Cebu City Legal Officer, Lawyer Rey Gealon, says the City Legal Office’s investigating team is referring the sex harassment complaint against a City Hall official to the Human Resource and Development Office. | CDN Digital file photo
CEBU CITY, Philippines — The Cebu City Legal Office (CLO) has endorsed the proposed creation of a committee on decorum and investigation of cases on sexual harassment.
Lawyer Rey Gealon, in a text message, said the City Legal Office (CLO) investigating team had referred the sexual complaints filed against a city official to the Human Resource and Development Office (HRDO).
“We are referring to your office the complaint for possible violation of Republic Act No. 7877, also known as Anti-Sexual Harassment Act of 1995 filed by three Cebu City Hall employees against Lorenzo Basamot, head of the records and arçhive division of the Department of General Services,” the CLO wrote in the endorsement letter to HRDO officer-in-charge Daisy Dianna Ortiz.
Section 4 of R.A. 7877 provides that it is the duty of the employer or head of the work-related educational or training environment or institution, to prevent or deter the commission of acts of sexual harassment.
The law also mandates the employer or head of office to create a committee on decorum and investigation of cases on sexual harassment and conduct investigation of alleged cases of sexual harassment, the CLO pointed out in its endorsement letter.
The CLO then referred the complaint to HRDO for recommendation to the Office of the City Mayor on the creation of the committee.
“It is now the mayor’s discretion whom to appoint as members of this committee, which may include the lawyers of the CLO, who were initially handling the case for purposes of reception of evidence, including complaint-affidavits,” Gealon said.
Three female employees had filed a complaint against Basamot before the CLO.
The three claimed that Basamot forced themselves on them on separate occasions. One incident allegedly occurred after the tree-planting activity on October 2, 2019 in Barangay Taptap.
Mayor Edgardo Labella had directed the city attorney to conduct a thorough investigation on the matter.
Lawyer Gealon then formed a five-lawyer team to undertake the investigation./dbs