Lingayen- – -The 8th Sangguniang Panlalawigan of Pangasinan on its final session last May 30, formed an adhoc committee to shed light on several concerns and issues raised by various teaching and non-teaching personnel of the Pangasinan State University (PSU).
This developed after Gov. Amado T. Espino, Jr. received a letter from the concerned university personnel who specifically mentioned the case of some PSU students who were supposed to have their on-the-job-training (OJT) in Laguna. The matter was referred to the provincial board for an immediate action then.
According to the letter, the students were allegedly treated as regular employees wherein one of whom got ill and is currently hospitalized due to serious health issues associated with his exposure in said laboratory working for 12 hours per day.
Purportedly, the students were endorsed to an agency named JIF Human and Referral Services which brought them to Interfil Laboratories Incorporated in Canlubang, Laguna where they were treated as “regular employees and not OJTs.”
The unsuitable environment of the workplace, unfortunately, inflicted one of the students, identified as Dahrel dela Cruz, and was hospitalized. Likewise, the filed complaint stated that he was not even allowed to go home when he started feeling ill.
His parents, Rogelio and Isidra dela Cruz were disheartened why their son had to work in a pharmaceutical laboratory which has no relevance at all to his Business Administration (Human Resource) course.
As one of its curriculum requirements, PSU requires its 4th year students to undergo 400 hours of OJT.
Aside from this, another issue raised was the case of Dr. Mariel Cristobal Tapia, a faculty member at PSU San Carlos City campus, who reportedly received a 90-day suspension from work “without due process.”
A letter which was signed by Dr. Tapia sent to the Governor reads: “I would like to ask your most immediate help regarding the persecution I am suffering from the hands of our President, Dr. Dexter R. Buted. From the time the case I filed against Dr. Buted has been formally docketed, I have been persecuted.”
Tapia also disclosed that even her husband who works at the university was not spared as he was suddenly reassigned from Binmaley campus to Urdaneta campus despite having spine condition.
As stated in the letter, the PSU faculty member noted she did not formally receive any “formal charge” thus she could not directly respond to any complaint filed against her.
Stressing that she was unjustly treated, she said she is allegedly “being harassed” because of the cases that she and her husband earlier filed against the PSU president.
Meanwhile, Board Member Alfonso Bince, Jr. said that the provincial board will do its best to shed light on the matter.
“We will invite the president of the university, the dean of San Carlos campus, some faculty members and the students who were victims of what was reported,” Bince pointed out as he added that adhoc committee hearing is set to be held next week.
BM Raul Sison, on the other hand, said that the fact that the students were referred to an agency and were treated as employees means that there is a clear violation. “This is human trafficking,” he said.
It can be recalled that several issues were earlier raised against the administration of the current PSU president who hails from Batangas to include delayed release of paid uniforms, advance collection of payments without organized programs like seminars and shipboard training, among others. (RRB)