COA chair Michael Aguinaldo, I performed my duties as chair and CEO to the best of my ability and never did I steal from government.

And now comes, Vic Agustin with his irresponsible and malicious report.

Right now, the present  APO chair is receiving the same renumeration as I did before, with the title of chair and acting CEO from the very start and only lately, as of last week that GCG appointed additional individuals to the board which still has to convene formally.

I hope that this letter will clarify the issues raised by Agustin.

Sincerely,

Milagros S. Alora

Former APO chair