(Unsplash)

Isabela Electric Cooperative (ISELCO-I) employees' salaries are being illegally deducted for payments to the One-EC MCO Network Foundation.

This was learned during a joint hearing of the House Committee on Energy and Committee on North Luzon Growth Quadrangle on Monday, May 22.

Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Supervising Labor and Employment Officer Emilia de Guzman said the illegal deductions violate DOLE Labor Advisory No. 11 Series of 2014 on non-interference in the disposal of wages and allowable deductions.

Based on the advisory, employers may only deduct from employee's wages those that are authorized by law, including insurance premiums, or if the deductions are with written authorization of employees.

A joint affidavit filed by ISELCO-I employees revealed that without their consent, rank and file workers were being deducted P100 monthly; supervisors, P150; department heads, P200; general managers, P500; and the board of directors, P200.

Also according to the affidavit, the forced remittances collected between 2019 and 2022 have reached a total of P1,549,750.

Files retrieved from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) show that One-EC MCO Network Foundation was established by officials of various electric cooperatives across the country, including PHILRECA Party-list Rep. Presley de Jesus and APEC Party-list Rep. Sergio Dagooc. They represent electric cooperatives and member-consumer-owners in the House.

The energy panel is chaired by Marinduque lone district Rep. Lord Allan Velasco, while the north quadrangle panel is chaired by Ilocos Norte 2nd district Rep. Angelo Marcos Barba.