Bayan Muna Party-list has slammed the Employers Confederation of the Philippines’s (ECOP) “free occupancy” of a government office space, describing the ECOPs failure to pay rent as “freeloading” on the backs of workers and the government.

“Freeloading na sa pawis at dugo ng manggagawa, freeloading pa sa upa sa opisina ng gobyerno (It's freeloading on the blood and sweat of workers, and freeloading on the rent of a government office),” said Bayan Muna Rep. Ferdinand Gaite on Friday, April 22.

The Commission on Audit (COA) released a summary report on April 8 which detailed that the ECOP, from 2019 to 2021, had free occupancy of office space owned by the government-corporation Employees Compensation Commission (ECC) resulting in an opportunity loss of around P8.163 million in rent income.

“The unpaid rent by the ECOP could have translated to additional assistance to workers provided by the ECC such as work-related benefits due to illness, injury and even death, which is very essential especially in this time of the pandemic,” Gaite continued.

One of the recommendations made by the COA included terminating the board resolution which allowed the ECOP free occupancy of ECOP office space, effectively kicking them out.

On top of that, the audit body further recommended that the ECC instead lease the space to the ECOP, or to even auction off the office space to other tenants.

“Kapag mahirap at walang pambayad ng upa, napakadaling palayasin at ginagamitan pa ng pulis para idemolish ang mga tahanan. Pero baliktad pag mayayaman. Sa ganitong sitwasyon, dapat lang talagang palayasin o magbayad ang ECOP (When the poor can’t afford to pay rent, they are swiftly evicted, and the police are even used to demolish their residences. It’s the opposite for the wealthy. In this situation, the ECOP must be removed or asked to pay rent),“ he concluded.

The ECOP is an umbrella organization formed to “represent and enhance employer interests", and to recommend policy proposals pertaining labor-management relations according to the ECOP website.

The ECC is a corporate entity attached to the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) that handles benefits and compensation amid work-related contingencies including sicknesses, injuries, disabilities, or deaths for workers and their dependents.