mmalabanan
MANILA, Philippines. Renato Nocos, the gay hairdresser who was allegedly fired by celebrity hairstylist Ricky Reyes after learning that he tested positive for HIV, has decided to speak up on the labor discrimination and unlawful termination case against his former employer.
On Saturday, February 6, Reyes was found guilty of “discrimination and unlawful termination” of Nocos and was ordered by the National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC) to rehire the complainant and pay him a total of P615,313.06 to cover for his wages, benefits, and attorney’s fees.
The labor management mediation court found that Reyes and business partner Tonneth Moreno reassigned Nocos to a branch in España, Manila after learning that Nocos was HIV positive. The said branch closed down and Nocos was not given a new assignment.
In his interview with DZMM, Nocos said that the company should pay his salary during the six-month break he was given since his employer did not remit his SSS, PhilHealth, and Pag-IBIG Fund contributions. As a result of non-payment, Nocos was disqualified from getting his sickness benefits from SSS and from availing of the outpatient HIV/AIDS treatment package of PhilHealth.
“Nung nalaman niya na may HIV ako, sinabi ko sa kanya. Dahil hindi niya binayaran yung PhilHealth ko. Importante sa amin yun sa ganitong sakit na may PhilHealth ka para makapasok ka sa OHAT [Outpatient HIV/AIDS Treatment] package. Kung walang ganun, magbabayad ka ng laboratory at gamot-gamot,” Nocos recounted.
(When he learned that I have HIV, that’s when I told him because he wasn’t paying my Philhealth. It’s important for people with this illness to have Philhealth in order to qualify for the OHAT [Outpatient HIV/AIDS Treatment] package. If we can’t avail that, we will pay laboratory fees and other medicines.)
Nocos added that his former employer was making it appear that he had kept coming back to them because he was after the salary. According to Nocos, this is not true as he only wanted Reyes to pay for his Philhealth.
“Ang sabi niya, ‘bakit ko babayaran? Na ospital ka ba? Senior citizen ka ba?’ Hindi niya maintindihan yun OHAT package ng PhilHealth,” Nocos said.
(He told me, ‘why do I need to pay? Are you in the hospital? Are you a Senior citizen?’ He couldn’t understand the OHAT package of Philhealth.)
Ricky Reyes camp: Nocos “distorted truth”
The camp of Reyes has accused Nocos of distorting the truth in the case filed against the company.
Atty. Marcos Estrada, the lawyer who represented Ricky Reyes in the case, said that the complainant “distorted [the] truth.”
According to Estrada, Reyes had paid for Nocos’s treatment for pulmonary tuberculosis in 2013. The complainant was asked to go on sick leave with pay and get a medical certificate that says he was still fit to work.
Nocos came back to work with a medical certificate and was transferred to another salon branch. However, Moreno observed that Nocos was still coughing. Consequently, Moreno asked Nocos how we was able to get a medical certificate indicating that he was fit despite his condition.
Reportedly, Nocos admitted that he had HIV and that he didn’t inform his doctors about his condition.
After being told to go on a paid leave and get another clearance indicating that he is indeed fit to work, Nocos allegedly never returned and went straight to the NLRC to file the case.
Stating that there’s no reason for Nocos to get dismissed even if he tested positive for HIV since the disease is not as contagious as tuberculosis (which is airborne), Estrada insisted that the complainant was not fired.
