Felipe Atalig
FOLLOWING the Superior Court’s order denying the Department of Public Works’ motion for reconsideration of an earlier ruling that granted judicial review of his complaint, former DPW public information officer Felipe Q. Atalig is demanding back pay.
On Friday, Judge Pro Tempore Dana A. Gutierrez issued an order denying the motion filed by Assistant Attorney General Charles P. Reyes Jr. on behalf of DPW, seeking reconsideration of the court’s Sept. 26, 2024 order granting Atalig’s petition for a judicial review of his case and remanding the matter to the Civil Service Commission.
DPW terminated Atalig in March 2018 for alleged sexual harassment. Atalig challenged his termination, saying he and a male worker were just “joking around” when he placed his hands into his co-worker’s pocket.
In her order, Judge Gutierrez reaffirmed her earlier ruling, stating “there is no way to know whether or not CSC would have been persuaded by petitioner’s submission or exceptions to certain findings.”
Accordingly, the judge said, “the Court has no basis on which to conclude that it is ‘more probable than not’ that the CSC would have rejected petitioner’s exceptions and returned the same decision.”
“The Court therefore remains unpersuaded that this error was harmless. Thus, the Court finds that it ‘could rationally have found as it did’ in the September order, and did not commit clear error,” the judge said.
In an interview on Sunday, Atalig said, “If my case goes back to CSC, that means I am not terminated.”
Atalig, 84, originally sought $352,000. However, following a recent development in his case, he stated that his pay level is $19.24 per hour, so his back pay from March 2018 to the present should be calculated based on that rate.
“As expected, and to no one’s surprise, the motion of DPW was denied again,” he added. “Enough is enough. Should the matter be heard again by CSC, it is clear that I am not terminated by DPW, therefore I am still an employee of the DPW. By virtue of this, rightfully, I should be paid from March 12, 2018 to date,” Atalig said.
He earlier turned down an $80,000 settlement offer from DPW.
