1.

1987 Constitution

ART. II: Declaration of Principles and State Policies

The State shall:
a. Promote full employment, a rising standard of living, and an improved quality of life for all [Sec. 9,
Art. II]
b. Promote social justice [Sec. 10, Art. II]
c. Affirm labor as a primary social economic force [Sec. 18, Art. II]
d. Protect rights of workers and promote their welfare [Sec. 18, Art. II]
e. Recognize the indispensable role of the private sector [Sec. 20, Art. II.]
f. Encourage private enterprise [Sec. 20, Art. II.]
g. Provide incentives to needed investments [Sec. 20, Art. II.]

SEC. 3, par. 1-2, ART. XIII: Social Justice and Human Rights

The State shall:

a. Afford full protection to labor, local and overseas, organized and unorganized
b. Promote full employment and equality of employment opportunities for all.
c. Guarantee the rights (also known as the “Cardinal Labor Rights”) of all workers to
1. Self-organization
2. Collective bargaining and negotiations
3. Peaceful concerted activities
4. Strike in accordance with law
5. Security of tenure,
6. Humane conditions of work
7. A living wage.
8. To participate in policy and decision-making processes affecting their rights and benefits as may
be provided by law.

SEC. 3, par. 3-4, ART. XIII: Social Justice and Human Rights
The State shall:
a. Promote the principle of shared responsibility between workers and employers
b. Promote the preferential use of voluntary modes in settling disputes
c. Regulate the relations between workers and employers,
d. Recognize the right of labor to its just share in the fruits of production and the right of
enterprises to reasonable returns to investments, and to expansion and growth.

2. Civil Code
Relations between labor and capital The relations between capital and labor are
not merely contractual. [Art. 1700, CC]

They are impressed with public interest that labor contracts:

a. Must yield to the common good
b. Are subject to special laws on
1. Labor unions,
2. Collective bargaining,
3. Strikes and lockouts,
4. Closed shop,
5. Wages,
6. Working conditions,
7. Hours of labor; and
8. Similar subjects
3. Labor Code
The State shall
a. Afford protection to labor,
b. Promote full employment,
c. Ensure equal work opportunities regardless of sex, race or creed, and
d. Regulate the relations between workers and employers.

The State shall assure the rights of workers to

a. Self-organization,
b. Collective bargaining,
c. Security of tenure, and
d. Just and humane conditions of work. [Art. 3]

1. Security of tenure
All workers shall be entitled to security of tenure. [1987 Constitution, Art. XIII, Sec. 3, par. 2]

Police power allows the State to regulate the grant of the right to security of tenure. [St. Luke’s
Medical Center Employee’s Association-AFW v. NLRC, G.R. No. 162053 (2007)]
● Purpose: to safeguard the general welfare of the public.
● Example: Persons who desire to engage in the learned professions may be required to take an
examination as a prerequisite to engaging in the same.

2. Social justice
Sec. 9, Art. II, 1987 Constitution: The State shall promote a just and dynamic social order
that will:
a. Ensure the prosperity and independence of the nation;
b. Free the people from poverty through policies that provide adequate social
services; and
c. Promote:
1. Full employment,
2. A rising standard of living
3. Improved quality of life for all

Sec. 10, Art. II, 1987 Constitution: The State shall promote social justice in all phases of
national development.

Social Justice as justification [Calalang v. Williams, G.R. No. 47800 (1940)]

Social justice is neither communism, nor despotism, nor atomism, nor anarchy BUT:
a. The humanization of laws; and
b. The equalization of social and economic
forces by the State.
So that justice in its rational and objectively secular conception may at least be
approximated.

Social justice means:

a. The promotion of the welfare of all the people,
b. The adoption by the Government of measures calculated to insure economic
stability of all the competent elements of society –
1. through the maintenance of a proper economic and social equilibrium in the
interrelations of the members of the community, constitutionally;
2. through the adoption of measures legally justifiable, or extraconstitutionally;
and
3. through the exercise of powers underlying the existence of all governments on the time-honored
principle of salus populi est suprema lex.

3. Equal work opportunities

Declaration of Basic Policy [Art. 4, LC]
The State shall:
a. Afford protection to labor,
b. Promote full employment,
c. Ensure equal work opportunities regardless of:
1. Sex,
2. Race, or
3. Creed,
d. Regulate the relations between workers and employers.
The State shall assure the rights of workers to:
a. Self-organization,
b. Collective bargaining,
c. Security of tenure, and
d. Just and humane conditions of work.

4. Right to self-organization and collective bargaining

1987 Constitution
The State shall guarantee:
a. The right of the people, including those employed in the public and private sectors,
to form unions, associations, or societies for purposes not contrary to law. [Sec. 8,
Art. III.]
b. The rights of all workers to –
1. Self-organization [Sec. 3, Art. XIII]
2. Collective bargaining and negotiations [Sec. 3, Art. XIII]
3. Peaceful concerted activities [Sec. 3, Art. XIII]
4. Strike in accordance with law. [Sec. 3, Art. XIII]

Art. 253, Labor Code

All persons employed:
a. In commercial, industrial and agricultural enterprises, and
b. In religious, charitable, medical or educational institutions, whether operating
for profit or not, shall have the right to –
a. Self-organization,
b. Form, join, or assist labor organization of their own choosing for purposes of
collective bargaining.

Art. 254, Labor Code

Employees of government corporations established under the corporation code shall
have the right to:
a. Organize, and
b. Bargain collectively with their respective
employers.
All other employees in the civil service shall have the right to form associations for
purposes not contrary to law.
Infringement of the right to selforganization It shall be unlawful for any person to restrain,
coerce, discriminate against or unduly interfere with employees and workers in their exercise
of the right to self-organization [Art. 257, LC]

Scope of right to self-organization

1. Right to form, join or assist labor organizations of their own choosing for
the purpose of collective bargaining through representatives of their own
choosing [Art. 257];
2. Right to engage in lawful concerted activities for the same purpose (collective
bargaining) or for their mutual aid and protection [Art. 257]

5. Construction in favor of labor

All doubts in the implementation and interpretation of the provisions of this Code, including its
implementing rules and regulations, shall be resolved in favor of labor. [Art. 4, Labor Code]
In case of doubt, all legislation and all labor contracts shall be construed in favor of the
safety and decent living for the laborer. [Art. 1702, Civil Code]

Liberal Construction Of the laws

Art. 4 of the Labor Code mandates that all doubts in the implementation and interpretation
of the provisions thereof shall be resolved in favor of labor. This is merely in keeping with
the spirit of our Constitution and laws which lean over backwards in favor of the working
class, and mandate that every doubt must be resolved in their favor. [Hocheng Philippines Corporation
v. Farrales, G.R. No. 211497 (2015)]

RECRUITMENT AND PLACEMENT

“Recruitment and placement" refers to any act of: [CETCHUP-R-CPA]
1. Canvassing,
2. Enlisting,
3. Contracting,
4. Transporting,
5. Utilizing
6. Hiring, or
7. Procuring workers
And includes –
1. Referrals,
act of passing along or forwarding of an applicant for employment after an initial interview of a
selected applicant for employment to a selected employer, placement officer or bureau." [Rodolfo v.
People, G.R. No. 146964 (2006)]
2. Contract services,
3. Promising, or
4. Advertising for employment, locally or abroad, whether for profit or not Provided, That any person
or entity which, in any manner, offers or promises for a fee employment to two or more persons shall
be deemed engaged in recruitment and placement. [Art. 13 (b), Labor Code]

The proviso provides for a presumption that a person or entity so described engages in recruitment
and placement. [People v. Panis, G.R. No. 58674 (1988)]

Number of persons: not essential

The number of persons dealt with is not an essential ingredient of the act of recruitment
and placement of workers. Any of the acts mentioned in Art. 13(b) will constitute recruitment and
placement even if only one prospective worker is involved. [People v. Panis, supra.]

Worker – any member of the labor force, whether employed or unemployed. [Art.13 (a)]

Overseas Filipino Worker/Migrant Worker –

a person who is to be engaged, is engaged, or has been engaged in a remunerated activity:
1. in a state of which he or she is not a citizen, or 2. on board a vessel navigating the foreign
seas other than a government ship used for military or non-commercial purposes, or
3. on an installation located offshore or on the high seas. [Sec. 2 (a), RA 8042, as amended]

License and Authority [Art. 13(d) and (f); Sec.

3 (h)(g), DO 141-14]
License Authority
document issued by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE)
Authorize an entity to operate as a private Authorize an entity to operate as a private
employment agency recruitment entity
When a license is given, one is also authorized Does not entitle a private recruitment
to collect fees entity to collect fees.

Private employment agency (PEA) v. Private recruitment entity (PRE) [Art. 13 (c), (e)]
Private Employment Agency Private recruitment Entity

Definition Any person or entity engaged in Any person or association

Recruitment and placement of
workers for a fee which is
charged, directly or indirectly,
from the workers or employers or
both
engaged in the recruitment
and placement of workers,
locally or overseas, without
charging, directly or indirectly,
any fee

Requirement License Authority