NUJP-Davao Press Statement on the triumph of Davao Broadcaster Dodong Solis over RMN’s violation of his labor rights

May 06, 2011

NUJP-Davao Press Statement on the triumph of Davao Broadcaster Dodong Solis over RMN’s violation of his labor rights

Please find attached statement of Dodong Solis, and file photo taken during the press con on September 9, 2010 when Solis announced that he would file charges against RMN. (Please attribute photo to Toto Lozano)

Background of the case:

Solis lodged an illegal dismissal complaint with money claims against Radio Mindanao Network (RMN) at the National Labor Relations Commission Regional Arbitration Branch XI (NLRC XI) in Davao City on September 23, 2010.

Solis received a termination order from RMN on September 6, 2010. “Loss of trust and confidence and willful disobedience" were cited as grounds by RMN for his termination.

Solis was primetime anchorman of RMN-DXDC Davao, and station manager at the time he was fired by RMN. He had worked for RMN for 12 years, during which time, RMN Davao station consistently topped the ratings surveys.RMN Davao is also one of RMN's top earning stations in the country.

The NLRC order dated April 18, 2011, was received by Solis’ lawyer on May 05, 2011. Penned by Labor Arbiter Elmer Ben Pasion, the NLRC decision cited Solis’ dismissal was “unreasonable and unwarranted and thus illegal.” RMN was ordered by the NLRC to "immediately reinstate” Solis to his former position “without loss of seniority rights and be paid back wages” computed from the time he was illegally dismissed.

The NLRC ruling also cited that RMN failed to substantiate such claims for terminating Solis, and that the allegations against him were "premeditated, trumped-up, concocted and were just subterfuge used to hide vengeful designs.”

Solis was represented by lawyer Carlos Isagani Zarate of the Union of People’s Lawyers in Mindanao (UPLM).

Named respondents of the complaint were RMN Vice President for Operations Carlos “Charlie” Canoy, Assistant Vice-President for Operations Rey Bayoging, Vice-President for Finance Ruben De Gracia and President and CEO of the company Eric Canoy. *

Solis' triumph is an inspiration to media rights struggle' -- NUJP-Davao

First, we wish to express happiness over this triumph which is historic in the fight of media workers for protection against abusive media owners. In a country where media is predominantly, still, in capitalist hands, this triumph gives hope for a change in the situation where media workers find themselves at the mercy of owners.

It does not mean that just because they own capital, they can just easily get rid of its workers, arbitrarily, without any valid reason, and thus, whimsically for that matter. By not fighting, we can continue to allow this state of things upon us. But in opting to fight, we can stop this unjustness in our midst.

Such happened in our fight on the case of Davao broadcaster Dodong Solis. Here was a hardworking media, delivering the profits for his company for a long time, making good at his work as a broadcaster. Then, suddenly he was axed at the mere insinuation that his employers “lost trust and confidence on him”, and that he allegedly “willfully disobeyed their orders.”

But Solis stood up to it. In the painstaking fight, he proved his accusers wrong. In so doing, he showed that these violators cannot go on doing as they please, and get away with it, all the time.

We find vindication over the NLRC decision on his case. The accusations against him were found out to be not only untrue, but were a mere “subterfuge.” Right from the start, we believe that Solis was not just a victim of power-politics, but a prey who refused to be defeated by repressive forces in his company who attempted to manipulate broadcast content for profit.

A quick review of Solis’ struggle would show that prior to receiving the unfair order of termination, he resisted attempts by a top RMN official to tinker with broadcast content in favor of an electoral candidate with whom such RMN high official contracted millions of advertising deals with as its account executive.

Solis vehemently opposed this top RMN official’s orchestrations to let RMN Davao be a medium for the black propaganda campaign agenda in favor of the political candidate who placed expensive ads with the company. The said black propaganda campaign was pushed by way of peddling money to Solis and other station managers as well as forcing anchorpersons, including Solis himself to read a script related to the smear campaign.

Solis’ act was a show of valiance in defending media practice, in defending press freedom. He suffered through the various ploys his employers used to justify their termination order. Unjust claims were hurled against his person, causing a lot of distress, but he remained strong, and his innocence of the accusations absolved him.

Let Solis’ struggle be a source of courage upon media workers to stand up to such abuses. We cannot afford to just allow this whimsicality of media owners over their workers to go on unchallenged.

By fighting for our rights as media workers, we are doing service to the right of our people to a free press. We maintain that there can be no press freedom if journalists exist in conditions of corruption, poverty or fear.

Let our unity be a reminder that, under this system of ownership in our media industry, capitalists may own the media establishments but they do not have the liberty to wield power upon the information being put out to the public, with which, as media practitioners, we swore to protect, in the name of the people’s right to a free press.

Let us continue to unite to free the working press from the burdens of fear and poverty! Long live the fighting media workers! Long live the fight for a free press in the country!

National Union of Journalists of the Philippines- Davao City Chapter

(NUJP-Davao)

“There can be no press freedom if journalists exist in conditions of corruption, poverty or fear."