On the heels of hearing officer Maya Kara’s recusal from the case, the Retirement Fund board on Thursday assigned Edward Manibusan to take on Atalig’s case.
During Friday’s board meeting, Fund board chairman Sixto Igisomar told Atalig, “Yesterday [Thursday] I did assign a hearing officer.”
Atalig, who spoke during the public comments period of the board meeting, stated the immediacy of his retirement owing to his son’s joining the military and he needed to take care of his grandchild.
“I am here requesting the assistance of this board to assign a hearing officer that would undertake my appeal,” he earlier asked the board of trustees.
“I need to be retired. My son’s in the military. He will soon be deployed. I need to join him before he is deployed. There is no one to look after his son,” he also said.
Variety earlier reported that Atalig filed an appeal to reverse Fund Administrator Richard Villagomez’s decision to not allow him to remain in the defined benefit plan because he had terminated his membership with the plan.
For Atalig, this decision was “improper” and “unlawful.”
Through his counsel Ramon K. Quichocho, Atalig argued that beginning June 16, 2006 when Public Law 15-13 was enacted, “class I members who withdrew their contributions and are subsequently reemployed by the commonwealth are enrolled in the defined contribution plan.”
Atalig, in his appeal, stated that the defined contribution plan only took effect starting Jan. 1, 2007 and he continuously contributed to the Fund until he was wrongfully terminated from DPW on March 6, 2006.
According to Quichocho, Atalig was reinstated and therefore did not terminate his government service and should remain in the defined benefit plan.
He also said P.L. 15-13 does not require a judicially reinstated employee due to wrongful termination to be enrolled under the defined contribution plan.
