The salaries of employees of the Isabela Electric Cooperative (ISELCO) have been illegally deducted for payments to the One-EC MCO Network Foundation, a joint hearing of the House Committee on Energy and Committee on North Luzon Growth Quadrangle uncovered.
According to Ms. Emilia de Guzman, Supervising Labor and Employment Officer from the Department of Labor and Employment, the illegal deduction violates DOLE Labor Advisory No. 11 Series of 2014 on Non-Interference in the Disposal of Wages and Allowable Deductions.
Based on the advisory, employers may only deduct from employee’s wages those amounts that are authorized by law, including insurance premiums, or if the deductions are with written authorization of employees.
A joint affidavit filed by ISELCO-I employees revealed that without their consent, the rank and file workers’ salaries were being deducted P100 monthly, supervisors P150, department heads P200, general managers P500, and the board of directors P200.
According to the affidavit, the forced remittances have reached a total of P1,549,750, which were collected from 2019 to 2022.
Files retrieved from the Securities and Exchange Commission show that One-EC MCO Network Foundation was established by officials of various electric cooperatives across the country.
Illegal deduction of ISELCO-1 employees uncovered in Congress hearing
