Employer apologizes to worker paid in centavo coins

The owner of the factory that paid the salary of a worker in centavo coins has apologized for what he did.

According to Mariz Umali's report on "24 Oras" on Wednesday, Jasper Cheng So, owner of Nexgreen Enterprise, apologized to Russel Mañoza, who received his salary in coins wrapped in adhesive tape.

So said the coins were not intended for Mañoza but for religious offerings.

"'Yong coins, hindi naman intended sa kaniya. It's for my religious thing. But regardless of nagkamali man or what, 'di ba it's my command of responsibility so I accept anything na lang. Wala na, hindi na ako magko-contest," So said.

"Kung anuman 'yon, Russel, humihingi ako ng dispensa na lang," he added.

Mañoza, meanwhile, accepted So's apology.

"Okay, sir. Tanggap naman, sir. Sana, sir, 'yong sa init ng ulo niyo, sir, 'wag niyo sanang idamay sa mga tao," he said.

Earlier in the day, Valenzuela City Mayor Rex Gatchalian ordered the suspension of Nexgreen's business permit.

Gatchalian said the company was given 15 days to address all of the concerns of their employees, including Mañoza.

"A failure to do so means revocation, but that doesn't preclude us from filing legal cases because a lot of labor laws were violated," Gatchalian said, partly in Filipino.

Based on the document Gatchalian posted on social media, the violations were related to the Labor Code, mayor’s permit, Civil Code, and non-coverage of Social Security System, PhilHealth and Pag-IBIG Fund.

Gatchalian instructed the city's Workers' Affairs Office to conduct an audit to look into the alleged unfair labor practices committed by So's company.

The Department of Labor and Employment also ordered an inspection of Nexgreen Enterprise following Mañoza's complaint. —Ma. Angelica Garcia/NB, GMA News