CASE 36

General Milling Corporation vs. Torres

G.R No. 9366, April 22, 1991

FACTS:
Earl Timothy Cone is a US citizen, who was hired by General Milling as a sports consultant and assistant
coach. He possessed an alien employment permit which was changed to pre-arranged employee by the
Board of Special Inquiry of the Commission on Immigration and Deportation. GMC requested that Cone’s
employment permit be changed to a full-fledged coach, which was contested by The Basketball Coaches
Association of the Philippines. Alleging that GMC failed to show that there is no competent person in the
Philippines to do the coaching job. Secretary of Labor cancelled Cone’s employment permit.

ISSUE:

Whether or not the Secretary of Labor act with grave abuse of discretion in revoking Cone’s Alien
Employment Permit?

HELD:

The Secretary of Labor did not act with grave abuse of discretion in revoking Cone’s Alien Employment
Permit. GMC’s claim that hiring of a foreign coach is an employer’s prerogative has no legal basis. Under
Section 40 of the Labor Code, an employer seeking employment of an alien must first obtain an
employment permit from the Department of labor. GMC’s right to choose whom to employ is limited by the
statutory requirement of an employment permit.

The Labor Code empowers the Labor Secretary to determine as to the availability of the services
of a “person in the Philippines who is competent, able and willing at the time of the application to perform
the services for which an alien is desired.”