II. Complete Case Title Citation: Luis De Ocampo, Jr.

, Jose Rodrigo, Eugenio Esquejo,

Victorino Tabernero, Rizalo Daliva, Francisco Acosta and 87 others listed in Annex ‘A’ vs.
National Labor Relations Commission and Makati Development Corporation, GR No. 81077,
June 6, 1990

III. Statement of Issue/s: ​Whether or not Policy Instruction No. 20 of the Department of Labor
which provides that project employees are not entitled to separation pay when terminated as a
consequence of project completion applies to the alleged illegally dismissed employees of
Makati Development Company (MDC) who were terminated due to their participation in the
strike against private respondent despite the non-completion of the New Alabang Village
project.

IV: Complainant’s Arguments/s: ​Complainants argue that respondent MDC terminated them
on the ground of expiration of their contracts and filing of complaint for illegal dismissal due to
their participation in the strike despite the fact that the New Alabang Village project is not yet
finished. Such facts therefore entitle them to separation pay.

V. Respondent’s Arguments/s: ​Private respondent Makati Development Corporation holds

that under the law then in force, PD No. 823 as amended by PD No. 849, the strike was illegal
as it was not based on the ground of unresolved economic issues which was the only ground
allowed at the time when the policy was indeed to limit and discourage strikes. Sec. 1 of PD 823
encourages free trade unionism and thereby strictly prohibits all forms of strike in vital industries
in which the corporation belongs.

MDC also argues that the project employees are not entitled to separation pay as they are
terminated as a result of the expiration of their contracts.

VI. Instruction Learned: In the present case, it is stated that, “It is the policy of the Constitution
to afford protection to labor in recognition of its role in the improvement of our welfare and the
strengthening of our democracy. An exploited working class is a discontented working class. It
is a treadmill to progress and a threat to freedom. Knowing this, we must exert all effort to
dignify the lot of the employee, elevating him to the same plane as his employer, that they may
better work together as equal partners in the quest for a better life. This is a symbiotic
relationship we must maintain if such a quest is to succeed.”

Decision of the Court: ​The appealed decision of the NLRC is affirmed but with modification
that the contract workers are declared to be illegally separated before the expiration of the
project they were working on and so are entitled to separation pay equivalent to one month
salary for every year of service.

VII. Ratio: ​Based on the records, it shows that although the contracts of the project workers had
indeed expired, the project itself was still on-going and so continued to require workers’ services
for its completion. There is no showing that such services were unsatisfactory to justify their
termination. It is obvious that the real reason for the termination of their services which were still
needed was the complaint the project workers had filed and their participation in the strike
against the private respondent. These were the acts that rendered them persona non grata to
the management. Their services were discontinued by the MDC not because of the expiration of
their contracts but the real purpose of the MDC was to retaliate against the workers, to punish
them for their defiance by replacing them with more tractable employees.

Applying Policy Instruction No. 20 of the Department of Labor, we hold that the project
workers in the case at bar, who were separated even before the completion of the project at the
New Alabang Village and not really for the reason that their contracts had expired, are entitled
to separation pay.