Meeting "Loony" and the Harassment Issue

Yesterday, my female staff who is the girlfriend of the guy whom i called "loony" in my  previous blog entry  went to visit me in our office.  She earlier quit from her work and i told her to facilitate her clearance from our HR so she can get her last pay.

Surprise! Surprise! She brought with her "Loony".   Well, he stayed at the reception and i have no intention of talking to him. But i am still upset after all those SMS threats and harassments he subjected my team leader to. And i don't understand why my female staff has to bring with her this guy?

Anyway, i spoke to female staff and after explaining to her that she needs to go back to the shop and make the team leader sign her clearance before we give her her last pay, thirteenth month, etc. She said her goodbye.

But she said something to our HR staff which gave a complete turnaround of the "harassment" issue i've been dealing with.  She said it is her who is being harassed by our team leader.  I immediately called her back and asked the HR staff and another officer to have a private meeting with female staff.

There i asked her what truly happened.  She gave details about the sexual advances made by team leader  towards her, the panliligaws and all.  I told her that that is a serious accusation and unless she have evidence, we will only take it as simple, baseless accusations. It will be a case of her word against that of team leader.

I can sense that female staff is worried and a bit afraid.  I told her also that if it is indeed true, she should have told these things to me before.  She said that she doesn't know what to do and instead told "Loony" about it.  I told her she should not be afraid because it is her right to protect herself and we can never help her if she will not tell.

I asked her if there are other staff who knows about what's going on and she said nobody else knows.  When i asked her if she have received and save any malicious text message from team leader, she immediately took out her phone and started scanning her inbox.

And then she handed me her phone. I read the message, checked the number with my phone book.  It was indeed true.   The message confirms her accusations.  I felt sad and disappointed with my team leader.  How can he be so stupid!  He has a live-in partner and two kids.  And he is willing to throw everything for this? Female staff was emotional. She said "Natatakot po ako sir kaya hindi ako makapag sumbong.  Malapit lang po ang bahay nya sa amin. Baka po sugurin nya ako."

I told her we need to confront the situation or else walang mangyayari sa takot nya.  She said that if she could get her last pay, she will just go back to the province.  She also mentioned that "Loony" - her boyfriend, never harassed my team leader or any of our staff because he doesn't own a phone.  I asked her if we could talk to her boyfriend without her and she said yes.

Loony walked in.  He greeted us.  He doesn't look like a basagulero and he seems shy.  But i was not to judge him on first impression.  I asked him all the accusations made by our team leader against him and he only admitted one.

He said he indeed went in our shop once and that he had a beer before going but he said he is not drunk  and that he didn't go there para manggulo but to ask team leader to stop harassing her girlfriend.  He said "Ok lang naman po sa akin na ligawan nya, pero 'wag po nyang babastusin."

He added, "Hindi ko po magagawa na sumugod don at manggulo kasi takot ko lang po kay madam (my boss)".  When i confronted him about the threats and all, he said "Wala po akong cellphone sir. Kung kailangan po, nakiki text lang ako pero hindi ko po sya o yung pamilya nya tinatakot sa text."  I showed him the number of the "harasser" forwarded to me by team leader and he denied knowing that number as his or anybody he knows.  Lastly, he said "Sinamahan ko lang po sya (female staff) kasi gusto ko po na sabihin nya sa inyo lahat ng gingagawa ni (team leader) sa kanya.  Natatakot po kasi sya."

Well, Loony sounds sane to me.  But i told him that what he did (going to the shop smelling beer) is wrong.  And he acknowledged that mistake.

Now i have to investigate further.  I cannot ignore this matter because if it is indeed true, how can i trust team leader anymore?  But, the text messages sent by team leader to female staff is a very strong evidence.

Afterwards, i consulted our lawyer and my boss.  They both said that it is a serious offense and if it is indeed true, i have to terminate team leader.   Lawyer talked to female staff and they prepared the "Sinumpaang Salaysay" of female staff.  Now, i am holding Lawyer's Notice of investigation addressed to team leader.  Upon female staff's request, i decided to delay for a few days serving the notice to team leader.  Female staff wants to get to the province first.  But she agreed to stay in contact just in case this matter turns ugly.  Haaayyy!!!!

Note:  Because of the situation, I told female staff not to get her clearance na from team leader and i'll just sign it and t pay her whatever we owe her. She got her cheque and hopefully she'll be at the province tomorrow morning.





 

Miscellaneous Pics

I took this pic from the 32nd floor balcony of our office in Pasong Tamo. Left side buildings are along Arnaiz Street (formerly Pasay Road).  Opposite are the houses in San Lorenzo Village.

   This picture was taken last February.  I was on my way home to Bulacan when i spotted this tree along
   TriNoMa service road.

This kamyas tree naman is from our backyard.  I don't know why it has so much fruit. My nanay would use this to cook paksiw sa kamyas.

Labor Day Weekend and a Loony

It's Labor Day weekend.  GMA declared Monday (May 3) a holiday, so that's 3 straight days of pure bliss. Hehehe!  But naaah.  I have to work today.  My boss asked me to do some research on alternative power sources like wind turbines and solar energy.  I have very little knowledge about these things so i will definitely rely on my ever dependable source of information - the internet.  Our plant's (a small boutique facility - as described by my boss) monthly electric bill zoomed and were now paying P130K!  It used be 80-90K monthly.

On a different note, I slept late texting and calling people.  For a week now, my team leader has been receiving threats from a loony who got jealous of him.  He thought my team leader and his gf (who is my staff also) are having an affair.  The girl denied that the  loony is his bf but i discovered otherwise.

Sa lahat, ayoko guluhin ang isip ko about some things that does not concern my job. But my team leader is worried.  Because this loony has started to threaten his family as well.  Told him not to be worried because people who threatens are usually the ones who do nothing.

Then i found out that the loony is our contractors nephew! I immediately called my contractor and asked him to take care of the situation.  I also called loony (got his number from my team leader) several times but he dropped the calls. I sent him a text message though and i said:

"You stupid moron, i know who you are and if you will continue harassing my staff, i have some friends who can literally shove your ass to the gutter!" tapang 'noh. hehehe!

No. i didn't text him that.  Instead i said:

"This is from the office of Sr. Insp.  Alex Roberto of *blah-blah* police station. We received a complaint that you are harassing and threatening Mr. *blah-blah* and his family.  Please be advised that your continuous threats are being monitored and that offense of this nature are punishable by law - Republic Act 9262.  If you will continue this threats against Mr. *blah-blah* and his family, we will take necessary actions to prevent you from committing the crime against Mr. *blah-blah*. Consider this message our final warning.

Hahaha!  I don't know any Sr. Insp. Alex Roberto but so far, my staff have not received any threat from this loony. I just hope this will work.  If not, i need to find a Sr. Insp. Alex Roberto.  Hahaha!  And the Republic Act 9262? i read or heard it somewhere. I'm sure this loony is so stupid that he will not research.  I hope. Hahaha!

Anyway, now i really need to research about about alternative power sources.  Or else, Meralco will just drain us out.  Happy Labor Day!

Samut-saring Ibon

I was having second thoughts of going to Jurong Bird Park. But i remember the beautiful pictures of Bing (a former high school classmate) when he was there last January of 2010. Bing is also a photography enthusiast.

Armed with my DSLR camera and a newly purchased 70-300mm Tamron lens (bought from a electronic shop along Orchard Road), i took the MRT and bus ride to Jurong. At the park, i was first greeted by the local staff and was ushered to the ticket booth. I was asked if i would like to take the train ride to navigate the park but i decided not to. It will be difficult taking pictures of the birds from the tree tops. So i prepared myself to a loooong walk.

After i got in, we were initially guided to the penguin room. There were different types of penguins but the ones i recognized are the Emperor Penguins. These type of penguins are the bidas in the movie "Happy Feet". It's kinda sad as i remember the story and the plight of dancing penguin Mumble - the main character of the movie, as he fought against humans' over fishing. Mumble was captured and became part of a caged penguin display similar to what i have seen in Jurong Bird Park.

Anyway, the staff through his PA system announced that it is feeding time. A man with a big pale appeared in the center of this giant aquarium. The penguins went into frenzy as food (fresh fish) were thrown into the water. The glass wall separating the penguins from the visitors are stained so it is difficult to take clear pictures. After the feeding session, i was able to talk to the park attendant whose in-charge of the penguin show. He's pinoy pala and he's from Bicol. His name is Carlo. We chat a little about work and seems to be happy with his job. But he said that locals gets bigger pay compared to foreign staff like him.

Moving on, there's a big pond with flocks of red flamingos. It was a perfect subject. So i took my camera and did some several shots. Red flamingos are separated from the pink ones which is located naman at the other side of the park. There's quite a number of bird species at the park. From the smallest love birds to ostriches and other flightless birds (which names i forgot). Hahaha!

Well, here are some of the pictures from Jurong Bird Park.

Close Encounter with the Mummies

One of my itinerary in Singapore includes a visit to the National Museum where they have a limited exhibition of ancient Egypt titled - The Quest for Immortality. With my Mastercard, i got a 50% discount to the entrance fee so i only paid SGD 7.50 or roughly P240.00.

The first part of the exhibit is an array of statues. The walls are covered with reproduced and enlarged papyrus. Stone tablets, similar to Moses' where the 10 Commandments are scribed, adorned the other side of the exhibit. They were playing some sort of ancient music and we are not allowed to use the flash of our cameras. It's difficult to take pictures because its a bit dark inside. I have to set my camera in 'night mode' to be able to capture these photos. Each relics are just highlighted with subtle lighting.

The Museum was like a labyrinth. Visitors are guided with bits of information with each artifact. My shots were blurred with the absence of proper lighting. Anyway, I decided to take some photos and see later if i can improve them with PS.

The best part of the exhibit is the close encounter with the mummies. Although they are enclosed in glass capsules, the experience is truly amazing and creepy at the same time. This is the picture of an actual mummy and his tomb.

The Fire Eaters!

From my hotel, Fort Canning Lodge, i headed to my next destination - The famous Singapore Night Safari. I was not able to take some shots during the tour because we were not allowed to use our camera flash. For an amateur photographer like me, it's pointless to take pictures of these nocturnal animals because we were in a constantly moving vehicle and the absence of proper lighting. But the experience of seeing these animals closely and in their almost natural habitat is worth all the trouble.

Anyway, after the 30 minutes or so safari tour, we were treated with a spectacular performance by the Safari's resident Fire Eaters. In between dancing and squeezing myself to a jam packed audience, i was able to capture some good shots.

First Pyrolympics at MOA (February 2010)

These are the pics i took during the last day of First Pyrolympic Competition at the Mall of Asia. These fireworks are from the host country - The Philippines!!!