Philippine Daily Inquirer - April 23, 2002 (page 78)
by Michelle V. Remo
MEMBERS of the Intercontinental Broadcasting Corp. (IBC) Channel 13 are asking President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to retain Cerge M. Remonde as the network's chair of the board of directors.
"It is with utmost humility and determination that we are appealing to you, Madam President, to keep chairman Remonde in Channel 13," says a letter from TV 13 Cebu.
According to Dionisio Laro, president of the IBC 13 rank and file union, members of the network heard that their chair would be replaced, reportedly effective May 1, after reports of "mismanagement" of the network reached Malacañang.
Laro said the IBC 13 employees were surprised and didn't actually know where the news came from. What the members are sure of, he said, is that Remonde is doing well as chair of the board of directors. Laro dismissed the reports of mismanagement by Remonde as mere rumors.
IBC 13 Supervisors and Directors Union president Samson Cardova said there had been earlier reports that Remonde and Dante Ang, chair of RPN Channel 9, would swap posts.
Carvoda said Ang once invited members of the supervisors' union to a meeting but they declined, saying they were not told of the meeting agenda. Cardova said they would only agree to meet once the agenda was made clear to them.
He said that according to another report, a board members, Philip Juico, would replace Remonde. This report came after Ang, the President's personal publicist, was given another position as senior PR consultant, according to Cardova.
He said that since there was no other clear reason for replacing Remonde as chair of the IBC board, the only possible reason he could think of was politics.
Laro of the rank and file union said that it was the first time in IBC 13 history since the government sequestered it in 1986 that there was a good employee-management relationship and that employee benefits have improved.
The network members said in their letter that Remonde "is at the helm of some very great plans and programs... and leacing us in the middle of all these preparations would be disastrous, demoralizing and might even make all that we have started come to naught."
They said some of these plans are the New Face, New Attitude program and the new vision/ mission of the company.
The staff members and management of IBC 13 Davao, Cebu, Iloilo, and the members of the IBC Supervisors and Directors Union said Remonde should be given the chance to "finish and accomplish" the projects initiated by the network under his leadership.