Felipe Q. Atalig
FORMER Department of Public Works Public Information Officer Felipe Q. Atalig brought to the attention of Gov. Arnold I. Palacios on Thursday “a [long-standing] predicament” regarding his termination and unpaid salary.
“Oncologists and internal medicine doctors have told me my health condition is deteriorating. I am in great hope to enjoy the little remaining parts of my life with my loved ones before my health condition totally deteriorates,” Atalig, 84, told the governor.
He said he is respectfully requesting the governor’s “utmost consideration” for the settlement of his case “as it has been seven years too long to wait and the issue is unresolved. Personally, I feel enough is enough.”
Atalig sued DPW for terminating him in March 2018 on allegation of sexual harassment, which he contested in the Civil Service Commission and the Superior Court. He said he and a male co-worker were just joking around when he placed his hands inside his co-worker’s pocket.
He is claiming back pay from 2018 to present.
On March 14, 2025, Superior Court Judge Pro Tempore Dana A. Gutierrez denied the motion filed by Assistant Attorney General Charles P. Reyes Jr., on behalf of DPW, seeking consideration of the court’s earlier ruling in favor of Atalig’s petition for a judicial review of his case, and remanding the matter to the CSC.
Atalig told the governor that he has been denied all his pay from May 4, 2018 to present. To date, he said, there was never a charge or a conviction against him.
“What is even more baffling,” he said, “is the fact that the very same Office of the Attorney General is now representing DPW and have chosen to ignore their own legal opinion/advice regarding my right to leave with pay.”
Atalig earlier told the court that the OAG had advised DPW that he, Atalig, should have been placed on paid leave until a criminal case was filed against him for alleged sexual harassment. Despite the OAG’s legal opinion, he was never suspended with pay or placed on administrative leave with pay.
“It is such complete disregard of the AG’s counsel to DPW again, which illustrates DPW’s concerted effort to accomplish their modus operandi of retaliation by electing termination without proper consideration,” Atalig said.
He told the governor that in the past, “I have communicated with the secretary of Department of Public Works on the matter of my settlement…initially requesting $200,000 on Sept. 30, 2024, [but there was] no response. However, my present disposition for settlement is now $250,000.”
When asked for comment, the governor’s office said on Thursday that it would get back to this reporter once the governor has read Atalig’s letter.
