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SUBIC BAY Freeport, Philippines—Former workers of a debt-ridden hotel and casino that was closed by the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) here in July assailed their former employer for the non-payment of their separation benefits.

“Some of us have been waiting to get paid since 2006. Now that it has closed down, we see no reason why they should delay our payment. We worked hard for this,” said Roland Pangantihan, spokesperson of a group of former employees of the Legend International Resorts Limited (LIRL).

“It is not their money. We don’t deserve this treatment,” he said.

LIRL ran the Legenda hotel and casino that was closed by SBMA due to debts of more than P800 million.

“Our families are suffering due to our [unemployment]…Most of us worked for 10 or more years in Legenda before it accumulated huge debts that it could not pay,” Pangantihan said in a statement on Sunday.

“We were let go with little warning and no assistance to help us cope with our sudden unemployment,” he said.

He said the workers were suspended and asked not to work for six months without pay. Robert Gonzaga, Inquirer Central Luzon