DILG: Mayor Vico Sotto can't pressure Regent Foods to drop charges vs. 23 individuals

The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) on Thursday said that Pasig City Mayor Vico Sotto cannot force Regent Foods Corporation (RFC) to withdraw the cases it filed against 23 individuals for allegedly causing physical injuries during a labor strike.

"While we respect the mayor's position, since a case was already filed before the court, the matter is now beyond the mandate of the local chief executive," DILG spokesperson Undersecretary Jonathan Malaya said in a text message to GMA News Online.

"He can provide legal assistance by asking the Public Attorney’s Office to represent the workers but he cannot pressure one of the parties to drop the case they have filed," he added.

Earlier this week, Sotto announced in a Facebook post that he asked the snack food maker to drop the said charges.

“These people are not criminals; they do not have the goal of hurting you. They are fighting for what they believe to be just. You can continue with the labor dispute without sending the poor and powerless to jail!”

Malaya underscored that mayors should exhibit neutrality when faced with such situations.

"We reiterate that mayors should be neutral at all times during labor disputes," he said.

The DILG also urged the Labor department to intervene on the matter.

"We urge the Department of Labor and Employment to mediate on this matter with dispatch. The DOLE is the proper agency mandated by law to act on this matter," Malaya said.

He also referred the parties involved to the Labor Code which provides for the procedures on the conduct of strikes and lockouts.

GMA News Online sought the comment of Sotto on the matter but has yet to receive any as of posting time.

RFC, for its part, had previously said that it may move its business outside Pasig City after the mayor's pronouncements, but will not withdraw the charges it filed.

“RFC still maintains its position and will not be cowered by the mayor’s threats. RFC trusts the justice system, not because it can afford to, but because it has to,” the company said.

"RFC can only hope that Mayor Vico will also offer it the same courtesy, as is required by the basic rules of fairness,” the company added. —LDF, GMA News