Professional Documents
Culture Documents
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* SECOND DIVISION.
614
two notions, to wit: (a) the liberty or freedom, that is, the absence
of restraint which guarantees that the employee may act for
himself without being prevented by law; and (b) the power, by
virtue of which an employee may, as he pleases, join or refrain
from joining an association.
Same; Same; Same; In view of the revered right of every
worker to self-organization, the law expressly allows and even
encourages the
615
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616
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617
MENDOZA, J.:
The right to self-organization is not limited to unionism.
Workers may also form or join an association for mutual
aid and protection and for other legitimate purposes.
This is a petition for review on certiorari seeking to
reverse and set aside the July 4, 2013 Decision1 and the
January 28, 2014 Resolution2 of the Court of Appeals (CA)
in C.A.-G.R. S.P. No. 123397, which reversed the November
28, 2011 Resolution3 of the Bureau of Labor Relations
(BLR) and reinstated the April 20, 2010 Decision4 of the
Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Regional
Director, cancelling the registration of Samahan ng
Manggagawa sa Hanjin Shipyard (Samahan) as a worker’s
association under Article 243 (now Article 249) of the Labor
Code.
The Facts
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618
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6 Id., at p. 61.
7 Id., at pp. 62-68.
8 Id., at pp. 69-75.
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619
The same claim was made by Samahan in its motion to
dismiss, but it failed to adduce evidence that the remaining
63 members were also employees of Hanjin. Its admission
bolstered Hanjin’s claim that Samahan committed
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9 Id., at p. 87.
10 Id., at p. 53.
11 Id., at pp. 86-91.
620
The Ruling of the Bureau
of Labor Relations
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12 Id., at p. 91.
13 Id., at pp. 92-100.
14 Id., at p. 97.
15 Id., at pp. 101-114.
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16 Id., at p. 121.
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17 Id., at p. 122.
18 Id., at p. 121.
19 Id.
20 Id., at p. 123.
21 Id.
622
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Unsatisfied, Samahan filed a petition for certiorari25
under Rule 65 before the CA, docketed as C.A.-G.R. S.P.
No. 123397.
In its March 21, 2012 Resolution,26 the CA dismissed the
petition because of Samahan’s failure to file a motion for
reconsideration of the assailed November 28, 2011
Resolution.
On April 17, 2012, Samahan filed its motion for
reconsideration27 and on July 18, 2012, Hanjin filed its
comment28 to oppose the same. On October 22, 2012, the
CA issued a resolution granting Samahan’s motion for
reconsideration and
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623
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624
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36 Id., at p. 278.
37 Rollo, pp. 29-30.
38 Id., at p. 12.
625
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39 Id., at p. 15.
40 Comment, id., at pp. 50-73.
41 Reply, id., at pp. 96-102.
626
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And Section 8, Article III of the 1987 Constitution also
states:
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628
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629
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630
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631
Further, Article 243 should be read together with Rule 2
of Department Order (D.O.) No. 40-03, Series of 2003,
which provides:
RULE II
COVERAGE OF THE RIGHT TO SELF-
ORGANIZATION
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632
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Clearly, there is nothing in the foregoing implementing
rules which provides that workers, with definite employers,
cannot form or join a workers’ association for mutual aid
and
633
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634
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Based on the foregoing, the Court concludes that
misrepresentation, to be a ground for the cancellation of
the certificate of registration, must be done maliciously and
deliberately. Further, the mistakes appearing in the
application or at-
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635
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636
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The policy underlying the prohibition in Section 18
against the registration of a corporate name which is
“identical or deceptively or confusingly similar” to that of
any existing corporation or which is “patently deceptive” or
“patently confusing” or “contrary to existing laws,” is the
avoidance of fraud upon the public which would have
occasion to deal with the entity concerned, the evasion of
legal obligations and duties, and the reduction of
difficulties of administration and supervision over
corporations.60
For the same reason, it would be misleading for the
members of Samahan to use “Hanjin Shipyard” in its name
as it
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637
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Thus, in the directive of the BLR removing the words
“Hanjin Shipyard,” no abridgement of Samahan’s right to
self-organization was committed.
WHEREFORE, the petition is PARTIALLY
GRANTED. The July 4, 2013 Decision and the January 28,
2014 Resolution of the Court of Appeals are hereby
REVERSED and SET ASIDE. The September 6, 2010
Resolution of the Bureau of Labor Relations, as modified by
its November 28, 2011 Resolution, is REINSTATED.
SO ORDERED.
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** Per Special Order No. 2222 dated September 29, 2015.
*** Designated acting member per Special Order No. 2223 dated
September 29, 2015.
638
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