ALLYSA JOY DADULLA

Art II, Sec 16 of the 1987 Constitution states that:

"Section 16. All persons shall have the right to a speedy disposition of their cases before all judicial,
quasi-judicial, or administrative bodies."

It covers the periods before, during and after trial. It is also not limited to the accused in criminal
proceedings but extends to all parties including civil and administive cases and all proceedings including
judicial and quasi-judicial.

Writ of Mandamus: remedy for violation of the right to a speedy trial.

Art 1705 of the Civil Code:

"The laborer's wages shall be paid in legal currency."

This is to prevent payment in kind or in temporary money unless requested by worker.

The only instance when an employer is permitted to pay wages in forms other than legal tender is thru
checks or money order.

Abbott Laboratories v Alcaraz

GR No. 151378

FACTS: Abbott Laboratories published on a newspaper that it is in need of a medical and regulatory
affairs manager together with the qualifications and job description of the said position. Alcaraz
submitted her applicationand was offerred the above mentioned position which was an item under the
company's Hospira Affiliate Local Surveillance Unit department under probationary basis.

Upon Alcaraz's pre-employment orientation, she was briefed on her duties and responsibilites as
Regulatory Affairs Manager. She was also given copies of Abbott’s Code of Conduct and Probationary
Performance Standards and Evaluation (PPSE) and Performance Excellence Orientation Modules
(Performance Modules) which she have to apply in her task of evaluating the staffs.

Abbott’s PPSE procedure mandates that the job performance of a probationary employee should be
formally reviewed and discussed with the employee at least twice: first on the third month and second
on the fifth month from the date of employment.

The necessary Performance Improvement Plan should also be made during the third-month review in
case of a gap between the employee’s performance and the standards set. These performance
standards should be discussed in detail with the employee within the first two (2) weeks on the job. The
signed copy of the PPSE form shall serve as documentation of the employee’s performance during
his/her probationary period for recommendation or termination in the employment.
Later, she was informed that she failed to meet the regularization standards for the position of
Regulatory Affairs Manager. Alcaraz felt that she was unjustly terminated from her employment and
thus, filed a complaint for illegal dismissal and damages against Abbott and its officers.

ISSUE: Whether or not Alcaraz can claim damages.

Yes. Abbot did not comply in its own company policy.

The existence of the company policy that Abbott’s PPSE procedure mandates, inter alia, that the job
performance of a probationary employee should be formally reviewed and discussed with the employee
at least twice: first on the third month and second on the fifth month from the date of employment.
Abbott is also required to come up with a Performance Improvement Plan during the third month
review to bridge the gap between the employee’s performance and the standards set, if any.  In
addition, a signed copy of the PPSE form should be submitted to Abbott’s HRD as the same would serve
as basis for recommending the confirmation or termination of the probationary employment.

In this light, while there lies due cause to terminate Alcaraz’s probationary employment for her failure to
meet the standards required for her regularization, and while it must be further pointed out that Abbott
had satisfied its statutory duty to serve a written notice of termination, the fact that it violated its own
company procedure renders the termination of Alcaraz’s employment procedural infirm, warranting the
payment of nominal damages.

The reason that an employer’s contractual breach of its own company procedure – albeit not statutory
in source – has the parallel effect of violating the laborer’s rights. Suffice it to state, the contract is the
law between the parties and thus, breaches of the same impel recompense to vindicate a right that has
been violated. Consequently, while the Court is wont to uphold the dismissal of Alcaraz because a valid
cause exists, the payment of nominal damages on account of Abbott’s contractual breach is warranted
in accordance with Article 2221 of the Civil Code.

Essential Elements of Illegal Recruitment:

1. The accused have no valid license or authority required by law to enable them to lawfully engage in
the recruitment and placement of workers.

2. The accused engaged in this activity of recruitment and placement by actually recruiting, deploying
and transporting

3. Illegal recruitment was committed by three persons conspiring and confederaring with one another

Large scale illegal recruitment: same as above elements and is committed against three or more persons
individually or as a group

Seafarer Claims

The seafarer shall receive sickness allowance amounting to the same equivalent as his basic wage
computed from the time he signed off until he is declared fit to work or the degree of disability has been
assessed by the company-designated physician. The period within which the seafarer shall be entitled to
his sickness allowance shall not exceed 120 days. He shall also be entitled to reimbursement of the cost
of medicines.