The Progressive Alliance of Capitol Employees executive board removed Renelo Lastierre as PACE chairman citing “loss of confidence” on Friday, July 21.
Nine 9 of the 11 PACE board members at a special meeting on Friday, July 21, named Ruben Diamante, who had served as chairman of the union for three terms in the past, as Lastierre’s replacement.
At the meeting they declared all PACE executive board positions vacant from the chairman to the sergeant at arms and elected a new set of officers, Diamante said.
Elected were Diamante as chairman, Al Ceralbo – vice chairman, Merly Frio – secretary, Arnel Reyes – treasurer, Allen Decena – auditor, Victor Gutang – public information officer, and Venchito Magalona and Joseph Ryan Cuadra – sergeant at arms.
Lastierre, Nimrod Sarmoy and Ramil Buhisan are members of the board of directors.
Lastierre was not removed from the PACE board, “we did not impeach or recall him”, Diamante said.
Diamante said they removed Lastierre as chairman for loss of confidence but did not give specific reasons.
Diamante denied that the removal of Lastierre was related to his conflict with Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz over the discovery of bullets at the Food Terminal Market of Negros earlier this month.
They are not involved in Lastierre’s differences with Diaz, Diamante said.
No one manipulated or told them to replace Lastierre as chairman, Diamante said.
Lastierre said his fellow directors conducted the no confidence vote without allowing him to be present.
He was served a notice of a special meeting to be held at the PACE office Friday morning by their secretary, but it was held elsewhere without him, Lastierre said.
“They deceitfully gathered and declared a new set of officers. I was deprived of the right to be heard of the mentioned loss of confidence. As a union they should have observed due process as we are supposed to be a defender of due process,” Lastierre said.
“They intentionally and deceitfully executed a deliberately planned action as if well instructed maliciously and without regards to proper procedure,” he said.
If the vote of no confidence was done in his presence, he would have respected it, Lastierre said.
“Since it was not morally sanctioned,” Lastierre said he will question the move against him at the proper venue.
“I believe that my mandate comes from the employees and their act of not observing a morally upright process is a slap to that very mandate. They have forgotten the real purpose of unionism as a defender of employees rights, especially the oppressed,” he said.
“If this is the value they would like to propagate then it would be useless for the union to exist, because the protection of employees rights ceases as their values cease to exist,” he added.*