Reviewer Law 200 Agrarian Law and Social Legislation

1. Roman Catholic Archbishop of Manila vs. SS Commission,

G.R. No. L-15045, 1/20/61
TOPIC : SSS / Coverage
Petitioner :
Respondent :

SEC. 2. Declaration of policy. —It is hereby declared to be the policy of the

Republic of the Philippines to develop, establish gradually and perfect a social
security system which shall be suitable to the needs of the people throughout
the Philippines, and shall provide protection against the hazards of
unemployment, disability, sickness, old age and death.

FACTS:
Roman Catholic Archbishop of Manila filed a request with the SSC that Catholic
Churches and all religious and charitable institutions be exempted from the
compulsory coverage of the SSL. They also allege the constitutionality of the
said law. Petitioners argue that the provisions of Sec 9 SSL are based on the
existence of an employer-employee relationship. RCAM then contends that
the term employer is defined as those who carry on “undertakings
or activities which have the element of profit or gain, or which are pursued for
profit ordain," because the phrase, activity of any kind" in the definition is
preceded by the words "any trade, business, industry, undertaking.", it should
follow that the priests should not be covered by the SSL

ISSUE:
WON the Catholic Churches and all religious and charitable institutions are
covered by the SSL.

RULING:
Being in fact a social legislation, compatible with the policy of the
Church to ameliorate living conditions of the working class, appellant cannot
arbitrarily delimit the extent of its provisions to relations between capital and
labor in industry and agriculture. These contributions are not in the
nature of taxes on employment." They are intended for the
protection of said employees against the hazards of disability, sickness, old age
and death in line with the constitutional mandate to promote social justice to
insure the well-being and economic security of all the people.

Estenzo, DCQ Page 1 of 1