Sacked guards get over half of Makati City’s P24.9-M payment to security agency

MANILA, Philippines – A group of illegally dismissed security guards got more than half of the P24.93 million that their former employer has collected from the Makati City government for unpaid services in 2015.

The security guards got P13.2 million of the amount paid to their former employer, Triforce Services Incorporated, after the Commission on Audit (COA) affirmed with finality its March 21, 2019 decision ordering Makati City to pay P24.93 million to the security agency for its services from June to December 2015. 

The COA Commission Proper had ruled that Triforce deserved rightful compensation for its services.

Following the 2019 COA decision, a group of security guards filed a petition to intervene before the COA, saying they deserved to get part of the compensation since they were not paid for their services to the Makati government during the period.

The COA said it lacked jurisdiction and referred the group to the National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC). While the security guards filed an appeal before COA in May 2019, they also filed a claim with the NLRC.

The COA reiterated its decision on January 28, 2020, in response to an appeal filed by the security guards on May 20, 2019.

The security guards, however, still managed to get paid as the NLRC – which later ruled in their favor – garnished the amount due to Triforce pending the resolution of the labor case.

In its letter of request to COA seeking the issuance of a Notice of Finality of the decision on its claim with Makati City, Triforce informed COA that the city government had released the payment for the security guards.

With the release of the P13.2 million to the security guards, COA chairman Michael Aguinaldo and Commissioners Jose Fabia and Roland Pondoc ruled that the petition has become moot, and that Triforce could collect the balance of its payment from the Makati government. – Rappler.com