The cause of action must arise from ER-EE
LABOR RELATIONS-
LABOR LAW 2
We will study legitimate Labor Organization, how to
organize or form, who can join, benefits of being an
LLO, who are employers, employees, managerial
employees, etc.
We will study the functions and powers of BLR,
Med-arbiter, Labor Arbiter, NLRC, NCMB,
Voluntary Arbitrator, Secretary of Labor
We will study the grounds for termination, due
process, etc.
We will study retirement, resignation, involuntary
termination of employment
Existence of EMPLOYER -EMPLOYEE
RELATIONSHIP
uuuk
It is a jurisdictional requisite for the exercise of
jurisdiction over a labor dispute by the labor
arbiters and other labor tribunals.
Elements to determine the existence of ee-er
relationship:
Art. 211. Declaration of Policy
. ( based on Atty. Bata’s lecture this Article is Article
218.)
It is the policy of the State:
To promote and emphasize the primacy of free
collective bargaining and negotiations, including
voluntary arbitration, mediation and conciliation, as
modes of settling labor or industrial disputes;
To promote free trade unionism as an instrument
for the enhancement of democracy and the
promotion of social justice and development;
To foster the free and voluntary organization of a
strong and united labor movement;
To promote the enlightenment of workers
concerning their rights and obligations as union
members and as employees;
To provide an adequate administrative machinery
for the expeditious settlement of labor or industrial
disputes;
relationship
Reasonable causal connection rule
Power to determine employment relationship
Note: People Broadcasting Service vs. SOL
( Bombo Radyo Case) - DOLE SEC or DOLE
Regional Director may determine the existence of
employer-employee relationship
GOALS OF LABOR RELATIONS
Per Azucena, the goal of LR are stated in the
Constitution which states that:
Section 9, 1987 Constitution. The State shall
promote a just and dynamic social order that
will ensure the prosperity and independence of
the nation and free the people from poverty thru
policies that provide adequate social services,
etc.
Section 10. The State shall promote social
justice in all phase of national development
Article 218. Enumerates the strategic policies of
the labor relations
To ensure a stable but dynamic and just industrial
peace; and
To ensure the participation of workers in decision
and policy-making processes affecting their rights,
duties and welfare.
To encourage a truly democratic method of
regulating the relations between the employers and
employees by means of agreements freely entered
into through collective bargaining, no court or
administrative agency or official shall have the
power to set or fix wages, rates of pay, hours of
work or other terms and conditions of employment,
except as otherwise provided under this Code. (As
amended by Section 3, Republic Act No. 6715,
March 21, 1989)
DEFINITIONS OF TERMS
Art. 212. Definitions.
“Employer” includes any person acting in the
interest of an employer, directly or indirectly. The
term shall not include any labor organization or any
of its officers or agents except when acting as
employer.
“Employee” includes any person in the employ of
an employer. The term shall not be limited to the
employees of a particular employer, unless the
Code so explicitly states. It shall include any
individual whose work has ceased as a result of or
in connection with any current labor dispute or
because of any unfair labor practice if he has not
obtained any other substantially equivalent and
regular employment.
“Labor organization” means any union or
association of employees which exists in whole or
in part for the purpose of collective bargaining or of
dealing with employers concerning terms and
conditions of employment.
“Legitimate labor organization” means any labor
organization duly registered with the Department of
Labor and Employment, and includes any branch or
local thereof.
BOOK III and BOOK V EMPLOYEE
Book 3 Four fold test ..elements of control, etc
Book 5- Employee is defined as :
“Employee” includes
(1) any person in the employ of an employer;
(2) shall not be limited to the employees of a
particular employer, unless the Code so explicitly
states;
(3) shall include any individual whose work has
ceased as a result of or in connection with any
current labor dispute or because of any unfair labor
practice if he has not obtained any other
substantially equivalent and regular employment.
“Employer” includes any person acting in the
interest of an employer, directly or indirectly. The
term shall not include any labor organization or any
of its officers or agents except when acting as
employer.
“Labor organization” means any union or
association of employees which exists in whole or
in part for the purpose of collective bargaining or of
dealing with employers concerning terms and
conditions of employment.
“Legitimate labor organization” means any labor
organization duly registered with the Department of
Labor and Employment, and includes any branch or
local thereof.
“Company union” means any labor organization
whose formation, function or administration has
been assisted by any act defined as unfair labor
practice by this Code.
“Bargaining representative” means a legitimate
labor organization whether or not employed by the
employer.
“Labor dispute” includes any controversy or
matter concerning terms and conditions of
employment or the association or representation of
persons in negotiating, fixing, maintaining,
changing or arranging the terms and conditions of
employment, regardless of whether the disputants
stand in the proximate relation of employer and
employee.
“Managerial employee” is one who is vested with
the powers or prerogatives to lay down and execute
management policies and/or to hire, transfer,
suspend, lay-off, recall, discharge, assign or
discipline employees. Supervisory employees are
those who, in the interest of the employer,
effectively recommend such managerial actions if
the exercise of such authority is not merely
routinary or clerical in nature but requires the use of
independent judgment. All employees not falling
within any of the above definitions are considered
rank-and-file employees for purposes of this Book.
“Strike” means any temporary stoppage of work by
the concerted action of employees as a result of an
industrial or labor dispute.
“Lockout” means any temporary refusal of an
employer to furnish work as a result of an industrial
or labor dispute.
“Internal union dispute” includes all disputes or
grievances arising from any violation of or
disagreement over any provision of the constitution
and by laws of a union, including any violation of
the rights and conditions of union membership
provided for in this Code.
“Strike-breaker” means any person who obstructs,
impedes, or interferes with by force, violence,
coercion, threats, or intimidation any peaceful
picketing affecting wages, hours or conditions of
work or in the exercise of the right of self-
organization or collective bargaining.
“Strike area” means the establishment,
warehouses, depots, plants or offices, including the
sites or premises used as runaway shops, of the
employer struck against, as well as the immediate
vicinity actually used by picketing strikers in moving
2
to and fro before all points of entrance to and exit
from said establishment. (As amended by Section
4, Republic Act No. 6715, March 21, 1989)
LABOR DISPUTES
Labor disputes - Any bonafide controversy
concerning wages, hours or conditions of work or
representation constitutes a labor dispute within the
meaning of this Act. To qualify for that status the
controversy must involve or concern the terms and
conditions of employment pertaining to the issues
of representation.
Example: Labor standards disputes, labor relations
disputes, representation disputes, bargaining
disputes, etc.
REMEDIES IN LABOR DISPUTES _
SIGNIFICANCE OR IMPORTANCE OF
THESE REMEDIES
1.Grievance Procedure- discrimination on wages,
suspension, etc.
2. Enforcement of compliance order - non payment
of minimum wage
3. Certification of bargaining representative - who
shall represent the workers
4. Assumption of jurisdiction - nagstrike ang mga
trabahante
5. Certification to NLRC -SOL endorsed the case to
NLRC
6. Injunction - Illegal acts during strike
7. Judicial Action - injunction filed with the RTC
8. Appeal - to higher bodies like NLRC, DOLE, CA
9. Review by Court - Rule 65, Rule 43, Rule 45
WHY WORKERS ORGANIZE?
In union there is strength.. Sa walis may tingting
1. For job security
2. Union helps to give employees a sense of
participation in the business enterprise of
which the are part
On a personal note: There are also workers who
want to be leaders in an organization; probably; it is
also a business undertaking since union members
are required to pay union dues which shall form
part of union funds to be disbursed by officers of
the union for expenses, honorarium, etc.
LABOR ARBITER
ARBTORATION
Compulsory Arbitration
 done by the Labor Arbiter
 Voluntary Arbitration- done by the Voluntary
Arbitration ( Article 274 of the Labor Code)
 Compulsory Arbitration is the process of
settlement of disputes by a government
agency which has the authority to investigate
and to make an award which is binding on all
parties
Labor Arbiter
 is the NLRC representative in a RAB. Their
decisions are appealable to NLRC.
 He is clothed with authority to conduct
compulsory arbitration on cases involving
termination disputes and other cases
mentioned above.
Art. 217. Jurisdiction of the Labor Arbiters and
the Commission.
JURISDICTION OF THE LABOR ARBITER
Except as otherwise provided under this Code, the
Labor Arbiters shall have original and exclusive
jurisdiction to hear and decide, within thirty (30)
calendar days after the submission of the case by
the parties for decision without extension, even in
the absence of stenographic notes, the following
cases involving all workers, whether agricultural or
non-agricultural:
1. Unfair labor practice cases;
2. Termination disputes;
3. If accompanied with a claim for
reinstatement, those cases that workers
may file involving wages, rates of pay, hours
of work and other terms and conditions of
employment;
4. Claims for actual, moral, exemplary and
other forms of damages arising from the
employer-employee relations;
5. Cases arising from any violation of Article
264 of this Code, including questions
involving the legality of strikes and lockouts;
and
6. Except claims for Employees
Compensation, Social Security, Medicare
and maternity benefits, all other claims
arising from employer-employee
relations, including those of persons in
domestic or household service,
involving an amount exceeding five
thousand pesos (P5,000.00) regardless
of whether accompanied with a claim for
reinstatement.
3
JURISDICTION OF THE NLRC
 The Commission shall have exclusive
appellate jurisdiction over all cases decided
by Labor Arbiters.
 Cases arising from the interpretation or
implementation of collective bargaining
agreements and those arising from the
interpretation or enforcement of company
personnel policies shall be disposed of by the
Labor Arbiter by referring the same to the
grievance machinery and voluntary arbitration
as may be provided in said agreements. (As
amended by Section 9, Republic Act No. 6715,
March 21, 1989)
Other Cases
 Wage distortion dispute in unorganized
establishments not voluntarily settled by the
parties pursuant to Republic Act No. 627.
 Enforcement of compromise agreements when
there is non-compliance by any of the parties
pursuant to Article 227 the Labor Code, as
amended.
 Money claims arising out of employer-
employee relationship by virtue of any law or
contract, involving Filipino workers for overseas
employment, including claims for actual, moral,
exemplary and other forms of damages as
provided for by Section 10 of R.A. No. 842, as
amended by R.A. No. 10022.
DOLE SECRETSRY ASSUMPTION OF
JURISDICTION
 The DOLE Secretary may assume jurisdiction
over a labor dispute, or certify it to the NLRC
for compulsory arbitration, if, in his opinion, it
may cause or likely to cause a strike or
lockout in an industry indispensable to the
national interest.
 The President may also exercise the power to
assume jurisdiction over a labor dispute.
Effects of assumption of Jurisdiction.
(a) On intended or impending strike or lockout
automatically enjoined even if a Motion for
Reconsideration is filed;
(b) on actual strike or lockout, strikers or locked out
employees should immediately return to work and
employer should readmit them back; and
(c) on cases filed or may be filed all should
subsumed/ absorbed by the assumed or certified
case except when specified otherwise.
The parties to the case should inform the DOLE
Secretary of the pendency thereof.
PROCESS OF THE COMPLAINT PER
RULES
1. Request for SENA by worker
2. Conference by SENA officer for the purpose
of amicable settlement
3. If no settlement, complainant files a Pro-
Forma complaint with Labor Arbiter
4. Labor arbitration associate issues summons
together with the complaint and notice of
conference
5. Labor Arbiter conduct preliminary
conference for the purpose of possible
amicable settlement
6. No settlement, labor arbiter issues an order
requiring parties to submit their verified
position paper
7. Issues decision based on position paper
PROCESS AFTER DECISION IS
RENDERED
 Complainant/Respondent may appeal based on
prescribed grounds and requirements within 10
days from the receipt of the Decision.
Appellant files Memorandum of Appeal.
Appellee may file Answer/ Opposition
 Records are elevated to NLRC by the Labor
Arbiter’s Office
NLRC issues Decision
 Aggrieved party may file a Motion for
Reconsideration within 10 days from receipt if
it wishes to bring the case to CA under Rule
65.
 After ten days from receipt of Decision, it
becomes final and may be executed unless a
TRO is issued by CA.
JURISDICTION/ TRIBUNALS THAT
HANDLE LABOR DISPUTES
1. Labor Arbiter- Appeal to NLRC - MR in
NLRC - CA Rule 65- Supreme Court Rule
45
2. Med-Arbiter- Appeal to BLR Director- MR-
CA Rule 65- SC Rule 45
3. DOLE Director- Appeal to Secretary -MR-
CA Rule 65- SC Rule 45
4. Grievance Machinery -VA - CA Rule 43- SC
Rule 45
VENUE OF CASES
In the RAB having jurisdiction over the workplace of
the complainant
Workplace is where the employee is regularly
assigned at the time the cause of action arose.
4

Waiver of venue - if no objection before the filing of
PP
OFW- where the complainant resides or where the
principal office of any of the respondents is situated
at the option of the complainant
Woker’s option in the case of Dayag et al vs.
Canizares
ULP; TERMINATION and MINISTER
OF THE CHURCH
LA -is only civil aspect. Criminal aspect should be
with the prosecution office or Court.
ULP- must be gross violation of the CBA otherwise
it shall be with the VA
San Miguel Corp vs. NLRC G.R. 108001 (1996) -
illegal dismissal case is under LA per Article 224 of
the Labor Code. No express agreement in the CBA
that termination shall be filed with VA.
Church Minister-principle of separation of Church
and State not applicable. It does not concern any
ecclesiastical matter. “ Render unto Caesar that
thing…
TERMINATION OF CORPORATE
OFFICERS- INTRA- CORPORATE
DISPUTE OF LABOR CASE
Example: Hired as supervisor-mgr.-vp--svp-
president
Who hired him- Board of Directors
Azucena
A corporate officer derives its character either from
the corporation law or the corporate’s by-laws.
Section 25 of the Corp Code are Pres., Sec, Tres,
and such other officers as may be provided in the
by laws
Corporate Officer if these circumstances concur 1.)
his position is a creation of the charter or bylaws 2.)
his position is elective 3.) his election is by the act
of the directors stockholders
5 FACTORS TO DETERMINE
WHETHER THE COMPLAINANT’S
CASE SHOULD GO TO THE NLRC OR
THE REGULAR COURT:
1. Status of the relationship of the parties
2. The nature of the subject of the controversy
3. Nature of the complainant’s work
4. Length of service; and
5. Manner of creation of office
MONEY CLAIMS
All money claims except SS/ECC/Philhealth if the
claim regardless of amount is accompanied with a
claim for reinstatement
If the claim, whether or not accompanied with a
claim for reinstatement, exceeds P5,000.00 per
claimant
Note: Kasambahay Claim - regional office of DOLE
Double indemnity -RA 1888 “asa na pending ang
kaso”
MONEY CLAIMS OF WORKERS
Pepsi Cola vs. Martinez ( 1982) - NLRC.. money
claims arising from employment
SMC vs. NLRC (1988) - regular court -where the
claim to the principal relief sought is to be resolved
not by reference to the Labor Code or CBA or
Company Policy but by general civil law.
Difference what law will be applied to resolve the
key question raised
Filing fees - LA no filing fees
Court- filing fees required
STRIKES or LOCKOUTS
Questions relating to strike or lockouts of or any
other form of work stoppage including incidents
thereto fall within the LA’s jurisdiction.
But the power to issue injunction is lodged with
NLRC Division.
Strikes or lockouts in National Interest cases - SOL
OR Pres of RP may assume jurisdiction and refer
the case to NLRC
Santiago vs. CF Shard - OFW contracted but not
deployed. Filed a case with the LA
IMMUNITY OR FOREIGN GOVT./
EXECUTING MONEY CLAIMS
AGAINST AGOVERNMENT
AGENCY
Par in Parem Non Habet Imperium - an equal has
no power over an equal. In international law,
immunity is commonly understood as the
exemption of the state and its organs from the
jurisdiction of another state.
5

Executing Money Claims
It is settled jurisprudence that upon
determination of State liability, the
prosecution, enforcement or satisfaction
thereof must still be pursued in accordance
with the rules and procedures laid down in
P.D. No. 1445, otherwise known as the
Government Auditing Code of the
Philippines (Department of Agriculture v.
NLRC, 227 SCRA 693, 701-02 [1993] citing
Republic vs. Villasor, 54 SCRA 84 [1973]).
All money claims against the Government
must first be filed with the Commission on
Audit which must act upon it within sixty
days. Rejection of the claim will authorize
the claimant to elevate the matter to the
Supreme Court on certiorari and in effect
sue the State thereby (P.D. 1445, Sections
49-50). . . . (RP vs. NRLC G. R. No.
174747 March 9, 2016 _
Art 227 technical rules not binding
and prior resort to amicable
settlement
The rules of evidence in courts of law shall not be
controlling and it is the spirit and intention of the
Code that the Commission and LA shall use every
and all reasonable means to ascertain the facts in
each case……
The Labor Arbiter shall exert all efforts towards the
amicable settlement of a labor dispute….
This procedural rule should not be construed as a
license to disregard certain fundamental evidentiary
rules.
Decisions must be supported by substantial
evidence ..such relevant evidence as a reasonable
mind might accept as adequate to support a
conclusion. (See Ang Tibay vs. CIR, 1940)
WILGEN LOON, et al. vs. POWER
MASTER ET AL. G. R. No. 189404,
December 11, 2013
A party may only adduce evidence for the first time
on appeal if he adequately explains his delay in the
submission of evidence and he sufficiently proves
the allegations sought to be proven
In labor cases, strict adherence to the technical
rules of procedure is not required. Time and again,
we have allowed evidence to be submitted for the
first time on appeal with the NLRC in the interest of
substantial justice.28 Thus, we have consistently
supported the rule that labor officials should use all
reasonable means to ascertain the facts in each
case speedily and objectively, without regard to
technicalities of law or procedure, in the interest of
due process.29
However, this liberal policy should still be subject to
rules of reason and fairplay. The liberality of
procedural rules is qualified by two requirements:
(1) a party should adequately explain any delay in
the submission of evidence; and (2) a party should
sufficiently prove the allegations sought to be
proven.30 The reason for these requirements is
that the liberal application of the rules before quasi-
judicial agencies cannot be used to perpetuate
injustice and hamper the just resolution of the case.
Neither is the rule on liberal construction a license
to disregard the rules of procedure.31
Illustration of two pending cases
Illegal dismissal case filed with the LA
Insolvency proceedings filed with RTC
Rubberworld vs. NLRC 1999 – Case pending with
LA shall be suspended.
APPEARANCES AND FEES (ART 228)
Non-lawyers may appear if they have SPA or
representative of Union or company with Corporate
Secretary Certificate
No atty’s fees shall be charged OF ANY KIND
ARISING FROM CBA NEGOTIATIONS ETC…on
ANY INDIVIDUAL MEMBER OF THE
CONTRACTING UNION. IT SHALL BE CHARGED
AGAINST UNION FUNDS IN AN AMOUNT TO BE
AGREED UPON THE PARTIES. (Article 228)
SEE CIT VS. OPLE APRIL 15, 1988
Compare Article 228 with Art. 111. Attorney’s fees.
In cases of unlawful withholding of wages, the
culpable party may be assessed attorney’s fees
equivalent to ten percent of the amount of wages
recovered.
It shall be unlawful for any person to demand or
accept, in any judicial or administrative proceedings
for the recovery of wages, attorney’s fees which
exceed ten percent of the amount of wages
recovered. (not limited to case of wage recovery)
6
 Art. 218. Powers of the Commission. The
Commission shall have the power and authority:
The National Labor Relations
Commission exercises two (2) kinds 1. To promulgate rules and regulations
of jurisdiction: (1) Original governing the hearing and disposition of
cases……………..
jurisdiction; and (2) Exclusive 2. To administer oaths, summon the parties to
appellate jurisdiction a controversy, issue subpoenas requiring
the attendance and testimony of witnesses
or the production of such books, papers,
contracts, records, statement of accounts,
Original jurisdiction:
agreements, and others as may be material
Injunction in ordinary labor disputes to enjoin or
to a just determination of the matter under
restrain any actual or threatened commission of
investigation, and to testify in any
any or all prohibited or unlawful acts or to require
investigation or hearing conducted in
the performance of a particular act in any labor
pursuance of this Code;
dispute which, if not restrained or performed
forthwith, may cause grave or irreparable damage
3. To conduct investigation for the
to any party;
determination of a question, matter or
Injunction in strikes or lockouts under Article 264 of
controversy within its jurisdiction, proceed to
the Labor Code; and
hear and determine the disputes in the
Certified labor disputes causing or likely to cause a
absence of any party thereto who has been
strike or lockout in an industry indispensable to the
summoned or served with notice to
national interest, certified to it by the Secretary of
appear………….
Labor and Employment for compulsory arbitration.
4. To enjoin or restrain any actual or
Exclusive appellate jurisdiction:
threatened commission of any or all
All cases decided by the Labor Arbiters including
prohibited or unlawful acts or to require the
contempt cases; and
performance of a particular act in any labor
Cases decided by the DOLE Regional Directors or
dispute which, if not restrained or performed
his duly authorized Hearing Officers (under Article
forthwith, may cause grave or irreparable
129) involving recovery of wages, simple money
damage to any party or render ineffectual
claims and other benefits not exceeding P5,000
any decision in favor of such party:
and not accompanied by claim for reinstatement.
Provided, That no temporary or permanent
injunction in any case involving or growing
out of a labor dispute as defined in this
Other cases that may be decided by Code shall be issued except after hearing
NLRC the testimony of witnesses, with opportunity
for cross-examination, in support of the
SOL Power to assume jurisdiction and certificate allegations of a complaint made under oath,
the case to NLRC for compulsory arbitration and testimony in opposition thereto, if
When, in his opinion, there exists a labor dispute offered, and only after a finding of fact by
causing or likely to cause a strike or lockout in an the Commission, to the effect:
industry indispensable to the national interest, the
Secretary of Labor and Employment may assume
jurisdiction over the dispute and decide it or certify
the same to the Commission for compulsory Allocation of Powers between NLRC
arbitration. EN BANC AND ITS DIVISIONS
Note: Jurisdiction over termination disputes
belongs to Labor Arbiters and not with the
The commission shall sit en banc only for
grievance machinery or Voluntary Arbitrator. Under
purposes of promulgating rules and regulations
Article 262, the Voluntary Arbitrator may assume
governing the hearing and disposition of cases
jurisdiction only when agreed upon by the parties.
before its division and regional branches and
Policy Instructions No. 56 issued by DOLE
formulating policies affecting its administration and
Secretary Confesor clarifying the jurisdiction of
operations.
Labor Arbiters and Voluntary Arbitrations does not
The NLRC shall exercise its adjudicatory and all
apply. It reiterated the ruling that dismissal is not a
other powers functions and duties through its
grievable issue.
divisions.
7

Compare: What are the cases that must be
resolved by the Supreme Court en banc?
(2) All cases involving the constitutionality of a
treaty, international or executive agreement, or law,
which shall be heard by the Supreme Court en
banc, and all other cases which under the Rules of
Court are required to be heard en banc, including
those involving the constitutionality, application, or
operation of .
There are four (4) grounds for appeal
to wit:
1. If there is prima facie evidence of abuse of
discretion on the part of the Labor Arbiter;
2. If the decision, order or award was secured
through fraud or coercion, including graft
and corruption;
3. If made purely on questions of law; and
4. If serious errors in the findings of facts are
raised which would cause grave or
irreparable damage or injury to the
appellant.
Requisites for appeal –
The appeal shall be:
(1) filed within the reglementary period
provided in Section 1 of the Rule; TEN
DAYS FROM RECEIPT OF DECISION-
CALENDAR DAYS HOLIDAY, SATURDAY
AND SUNDAY INCLUDED
(2) verified by the appellant himself/herself
in accordance with Section 4, Rule 7 of the
Rules of Court, as amended;
(3) in the form of a memorandum of appeal
which shall state the grounds relied upon
and the arguments in support thereof, the
relief prayed for, and with a statement of the
date the appellant received the appealed
decision, award or order;
(4) in three (3) legibly typewritten or printed
copies; and
(5) accompanied by proof of payment of the
required appeal fee and legal research fee,
posting of a cash or surety bond as
provided in Section 6 of this Rule, and proof
of service upon the other parties.
APPEAL FEE AND POSTING OF
BOND
Acda vs. Minister of Labor – appeal fee is by no
means a mere technicality but is an essential
requirement in the perfection of an appeal. Where
the fee is paid belatedly, the broader interest of
justice and the desired objective in deciding case
on the merits demand that the appeal be given due
course (appeal fee I think is P500.00 irrespective of
monetary award)
See Sameer Overseas Placement Agency v.
Levantino and Computer Innovations Center vs.
NLRC
Bond – Mandatory to be posted within the period of
ten days from receipt of decision.
Cash bond
Surety bond – premium to be paid to insurance
company to be renewed every year until the case is
disposed otherwise there is no existing valid bond
BOND compare DOLE AND NLRC
Secretary of Labor vs. Panay Veteran’s Security
and Investigation Agency , G. R. No. 167708,
August 22, 2008 ;
Yanson et al vs. SOLE G. R. No. 159026
– Reduction of Bond not allowed on appeal to the
DOLE
Garcia et al. vs. KJ Commercial et al G.R. No.
196830 February 29, 2012 – Reduction of Bond
allowed on Appeal to NLRC on meritorious
grounds
AMOUNT OF BOND EXCLUDES MORAL AND
EXEMPLARY DAMAGES AND ATTORNEY’S
FEES
REDUCTION OF BOND –
No motion for reduction of bond shall be
entertained except on meritorious grounds and only
upon posting of a bond in a reasonable amount in
relation to the monetary award.
SOME PROBLEMS PAG NAPILDI SA LABOR
ARBITER……PAIT PAIT GYUD
Party is given only a period of ten days to produce
that bond.
Possible problem: for example the monetary award
is P100,000,00.00. The respondent company shall
post this amount (kay equivalent to monetary award
man) . Hurot savings as a company.
8
Surety bond – an insurance company will require
the payment of premium (I think 10%) and will
require collateral like manager’s check etc. that
covers the entire amount….
Motion to reduce bond - Macburnie
vs. Guazon et al. G.R. No. 178034
(2013) en banc
Mcburnie v Gauzon et al. G.R. No. 178034 (2013)
En banc
Meritorious ground as a condition
for the reduction of the appeal bond
The requirement on the existence of a "meritorious
ground" delves on the worth of the parties’
arguments, taking into account their respective
rights and the circumstances that attend the case.
…..subject to the sound discretion of the NLRC
upon a showing of meritorious grounds.“
By jurisprudence, the merit referred to may pertain
to an appellant’s lack of financial capability to pay
the full amount of the bond,97 the merits of the
main appeal such as when there is a valid claim
that there was no illegal dismissal to justify the
award,98 the absence of an employer-employee
relationship,99 prescription of claims,100 and other
similarly valid issues that are raised in the
appeal.101 For the purpose of determining a
"meritorious ground", the NLRC is not precluded
from receiving evidence, or from making a
preliminary determination of the merits of the
appellant’s contentions.102
Per Mcburnie case, the following
guidelines shall be observed for
reduction of bond
a) The filing a motion to reduce appeal bond shall
be entertained by the NLRC subject to the following
conditions: (1) there is meritorious ground; and (2)
a bond in a reasonable amount is posted;
(b) For purposes of compliance with condition no.
(2), a motion shall be accompanied by the posting o
a provisional cash or surety bond equivalent to ten
percent (10,) of the monetary award subject to the
appeal, exclusive o damages and attorney's fees;
(c) Compliance with the foregoing conditions shall
suffice to suspend the running o the 1 0-day
reglementary period to perfect an appeal from the
labor arbiter's decision to the NLRC;
(d) The NLRC retains its authority and duty to
resolve the motion to reduce bond and determine
the final amount o bond that shall be posted by the
appellant, still in accordance with the standards of
meritorious grounds and reasonable amount; and
(e) In the event that the NLRC denies the motion to
reduce bond, or requires a bond that exceeds the
amount o the provisional bond, the appellant shall
be given a fresh period of ten 1 0) days from notice
o the NLRC order within which to perfect the appeal
by posting the required appeal bond.
2. Execution pending appeal
Reinstatement pending appeal - If reinstatement is
ordered by the Labor Arbiter in an illegal dismissal
case, it is immediately executory even pending
appeal. Such an award does not require a writ of
execution.
In case the decision includes an order of
reinstatement and the employer disobeys it or
refuses to reinstate the dismissed employee, the
Labor Arbiter should immediately issue a writ of
execution, even pending appeal, directing the
employer to immediately reinstate the dismissed
employee either physically or in the payroll, and to
pay the accrued salaries as a consequence of such
reinstatement at the rate specified in the decision
3. An award or order of reinstatement
is self-executory
An award or order of reinstatement is self-
executory and, therefore, does not require a writ of
execution to implement and enforce it. To require
the application for and issuance of a writ of
execution as prerequisite for the execution of a
reinstatement award would certainly betray and run
counter to the very object and intent of Article 223,
i.e., the immediate execution of a reinstatement
order. The reason is simple. An application for a
writ of execution and its issuance could be delayed
for numerous reasons. A mere continuance or
postponement of a scheduled hearing, for instance,
or an inaction on the part of the Labor Arbiter or the
NLRC, could easily delay the issuance of the writ
thereby setting at naught the strict mandate and
noble purpose envisioned by Article 223.
9
4.EVIDENCE SUBMITTED FOR THE
FIRST TIME ON APPEAL
Technical rules are not binding in labor cases.
Labor Officials should use every reasonable
means to ascertain the facts in each case speedily
and objectively without regard to technicalities of
law or procedure all in the interest of due process.
(PTT VS. NLRC 1990)
But in WILGEN LOON, et al. vs. POWER MASTER
ET AL. G. R. No. 189404, December 11, 2013, it
was ruled that
A party may only adduce evidence for the first time
on appeal if he adequately explains his delay in the
submission of evidence and he sufficiently proves
the allegations sought to be proven
5.APPEAL FROM THE NLRC AFTER
DENIAL OF MOTION FOR
RECONSIDERATION
Go to CA using Rule 65 or Petition for Certiorari on
the ground of grave abuse of discretion amounting
to lack of jurisdiction within a period of 60 days from
receipt of Decision of NLRC.
TAKE NOTE: NLRC DECISION BECOMES FINAL
AND EXECUTORY AFTER TEN DAYS FROM
RECEIPT. FINAL NA ANG DECISION SA NLRC.
PWEDE NA IPA EXECUTIVE ANG JUDGMENT
SA LA OR NLRC UNLESS A TRO IS ISSUED BY
CA
PETITION FOR CERTIORARI NOT BARRED BY
FINALITY OF JUDGMENT
NLRC will issue an Entry of Judgment after the
lapse of ten days from the parties’ receipt of
decision. It will not prevent CA from taking
cognizance of the Petition for Certiorari. Decision
of CA may be elevated to SC by way of Rule 45
(Petition for Review on Certiorari.)
CERTIFICATE OF NON-FORUM
SHOPPING
Forum shopping is the act or attempt to present the
same dispute to different adjudicators in the hope
of securing a favorable ruling. It is scouting for a
most sympathetic ear. It is not allowed because it
mocks the basic tenet that one dispute ought to be
litigated only once in only one forum.
SANTOS V. CA, PEPSI COLA (2001)
Certification must be signed by the petitioner and
not by counsel.
EXECUTION OF DECISIONS,
ORDERS OR AWARDS
From the internet: Execution refers to an official
document that directs a sheriff to take possession
of a judgment debtor's property so that it either (a)
may be turned over to the judgment creditor or (b)
may be sold at public sale so that the proceeds
may be turned over to the judgment creditor.
SEE NLRC RULES OF PROCEDURE
UNDER ART 230. A WRIT OF EXECUTION MAY
BE ISSUED BY: SOL, DOLE REGIONAL
DIRECTOR, NLRC, LA, MEDARNITER, VA OR
PANEL OF VA
EXECUTION IS DONE THROUGH REGULAR OR
SPECIAL SHERIFF.
JUDGMENT BECOMES FINAL BY
OPERATION OF LAW
A judgment that lapses into finality becomes
immutable and unalterable. It can neither be
modified nor disturbed by courts in any manner
even if the purpose of the modification is to correct
perceived errors of fact or law. Parties cannot
circumvent this principle by assailing the execution
of the judgment. What cannot be done directly.
(Mercury Drug Corp et al. vs. Huang et al. G.R. No.
197654, August 30, 2017)
ABBOTT VS. NLRC (1986) – bond is posted by the
company in the amount of the recomputed award.
Supervening event an exception to the immutable
of judgment
What is sought to be reviewed is not the decision
itself but the manner of its execution. The decision
must be enforced in accordance with its terms and
conditions. Any deviation can be the subject of a
proper appeal.
NOTE: PROBLEM MAY OCCUR IN THE
COMPUTATION OF MONETARY AWARD FOR
EXAMPLE IF THE COMPUTATION OF
STATUTORY BENEFITS IS REMANDED TO
LABOR ARBITER.
BEFORE MANGITA UG PROPERTY
ANG SHERIFF OWNED BY COMPANY
Under Article 230 of Labor Code, it shall be the
duty of the responsible officer to separately furnish
immediately the counsels of record and the parties
with copies of decisions, orders or awards. Failure
to comply with the duty prescribed herein shall
10
subject such responsible officer to appropriate
sanctions.
Note: Usually the Sheriff will ask the complainants (
who usually prod the sheriff to enforce the writ) if
they knew what are the properties or bank deposits
owned by the company
Some reasons the sheriff cannot
collect or complainants will hold an
empty victory
1. The company/corporation has been closed. As a
general rule, a corporation has a separate and
distinct personality from those who represent it. Its
officers are solidarily liable only when exceptional
circumstances exist, such as cases enumerated in
Section 31 of the Corporation Code.2The liability of
the officers must be proven by evidence sufficient
to overcome the burden of proof borne by the
plaintiff. (Pioneer Insurance Surety Corp. vs.
Morning Star Travel and Tours, et al. GR No.
198436)
2. Employer is dead. In Quintin Robledo et al. vs.
NLRC, G.R. No. 110358, Nov. 9, 1994, it was ruled
that pursuant to the Rules of Court, all claims for
money against the decedent, arising from contract,
express or implied, whether the same be due, not
due, or contingent, all claims for funeral expenses
and expenses for the last sickness of the decedent,
and judgment for money against the decedent,
must be filed within the time limited in the notice;
otherwise they are barred forever, except that they
may be set forth as counterclaims in any action that
the executor or administrator may bring against the
claimants . . . The rationale for the rule is that upon
the death of the defendant, a testate or intestate
proceeding shall be instituted in the proper court
wherein all his creditors must appear and file their
claims which shall be paid proportionately out of the
property left by the deceased.
PROBLEM: WHAT IF THERE IS NOT ESTATE
PROCEEDINGS THAT WILL BE FILED BY THE
HEIRS, WHO WILL INITIATE. THERE ARE FILING
FEES TO BE PAID….
Remedies of third party claimant
Execution extends only to properties owned by
judgment debtors. If the property under levy does
not belong to judgment debtor, third party may avail
of the following remedies:
1) file a third-party claim with the sheriff or LA
2) if the claim is denied, third party may appeal
denial to NLRC
3) third-party may file a proper action with a
competent court to recover ownership of property
illegally seized by the sheriff. (YUPANGCO
COTTON MILLS VS. CA (2002). THIS IS AN
EXCEPTION TO THE RULE THAT RTC CANNOT
ENJOIN NLRC SINCE THE COURT ISSUED A
WRIT OF PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION WAS
ISSUED AGAINST THE SHERIFF.
Other powers: May an injunction be
issued in strike or lock out?
As a general rule, strikes and lockouts are validly
declared, enjoy the protection of law and cannot be
enjoined unless illegal acts are committed or
threatened to be committed in the course of such
strikes or lockouts. Ordinarily, the law vests in the
NLRC the authority to issue injunctions to restrain
the commission of illegal acts during the strikes and
pickets. This policy applies even if the strike
appears to be illegal in nature. The rationale for this
policy is the protection extended to the right to
strike under the constitution and the law. It is
basically treated as a weapon that the law
guarantees to employees for the advancement of
their interest and for their protection.
INJUNCTION IN ORDINARY LABOR
DISPUTES
SECTION 1. INJUNCTION IN ORDINARY LABOR
DISPUTES. – A preliminary injunction or restraining
order may be granted by the Commission through
its Divisions pursuant to the provisions of
paragraph (e) of Article 218 (now 225) of the Labor
Code, as amended, when it is established on the
basis of the sworn allegations in the petition that
the acts complained of involving or arising from any
labor dispute before the Commission, which, if not
restrained or performed forthwith, may cause grave
or irreparable damage to any party or render
ineffectual any decision in favor of such party.
INJUNCTION IN STRIKES OR
LOCKOUTS
– A preliminary or permanent injunction may be
granted by the Commission only after hearing the
testimony of witnesses and with opportunity for
cross-examination in support of the allegations of
11
the complaint or petition….. after a finding of fact by
the Commission: (a) That prohibited or unlawful
acts have been threatened and will be committed
and will be continued unless restrained, but no
injunction or temporary restraining order shall be
issued on account of any threat, prohibited or
unlawful act, except against the person or persons,
association or organization making the threat or
committing the prohibited or unlawful act or actually
authorizing or ratifying the same after actual
knowledge thereof; (b) That substantial and
irreparable injury to petitioner's property will follow;
(c) That as to each item of relief to be granted,
greater injury will be inflicted upon the petitioner by
the denial of relief than will be inflicted upon
respondents by the granting of relief;
HEARING AND SUBMISSION OF
EVIDENCE
HEARING; NOTICE THEREOF. – Hearings shall
be held after due and personal notice thereof has
been served, in such manner as the Commission
shall direct, to all known persons against whom
relief is sought, and also to the Chief Executive and
other public officials of the province or city within
which the unlawful acts have been threatened or
committed charged with the duty to protect
petitioner's property. SECTION 4. RECEPTION OF
EVIDENCE; DELEGATION. – The reception of
evidence for the application of a writ of injunction
may be delegated by the Commission to any of its
Labor Arbiters who shall conduct such hearings in
such places as he/she may determine to be
accessible to the parties and their witnesses, and
shall thereafter submit his/her report and
recommendation to the Commission within fifteen
(15) days from such delegation.
Petition for extraordinary remedies
The petition filed under this Rule may be
entertained only on any of the following grounds:
(a) if there is prima facie evidence of abuse of
discretion on the part of the Labor Arbiter; (b) if
serious errors in the findings of facts are raised
which, if not corrected, would cause grave or
irreparable damage or injury to the petitioner; (c) if
a party by fraud, accident, mistake or excusable
negligence has been prevented from taking an
appeal; (d) if made purely on questions of law; or
(e) if the order or resolution will cause injustice if
not rectified.
JANUARY 5 LECTURES
JURISDICTION OF LABOR ARBITER
– PART 2
•Powers : ADJUDICATORY, CONTEMPT POWER
AND POWER TO CONDUCT OCULAR
INSPECTION. (No power to issue injunction; it
belongs to NLRC)
•Strikes or lock-out cases belongs to LA but the
SOL OR THE PRESIDENT may exercise power
under the Labor Code and assume jurisdiction over
national interest cases and decide them himself.
•Money claims – but if it involves interpretation or
implementation of company policies or CBA while
the case involves money claim, the same shall be
under the jurisdiction of VOLUNTARY
ARBTRATOR.
LAWS CONFERRING JURISDICTION
ON LABOR ARBITERS
Article 224 – Original and exclusive jurisdiction of
Labor Arbiters
Article 124 – wage distortion in an unorganized
establishments
Article 128 (b) – contested cases “EXCEPT IN
CASES WHERE THE EMPLOYER CONTESTS
THE FINDINGS OF THE LABOR EMPLOYMENT
AND ENFORCEMENT OFFICER AND RAISES
THE ISSUES SUPPORTED BY DOCUMENTS
WHICH WERE NOT CONSIDERED IN THE
COURSE OF INSPECTION (as amended by RA
7730)
Article 233 – Enforcement of compromise
agreements when there is non-compliance by any
of the parties thereto.
Article 276 of the Labor Code – issuance of writ of
execution to enforce decision of VA in case of their
absence or incapacity for any reason.
RA 8042 as amended by RA 10022 – Money
claims arising out of employer-employee
relationships involving OFW including claims for
death and disability benefits and for actual, moral,
exemplary and other forms of damages.
JURISDICTION OVER ULP CASES
Article 258 – ULP has two aspects: civil and
criminal. Only the civil aspect which may include
claims for actual, moral, exemplary and other forms
of damages which shall be decided by the LA.
It is a pre-requisites that there is no criminal
prosecution for ULP without final judgment finding
ULP by the LA.
12
Violation of CBA which is gross in character is
considered ULP. Requisites for ULP to be
cognizable by the LA (Silva vs NLRC, June 19,
1997): 1) GROSS VIOLATION OF CBA and 2)
VIOLATION PERTAINS TO THE ECONOMIC
PROVISIONS OF THE CBA.
JURISDICTION OVER ILLEGAL
DISMISSAL CASES
Termination of employment is not a grievable issue
that must be submitted to GM or VA. Jurisdiction
remains with LA (Maneja vs. NLRC (1998).
Even if the CBA provides the termination disputes
are grievable, the same is merely discretionary on
the part of the parties thereto (SMC vs. NLRC, GR
108001, 1996)
Once there is actual termination, jurisdiction is
conferred upon LA by operation of law (Atlas Farms
vs. Nlrc, 2002)
Article 224 (jurisdiction of LA) is deemed written
into the CBA (Landtex Industries vs. CA , 2007)
VA will only have jurisdiction over illegal dismissal
cases when there is express agreement of the
parties in the CBA – to submit the termination case
to VA. (Negros Metal Corp vs. Lamayo, August 25,
2010)
JURISDICTION OVER MONEY
CLAIMS
All money claims, regardless of amount,
accompanied with a claim for reinstatement .
Any money claim regardless of whether
accompanied with a claim for reinstatement,
exceeding the amount of P5K per claimant.
Note: If the amount does not exceed P5K, is the
Regional Director of DOLE who has jurisdiction to
take cognizance of the case.
Money claim is limited only to those arising from
statutes or contracts other than a CBA or company
personnel policies
Claims for notarial fees by a lawyer employed by a
company is within the jurisdiction of LA (Air Material
Wing Savings and Loan Association vs NLRC,
1994)
JURISDICTION OVER CLAIMS FOR
DAMAGES
1)No matter how designated, for as long as the
action primarily involves an employer-employee
relationship, the labor court has jurisdiction over
any damage claims. (Rodriguez vs. Aguilar, (2005)
2) OFW – Claim for damages. RA 8042
3) PORTILLO vs. .RUDOLF LIETZ, INC, et al. G.R.
No. 196539 October 10, 2012 - The Court,
therefore, believes and so holds that the "money
claims of workers" referred to in paragraph 3 of
Article 217 embraces money claims which arise out
of or in connection with the employer-employee
relationship, or some aspect or incident of such
relationship. Put a little differently, that money
claims of workers which now fall within the original
and exclusive jurisdiction of Labor Arbiters are
those money claims which have some reasonable
causal connection with the employer-employee
relationship.21 (Emphasis supplied)
We thereafter ruled that the "reasonable causal
connection with the employer-employee
relationship" is a requirement not only in
employees’ money claims against the employer but
is, likewise, a condition when the claimant is the
employer.
JURISDICTION OVER DAMAGES
Post-employment relationship – Regular courts and
not Labor Arbiter “In Dai-Chi Electronics
Manufacturing Corporation v. Villarama, Jr.,22
which reiterated the San Miguel ruling and allied
jurisprudence, we pronounced that a non-compete
clause, as in the "Goodwill Clause" referred to in
the present case, with a stipulation that a violation
thereof makes the employee liable to his former
employer for liquidated damages, refers to post-
employment relations of the parties.”
Article 224 of Labor Code on
damages– “It is evident that there is a
unifying element which runs through
paragraph 1 to 5 and that is, that they
all refer to cases or disputes arising
out of or in connection with an
employer-employee relationship.”
San Miguel Corporation v. National Labor Relations
Commission - While paragraph 3 above refers to
"all money claims of workers," it is not necessary to
suppose that the entire universe of money claims
that might be asserted by workers against their
employers has been absorbed into the original and
exclusive jurisdiction of Labor Arbiters. In the first
place, paragraph 3 should be read not in isolation
from but rather within the context formed by
paragraph 1 (relating to unfair labor practices),
paragraph 2 (relating to claims concerning terms
and conditions of employment), paragraph 4
(claims relating to household services, a particular
species of employer-employee relations), and
13
paragraph 5 (relating to certain activities prohibited
to employees or to employers). It is evident that
there is a unifying element which runs through
paragraph 1 to 5 and that is, that they all refer to
cases or disputes arising out of or in connection
with an employer-employee relationship. This is, in
other words, a situation where the rule of noscitur a
sociis may be usefully invoked in clarifying the
scope of paragraph 3, and any other paragraph of
Article 217 of the Labor Code, as amended. Xxx
For it cannot be presumed that money claims of
workers which do not arise out of or in connection
with their employer-employee relationship, and
which would therefore fall within the general
jurisdiction of regular courts of justice, were
intended by the legislative authority to be taken
away from the jurisdiction of the courts and lodged
with Labor Arbiters on an exclusive basis
JURISDICTIONAL INTERPLAY in
strike or lockout
1. Filing of a notice of strike or lockout with NCMB
2. Filing of a complaint to declare strike or lockout
illegal with the Labor Arbiter .
3. Filing of a petition for injunction – NLRC
(Commission)
4. Assumption of jurisdiction – DOLE Secretary
JURISDICTION OVER MONEY
CLAIMS OF OFW
1. Labor Arbiter pursuant to RA 8042
2. If there is a CBA between the foreign employer
and the bargaining union of the OFW, the
jurisdiction over monetary claims is vested in the
Voluntary Arbitrator and not in the Labor Arbiter
(Ace Navigation vs. Fernandez (2012)
JURISDICTION OF LABOR ARBITER
OVER DISPUTES INVOLVING
PRIESTS AND MINISTERS
PASTOR DIONISIO V. AUSTRIA VS. NLRC. GR
NO. 196539, October 10, 2012
The case at bar does not concern an ecclesiastical
or purely religious affair as to bar the State from
taking cognizance of the same. An ecclesiastical
affair is "one that concerns doctrine, creed, or form
of worship of the church, or the adoption and
enforcement within a religious association of
needful laws and regulations for the government of
the membership, and the power of excluding from
such associations those deemed unworthy of
membership.21 An ecclesiastical affair involves the
relationship between the church and its members
and relate to matters of faith, religious doctrines,
worship and governance of the congregation. To be
concrete, examples of this so-called ecclesiastical
affairs to which the State cannot meddle are
proceedings for excommunication, ordinations of
religious ministers, administration of sacraments
and other activities with attached religious
significance. The case at bar does not even
remotely concern any of the above cited examples.
While the matter at hand relates to the church and
its religious minister it does not ipso facto give the
case a religious significance. Simply stated, what is
involved here is the relationship of the church as an
employer and the minister as an employee. It is
purely secular and has no relation whatsoever with
the practice of faith, worship or doctrines of the
church. In this case, the petitioner was not ex-
communicated or expelled from the membership of
the SDA but was terminated from employment. .
OTHER CASES OVER WHICH LABOR
ARBITERS HAVE NO JURISDICTION
1. Claims for damages arising from breach of non-
compete clause and other post-employment
damages
2. Claims for payment of cash advances, car,
appliance and other loans of employees (THE
PRINCIPAL RELIEF SOUGHT IS TO BE
RESOLVED NOT BY REFERENCE TO THE
LABOR CODE OR CBA BUT BY GENERAL CIVIL
LAW)
3. Cases involving entities immune from suit
4. Quasi-delict or tort cases
LABOR ARBITER HAS NO
JURISDICTION INVOLVING ENTITIES
IMMUNE FROM SUIT
1) Illegal dismissal cases filed against Asian
Development Bank. The Charter and the
Headquarters agreement granting these immunities
and privileges to ADB are treaty covenants and
commitments voluntarily assumed by the Philippine
Government which must be respected.
2) Illegal dismissal case of Filipino employee of
Joint United States Military Assistance Group to the
Republic of the Philippines (JUSMAG-Philippines).
The employment contract was entered into by
14
Jusmag in the discharge of its governmental
functions.
3) Exception: case for illegal dismissal filed by a
Filipino who worked in a restaurant as cook at John
Hay Air Station undertaken by the United States
Government as a commercial activity for profit.
REASON: in entering into the employment contract
with the cook in the discharge of its proprietary
functions, it impliedly divested itself of its sovereign
immunity from suit. (US vs. Rodrigo (1990)
DOCTRINE OF FORUM NON-
CONVENIENS
Definition: The doctrine of forum non conveniens,
literally meaning ‘the forum is inconvenient’,
emerged in private international law to deter the
practice of global forum shopping, that is to prevent
non-resident litigants from choosing the forum or
place wherein to bring their suit for malicious
reasons, such as to secure procedural advantages,
to annoy and harass the defendant, to avoid
overcrowded dockets, or to select a more friendly
venue. Under this doctrine, a court, in conflicts of
law cases, may refuse impositions on its jurisdiction
where it is not the most "convenient" or available
forum and the parties are not precluded from
seeking remedies elsewhere.
CONTINENTAL MICRONESIA, INC., vs. JOSEPH
BASSO, Sept. 23, 2015
Under the doctrine of forum non conveniens, a
Philippine court in a conflict-of-laws case may
assume jurisdiction if it chooses to do so, provided,
that the following requisites are met: (1) that the
Philippine Court is one to which the parties may
conveniently resort to; (2) that the Philippine Court
is in a position to make an intelligent decision as to
the law and the facts; and (3) that the Philippine
Court has or is likely to have power to enforce its
decision.46 All these requisites are present here
JANUARY 6 LECTURES
CASES THAT FALL UNDER THE
JURISDICTION OF THE BUREAU OF
LABOR RELATIONS
JURISDICTION AND FUNCTIONS
1. Union Matters (inter-union and intra-union
disputes – SEE DEFINITION IN DO 40-03)
2. Collective Bargaining registry
3. Labor Education
EO No. 292, Section 16. BLR shall set policies,
standards and procedures
A) on the registration and supervision of legitimate
labor union activities including denial, cancellation
and revocation of labor union permits;
B) relating to CBA and examination of financial
records of accounts of labor organizations to
determine compliance with relevant laws.
At the regional office level, functions
of BLR are done by:
"Mediator-Arbiter" refers to an officer in the
Regional Office or in the Bureau authorized to hear
and decide representation cases, inter/intra-union
disputes and other related labor relations disputes,
except cancellation of union registration cases.
“Labor Relations Division” refers to the (1) Labor
Organization and CBA Registration Unit and (2)
Med-Arbitration Unit in the Regional Office. The
Labor Organization and CBA Registration Unit is in
charge of processing the applications for
registration of independent unions, chartered
locals, workers associations and collective
bargaining agreements, maintaining said records
and all other reports and incidents pertaining to
labor organizations and workers’ associations. The
MedArbitration Unit conducts hearings and decides
certification election or representation cases,
inter/intra-union and other related labor relations
disputes.
ROLE OF THE DOLE REGIONAL
DIRECTOR IN UNION MATTERS
Take note that the Mediator-Arbiter holds office in
the Regional Office of DOLE.
ORIGINAL AND EXCLUSIVE JURISDICTION OF
DIRECTOR:
A) Union registration-related cases such as (A)
application for union registration of independent
unions; local chapters and workers’ association; (B)
Denial of the said applications; (C) Petition for
revocation or cancellation of registration of said
unions.
B)Visitorial cases under Article 289 involving
examination of books of accounts of independent
union, local chapter and workers’ association
Extent of authority
Azucena – may even hold a referendum election
among the members of a union for the purpose of
determining whether or not they desire to be
affiliated with a federation.
15

But BLR has no authority to order a referendum
among union members to decide whether to expel
or suspend union officers.
BLR has no authority to forward a case to the
Trade Union Congress of the Philippines for
arbitration and decision. Certification election is the
fairest and most effective way of determining which
labor organization can truly represent the working
force.
SOME FUNCTIONS OR POWERS
EXECUTED OR PERFORMED BY THE
MEDIATOR-ARBITER (cf RIGHT
UNDER THE CONSTITUTION TO
FORM OR JOIN AN ASSOCIATION)
Registration of Labor Organization (Rule III)
QUESTION: WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF
REGISTRATION
Section 1. Where to file. – Applications for
registration of independent labor unions, chartered
locals, workers’ associations shall be filed with the
Regional Office where the applicant principally
operates. It shall be processed by the Labor
Relations Division at the Regional Office in
accordance with Sections 2-A, 2-C, and 2-E of this
Rule.
Applications for registration of federations, national
unions or workers’ associations operating in more
than one region shall be filed with the Bureau or the
Regional Offices, but shall be processed by the
Bureau in accordance with Sections 2-B and 2-D of
this Rule.
Legitimate Labor Organization and
SEBA (TAKE NOTE OF DISTINCTION)
REQUEST FOR SOLE AND EXCLUSIVE
BARGAINING AGENT (SEBA) CERTIFICATION
RULE VII
Section 1. Where to file. – Any legitimate labor
organization may file a request for SEBA
certification in the Regional Office which issued its
certificate of registration or certificate of creation of
chartered local.
Section 6. Request for certification in organized
establishment. - If the Regional Director finds the
establishment organized, he/she shall refer the
same to the mediator-arbiter for the determination
of the propriety of conducting a certification election
in accordance with Rules VIII and IX of this Rules.
CLEAN, FAIR AND HONEST
ELECTION QUERY: WHAT IS THE
PURPOSE OF CE
CERTIFICATION ELECTION (RULE VIII)
Section 2. Where to file. – A petition for certification
election shall be filed with the Regional Office
which issued the petitioning union’s certificate of
registration …..or certificate of creation of chartered
local. At the option of the petitioner, a petition for
certification election and its supporting documents
may also be filed online. (as amended by D.O. 40-I-
15) The petition shall be heard and resolved by the
Mediator-Arbiter. Where two (2) or more petitions
involving the same bargaining unit are filed in one
(1) Regional Office, the same shall be automatically
consolidated with the Mediator-Arbiter who first
acquired jurisdiction. Where the petitions are filed in
different Regional Offices, the Regional Office in
which the petition was first filed shall exclude all
others; in which case, the latter shall endorse the
petition to the former for consolidation.
HEARINGS DONE BY MED-ARB
Section 6. Notice of preliminary conference. – The
petition shall immediately be transmitted to the
assigned Mediator-Arbiter who shall immediately
prepare and serve a notice of preliminary
conference to be held within ten (10) working days
from the Mediator-Arbiter’s receipt of the petition.
The service of the petition to the employer and of
the notice of preliminary conference to the
petitioner and the incumbent bargaining agent (if
any) shall be made within three (3) working days
from the Mediator-Arbiter’s receipt of the petition.
The service may be made by personal service, by
registered mail or by courier service.
Section 10. Preliminary conference; Hearing. – The
Mediator-Arbiter shall conduct a preliminary
conference and hearing within ten (10) days from
receipt of the petition to determine the following: (a)
the bargaining unit to be represented;
YOUR LIFE DEPENDS ON MED-
ARB…
Section 12. Number of hearings; Pleadings. – If the
contending unions fail to agree to a consent
election during the preliminary conference, the
Mediator-Arbiter may conduct as many hearings…..
Section 14. Order/Decision on the petition. – Within
ten (10) days from the date of the last hearing, the
16
Mediator-Arbiter shall formally issue a ruling
granting or denying the petition….
Section 15. Denial of the petition; Grounds. – The
Mediator-Arbiter may dismiss the petition on any of
the following grounds….
Section 18. Release of Order/Decision within Ten
(10) Days from the Last Hearing. – The Mediator-
Arbiter shall release his/her Order or Decision
granting or denying the petition personally to the
parties within ten (10) days from the last hearing…
ORIGINAL AND EXCLUSIVE
JURISDICTION OF MEDIATOR-
ARBITER
1. Inter-union disputes like Petition for
Certification Election, consent election, run-
off election or re-run election
2. Intra-union disputes
MED-ARBITER – Sir SOL, wala sila
kauyon sa ako decision……
Section 21. Finality of Order/Decision. – Where no
appeal is filed within the ten (10) day period, the
Mediator-Arbiter shall enter the finality of the
Order/Decision in the records of the case and
cause the transmittal of the records of the petition
to the Regional Director.
Section 23. Decision of the Secretary. – The
Secretary shall have fifteen (15) days from receipt
of the entire records of the petition within which to
decide the appeal. The filing of the memorandum of
appeal from the Order or Decision of the Mediator-
Arbiter stays the holding of any certification
election.
ELECTION IS CONDUCTED BY
ELECTION OFFICER….FORMAL TO
BE DECIDED BY MED-ART AND
PROCLAMATION OF WINNER BY
MED-ARB
CONDUCT OF CERTIFICATION ELECTION
(RULE IX)
Section 13. Protest; When Perfected. – Any party-
in-interest may file a protest based on the conduct
or mechanics of the election. Such protests shall be
recorded in the minutes of the election
proceedings.
The protesting party must formalize its protest with
the Mediator-Arbiter, with specific grounds,
arguments and evidence, within five (5) days after
the close of the election proceedings..
Section 21. Proclamation and certification of the
result of the election. – Within twenty-four (24)
hours from final canvass of votes, there being a
valid election, the Election Officer shall transmit the
records of the case to the Mediator-Arbiter who
shall, within the same period from receipt of the
minutes and results of election, issue an Order
proclaiming the results of the election and certifying
the union which obtained a majority of the valid
votes cast as the sole and exclusive bargaining
agent in the subject bargaining unit……….
ORIGINAL AND EXCLUSIVE
JURISDICTION OF BLR DIRECTOR
TWO KINDS OF JURISDICTION: APPELLATE
AND ORIGINAL
1)ORIGINAL JURISDICTION:
A) COMPLAINTS AND PETITIONS INVOLVING
THE APPLICATION FOR REGISTRATION,
REVOCATION AND CANCELLATION OF
REGISTRATION OF FEDERATION, NATIONAL
UNIONS, INDUSTRY UNIONS.
B) REQUEST FOR EXAMINATION OF BOOKS OF
ACCOUNTS OF SAID FEDERATIONS, ETC.
C) INTRA-UNION DISPUTES OF SAID
FEDERATIONS
APPEAL OF DECISION OF BLR (ORIGINAL) TO
SECRETARY OF LABOR
2) APPELLATE JURISDICTION:
A) OVER DECISIONS RENDERED BY THE MED-
ARBITER. NOTE: BLR APPELLATE DECISION IS
NOT APPEALABLE TO SECRETARY OF LABOR.
APPEALS FROM DOLE REGIONAL
DIRECTOR
To BLR DIRECTOR :
A) visitorial cases under Art. 289 involving
examination of books of accounts of union, etc.
B) denial of registration, cancellation of registration
C) notice of merger, consolidation, affiliation and
change of name of local unions and petition for
denial thereof.
To SECRETARY OF LABOR:
Visitorial and enforcement cases under Art. 128
and 37;
Occupational safety and health violations.
REGISTRATION OF UNIONS AND
CBA (Art. 237)
The Bureau shall keep a registry of legitimate labor
organizations.
17
The Bureau shall also maintain a file of all collective
bargaining agreements and other related
agreements and records of settlement of labor
disputes and copies of orders and decisions of
voluntary arbitrators. The file shall be open and
accessible to interested parties under conditions
prescribed by the Secretary of Labor and
Employment, provided that no specific information
submitted in confidence shall be disclosed unless
authorized by the Secretary, or when it is at issue in
any judicial litigation, or when public interest or
national security so requires.
Within thirty (30) days from the execution of a
Collective Bargaining Agreement, the parties shall
submit copies of the same directly to the Bureau or
the Regional Offices of the Department of Labor
and Employment for registration, accompanied with
verified proofs of its posting in two conspicuous
places in the place of work and ratification by the
majority of all the workers in the bargaining unit.
The Bureau or Regional Offices shall act upon the
application for registration of such Collective
Bargaining Agreement within five (5) calendar days
from receipt thereof. The Regional Offices shall
furnish the Bureau with a copy of the Collective
Bargaining Agreement within five (5) days from its
submission.
COMPROMISE AGREEMENT
To be valid and binding, it must be voluntarily
agreed upon with the assistance of the BLR or
regional office of DOLE.
NLRC may assume jurisdiction in case of non-
compliance or if there is prima facie evidence that
the evidence was obtained through fraud,
misrepresentation, or coercion.
Read all cases on the Compromise Agreement
discussed by Azucena.
Union or any representative must be expressly
authorized to waive money claims, reinstatement
since it is personal to the workers.
Waiver signed before Labor Attache
She also accepted the amount of P35,000.00 as
financial assistance.The affidavit of waiver and the
settlement were acknowledged/subscribed before
Labor Attache Romulo on August 6, 2009, and duly
authenticated by the Philippine Consulate. An
affidavit of waiver duly acknowledged before a
notary public is a public document which cannot be
impugned by mere self-serving allegations.27 Proof
of an irregularity in its execution is absolutely
essential. ……Besides, "[t]he Court has ruled that a
waiver or quitclaim is a valid and binding
agreement between the parties, provided that it
constitutes a credible and reasonable settlement,
and that the one accomplishing it has done so
voluntarily and with a full understanding of its
import."29 Absent any extant and clear proof of the
alleged coercion and threats Iladan allegedly
received from respondents that led her to terminate
her employment relations with respondents, it can
be concluded that Iladan resigned
voluntarily.LORELEI O. ILADAN v. LA SUERTE
INTERNATIONAL MANPOWER AGENCY ET AL.
GR NO. 203882, January 11, 2016
CORAZON PERIQUET vs. NLRC, ET
AL. (June 22, 1990)
(Ponente: Justice Isagani Cruz)
It is said that a woman has the privilege of
changing her mind but this is usually allowed only
in affairs of the heart where the rules are
permissibly inconstant. In the case before us,
Corazon Periquet, the herein petitioner, exercised
this privilege in connection with her work, where the
rules are not as fickle.
Not all waivers and quitclaims are invalid as against
public policy. If the agreement was voluntarily
entered into and represents a reasonable
settlement, it is binding on the parties and may not
later be disowned simply because of a change of
mind. It is only where there is clear proof that the
waiver was wangled from an unsuspecting or
gullible person, or the terms of settlement are
unconscionable on its face, that the law will step in
to annul the questionable transaction. But where it
is shown that the person making the waiver did so
voluntarily, with full understanding of what he was
doing, and the consideration for the quitclaim is
credible and reasonable, the transaction must be
recognized as a valid and binding undertaking. As
in this case.
G.R. No. 215627, June 05, 2017 - LUIS
S. DOBLE, JR., Petitioner, v. ABB,
INC./NITIN DESAI.
He received more than that allowed
under the company retirement plan.
On alleged, non-appearance before a
Notary Public, does not render a
private document void…..
18

While "dire necessity" may be an acceptable
ground to annul quitclaims if the consideration is
unconscionably low and the employee was tricked
into accepting it, the same is not an acceptable
ground for annulling the release when it is not
shown that the employee has been forced to
execute it. 54 As aptly pointed out by the NLRC,
Doble is a Vice-President of the company, a highly
educated person, i.e., a duly-licensed engineer,
who had worked with the company for almost 19
years, and the benefits he received from his
resignation in the total amount of P2,815,222.07
are undisputedly more than that allowed under the
company retirement plan. As a person of high
educational attainment and managerial
employment stature, Doble is expected to know the
import of everything he executes,55 and cannot be
easily duped into signing a quitclaim against his
will.
There is also no merit in Doble's contention that the
Receipt, Release and Quitclaim is void because it
was made to appear that he appeared before a
notary public on April 10, 2012 when in fact he
already filed an illegal dismissal complaint on
March 26, 2012. Regardless of the fact that it was
improperly notarized, the said quitclaim is a valid
and binding contract between him and ABB, Inc.,
since the authenticity and due execution thereof is
undisputed. Such lack of proper notarization does
not render a private document void or without legal
effect, but merely exposed the notary public to
prosecution for possible violation of notarial laws,
as well as the one who caused the same for
falsification of a public document.
January 13 Lectures
REGISTRATION OF UNION AND
CANCELLATION OF CERTIFICATE
OF REGISTRATION –Art. 240, Title IV
Chapter 1
REGISTRATION OF UNION - Under PD 442 of
the Labor Code of the Philippines, as amended, the
DOLE is mandated to process the application for
registration of labor organizations in order for them
to acquire legal personality and to enjoy the rights
given to legitimate labor organizations.
Union registration refers to the process of
determining whether the application for registration
of a labor union organized for collective bargaining
complies with the documentary requirements
prescribed under Rule 3 and 4 of DOLE
Department Order No. 40—03and the rules
implementing Book V of the Labor Code, as
amended.
PURPOSE OF REGISTRATION
PAFLU ET AL. VS. SEC OF LABOR
ET AL. FEBRUARY 27, 1969
THE REQUIREMENT OF
REGISTRATION DOES NOT unduly
curtails the freedom of assembly and
association guaranteed in the Bill of
Rights.
The registration XX XX is not a limitation to the
right of assembly or association, which may be
exercised with or without said registration. 2 The
latter is merely a condition sine qua non for the
acquisition of legal personality by labor
organizations, associations or unions and the
possession of the "rights and privileges granted by
law to legitimate labor organizations". The
Constitution does not guarantee these rights and
privileges, much less said personality, which are
mere statutory creations, for the possession and
exercise of which registration is required to protect
both labor and the public against abuses, fraud, or
impostors who pose as organizers, although not
truly accredited agents of the union they purport to
represent. Such a requirement is a valid exercise of
the police power, because the activities in which
labor organizations, associations and unions of
workers are engaged affect public interest, which
should be protected. 3 Furthermore, the obligation
to submit financial statements, as a condition for
the non-cancellation of a certificate of registration,
is a reasonable regulation for the benefit of the
members of the organization, considering that the
same generally solicits funds or membership, as
well as oftentimes collects, on behalf of its
members, huge amounts of money due to them or
to the organization.
Who can apply and who cannot:
● All labor unions whose members are
employed in commercial, industrial and
agricultural enterprises, and employees of
government-owned and controlled
corporations without original charters
established under the Corporation Code,
including religious, charitable, medical or
educational institutions whether operating
19
 for profit or not which exist in whole and in
part for collective bargaining.
● Supervisory employees shall not be eligible
for membership in a rank-and file
employees’ labor union but may form their
separate labor unions.
● Alien employees with valid working permits
issued by DOLE may exercise their right to
self-organization and join or assist labor
unions for purposes of collective bargaining
if they are nationals of a country which
grants the same or similar rights to Filipino
workers, as certified by the Department of
Foreign Affairs.
● Managerial employees shall not be eligible
to form, join or assist any labor union for
purposes of collective bargaining
ROLE OF THE DOLE REGIONAL
DIRECTOR IN REGISTRATION AND
CANCELLATION
ORIGINAL AND EXCLUSIVE
JURISDICTION OF DIRECTOR:
Union registration-related cases such as (A)
application for union registration of
independent unions; local chapters and
workers’ association; (B) Denial of the said
applications; (C) Petition for revocation or
cancellation of registration of said unions.
Note:
On the power of the DOLE Regl Director to
cancel union registration when he was the
one who issued the Certificate of
Registration to the Union.
“A decision that has acquired finality
becomes immutable and unalterable. This
quality of immutability precludes the
modification of a final judgment, even if the
modification is meant to correct erroneous
conclusions of fact and law.
The only exceptions to the rule on the
immutability of final judgments are (1) the
correction of clerical errors, (2) the so-called
nunc pro tunc entries which cause no
prejudice to any party, and (3) void
judgments.”
Requirements for registration
and effect
Article 240 of the Labor Code enumerates
the requirements of registration.
Upon issuance of Certificate of Registration,
the union acquires a legal personality and
shall be entitled to the rights and privileges
granted by law to LLO
Certificate of Registration may be issued to
an independent union or to the local chapter
which was issued a charter certificate by a
federation. The Chapter shall acquire legal
personality only for the purpose of filing a
petition of CE from the date it was issued a
charter certificate. (Art 241).The local
chapter is required to submit confirming
documents to the Regional Office. If
qualified, the chapter shall be entitled to all
other rights and privileges of LLO upon
issuance of CR by DOLE as LLO.
Registration Rationale
Once registered, it has legal personality; it
can file a petition certification election; it can
demand collective bargaining with the
employer; it requests preventive mediation
and it can hold a legal strike.
In PAFLU VD. SOL (1969) – registration is
not a limitation to the right of assembly or
association which may be exercised with or
without registration. Registration is a valid
exercise of the police power because the
activities of the union affect public interest
which should be protected.
Effect of Registration with SEC – as non-
stock corporation; it will acquire juridical
personality before regular courts but does
not grant the rights and privileges of a LLO
Where to register – at the regional office of
DOLE where the applicant principally
operates.
Definition of terms:
Labor Organization (generic term which can
refer to a union or association of employees
20
 registered or not) union or association in the
private sector which exist in whole or in part
for the purpose of COLLECTIVE
BARGAINING OR OF DEALING WITH
EMPLOYERS concerning the terms and
conditions of employment.
Not every union is “legitimate.” Only those
properly registered are considered LLO.
Non-registration does not mean
“illegitimate''; it is simply unregistered and
has no legal personality.
LL0 – refers to a labor organization which
has been issued a Certificate of Registration
Sole and Exclusive Bargaining Agent – LLO
which has been recognized or certified as
the sole agent of the workers in the
bargaining unit.
Bargaining unit – refers to a group of
employees sharing mutual interest within a
given employer unit who shares common
concerns and interest.
COLLECTIVE BARGAINING
AND DEALING WITH EMPLOYER
Both are concerned with the terms and
conditions of employment but in labor
relations these two are not the same.
To bargain collectively – may be acquired
by the LLO after it has been recognized and
certified by DOLE AS THE SEBA.
Dealing with employers – even if the group
is not registered with DOLE, the latter may
have interaction with the employer with
respect to the terms and conditions of
employment, grievances, etc.
Example of Labor Org: Labor-Management
Council – they cannot however demand
collective bargaining or stage a strike.
CLASSIFICATION OF LABOR
ORGANIZATIONS
Macro-Labor Relations – At the national
level
a) National Union/Federation
b) Industry Union
c) Trade Union Center
d)Alliance
Micro-Labor Relations – at the enterprise
a) Independent union
b) Chartering
Some of the important points in
RA 9481 – An act strengthening
the workers’ right to self-
organization
No required number – 20 percent
registration requirement applies only to an
independent union. Local chapter is
registrable even if its initial membership is
less than 20 percent.
2) Tentative legal personality is given to a
local chapter once a federation issues a
charter certificate
3) Grounds for cancellation of union
registration – limited to 3 grounds
4) 2/3 of the membership may vote to
dissolve their organization and the board
will submit later an application to cancel
union registration
5) Employer a bystander in PCE
REGISTRATION
REQUIREMENTS
Federation/National/Independent Local
Common Requirements
A) Name, minutes of the organizational
meeting; list of employees who participated
in the organizational meeting; annual
financial reports if the applicant has been in
existence for more than one or more years;
CBL
Difference
Federation/National – resolution of affiliation
of at least 10 legitimate labor organizations
each of which must be duly certified or
recognized bargaining agent in the
establishment where it seeks to operate.
Independent union – the names of all its
members comprising at least 20% of the
employees in the bargaining unit.
20% membership requirement
“Takata Phil. Corp. versus Bureau of Labor
Relations and Samahang Lakas
Manggagawa ng Takata [SALAMAT]”, G.R.
No. 196276, June 4, 2014,
“It does not appear in Article 234 (b) of the
Labor Code that the attendees in the
organizational meeting must comprise 20%
of the employees in the bargaining unit.
In fact, even the Implementing Rules and
Regulations of the Labor Code does not so
provide. It is only under Article 234 (c) that
requires the names of all its members
comprising at least twenty percent (20%) of
21
 all the employees in the bargaining unit
where it seeks to operate. Clearly, the 20%
minimum requirement pertains to the
employees’ membership in the union and
not to the list of workers who participated in
the organizational meeting. Indeed, Article
234 (b) and (c) provide for separate
requirements, which must be submitted for
the union’s registration, and which
respondent did submit. XXX” (Emphasis
supplied)
Not a ministerial duty of
BLR……
“S.S. Ventures International, Inc. versus
S.S. Ventures Labor Union”, G.R. No.
161690, July 23, 2008, is worth reiterating in
accentuating that:
“It cannot be over-emphasized that the
registration or the recognition of a labor
union after it has submitted the
corresponding papers is not ministerial on
the part of the BLR. Far from it. After a labor
organization has filed the necessary
registration documents, it becomes
mandatory for the BLR to check if the
requirements under Art. 234 of the Labor
Code have been sedulously complied with.
If the union’s application is infected by
falsification and like serious irregularities,
especially those appearing on the face of
the application and its attachments, a union
should be denied recognition as a legitimate
labor organization. Prescinding from these
considerations, the issuance to the Union of
Certificate of Registration No. R0300-00-02-
UR-0003 necessarily implies that its
application for registration and the
supporting documents thereof are prima
facie free from any vitiating irregularities.”
WITHDRAWAL OF MEMBERS
(NAG-USAB HUNA-HUNA)
Azucena:
If the withdrawal is done before the
application of registration is filed, the
withdrawal is presumed voluntary and it
may prejudice the registrability of the
applicant union
If the withdrawal is done after the
application is filed, the withdrawal is
considered involuntary
Note: Baka may pressure from
management or third party
CBU – 20 percent of the
employees in the bargaining
unit where it seeks to operate
Bargaining unit – refers to a group of
employees sharing mutual interests within a
given employer unit comprising all or less
than all of the entire body of the employees
of the employer unit or any specific
occupational or geographical grouping
within such employer unit.
Examples:
RF in salesforce; RF in factory personnel;
In school, only teachers or another CBU for
non-teaching staff
RF in Visayas may form a separate RF
bargaining unit
NOTE: A CBU IS BIGGER THAN A UNION.
Reason: Others may join a union or there is
a rival union.
But to bargain collectively, only one union
can represent the CBU and that is the
purpose of CE.
CBL OF THE UNION
Reasonable; uniform and not discriminatory
and they are not contrary to law, public
policy or law.
It governs the relationship between and
among its members. As in the interpretation
of contracts, if the terms are clear and leave
no doubt for interpretation, the literal
meaning of the same shall control.
Personal note: some union members do not
read or understand or have a complete
grasp of their CBL. I saw CBLs which are so
short or incomplete that there are disputes
or complaints that are difficult to decide or
handle
AFFILIATION
An affiliate is an independently registered
union that enters into an agreement of
affiliation with a federation or a national
union. It also refers to a chartered local
22
which applies for and is granted an
independent registration but does not
disaffiliate from its mother federation or
national union.
Reasons for affiliation: secure support or
assistance; utilize expertise in CBA
negotiation; marshal mind and manpower.
Consequence of affiliation: Mother union
shares in union dues collection as it extends
its helping hands.
Mother union is the agent and local union is
the principal
The purpose of affiliation by a
local union with a mother union
[or] a federation NUBE VS.
PEMA Case
"x x x is to increase by collective action the
bargaining power in respect of the terms
and conditions of labor. Yet the locals
remained the basic units of association, free
to serve their own and the common interest
of all, subject to the restraints imposed by
the Constitution and By-Laws of the
Association, and free also to renounce the
affiliation for mutual welfare upon the terms
laid down in the agreement which brought it
into existence."
Thus, a local union which has affiliated itself
with a federation is free to sever such
affiliation anytime and such disaffiliation
cannot be considered disloyalty. In the
absence of specific provisions in the
federation's constitution prohibiting
disaffiliation or the declaration of autonomy
of a local union, a local may dissociate with
its parent union.
DISAFFILIATION
TO DISASSOCIATE; TO SEVERE
RELATIONSHIP; HIMALAY; BULAG
The constitutional guarantee of association
includes the right disaffiliate
To disaffiliate is a right, but to observe the
terms of affiliation is an obligation.
A local union is free to sever such affiliation
or declare its autonomy from the federation
to which it belongs when circumstances
warrant.
When to disaffiliate
Tanduay vs. NLRC 1987 – Labor Union
may disaffiliate from the mother union to
form a local union or independent union
during the 60-day period immediately
preceding the expiration of the CBA.
Freedom period refers to the last 60 days of
the fifth and last year of the CBA.
NATIONAL UNION OF BANK
EMPLOYEES (NUBE) vs.
PHILNABANK EMPLOYEES
ASSOCIATION (PEMA) AND
PHILIPPINE NATIONAL BANK
GR No. 174287, August 12, 2013
Likewise, Philippine Skylanders, Inc. v.
National Labor Relations Commission31
restated:
The right of a local union to disaffiliate from
its mother federation is not a novel thesis
unillumined by case law.
In the case of Liberty Cotton Mills Workers
Union vs. Liberty Cotton Mills, Inc., we
upheld the right of local unions to separate
from their mother federation on the ground
that as separate and voluntary associations,
local unions do not owe their creation and
existence to the national federation to which
they are affiliated but, instead, to the will of
their members.
Yet the local unions remain the basic units
of association, free to serve their own
interests subject to the restraints imposed
by the constitution and by-laws of the
national federation, and free also to
renounce the affiliation upon the terms laid
down in the agreement which brought such
affiliation into existence
A local union does not owe its existence to
the federation with which it is affiliated. It is
a separate and distinct voluntary
association owing its creation to the will of
its members. Mere affiliation does not divest
the local union of its own personality, nor
does it give the mother federation the
license to act independently of the local
union. It only gives rise to a contract of
agency, where the former acts in
representation of the latter. Hence, local
unions are considered principals while the
federation is deemed to be merely their
agent. As such principals, the unions are
entitled to exercise the rights and privileges
of a legitimate labor organization, including
the right to seek certification as the sole and
exclusive bargaining agent in the
appropriate employer unit.
23

Cirtek Employees Labor Union
vs. Cirtek
x x x [A] local union may disaffiliate at any
time from its mother federation, absent any
showing that the same is prohibited under
its constitution or rule. Such, however, does
not result in it losing its legal personality
altogether.
Verily, Anglo-KMU v. Samahan Ng Mga
Manggagawang Nagkakaisa Sa Manila Bar
Spinning Mills At J.P. Coats enlightens:
A local labor union is a separate and distinct
unit primarily designed to secure and
maintain an equality of bargaining power
between the employer and their employee-
members. A local union does not owe its
existence to the federation with which it is
affiliated. It is a separate and distinct
voluntary association owing its creation to
the will of its members. The mere act of
affiliation does not divest the local union of
its own personality, nor does it give the
mother federation the license to act
independently of the local union. It only
gives rise to a contract of agency where the
former acts in representation of the latter.
Article 241 (d) may not be
applicable in this case…..
(opinion of recognized labor law
authority)
Also, there is no merit on NUBE’s
contention that PEMA’s disaffiliation is
invalid for non-observance of the procedure
that union members should make such
determination through secret ballot and after
due deliberation, conformably with Article
241 (d) of the Labor Code, as amended.38
Conspicuously, other than citing the opinion
of a "recognized labor law authority," NUBE
failed to quote a specific provision of the law
or rule mandating that a local union’s
disaffiliation from a federation must comply
with Article 241 (d) in order to be valid and
effective.
Granting, for argument’s sake, that Article
241 (d) is applicable, still, We uphold
PEMA’s disaffiliation from NUBE. First, non-
compliance with the procedure on
disaffiliation, being premised on purely
technical grounds cannot rise above the
employees’ fundamental right to self-
organization and to form and join labor
organizations of their own choosing for the
purpose of collective bargaining.
Second, the Article nonetheless provides
that when the nature of the organization
renders such secret ballot impractical, the
union officers may make the decision in
behalf of the general membership
EFFECT OF DISAFFILIATION
and REVOCATION OF
CHARTER
On Union Dues – cut off insofar as the
federation is concerned but continue with
the local union.
On existing CBA – under the
“substitutionary doctrine” the employees
cannot revoke the validly executive CBA
with their employer by the simple expedient
of changing their bargaining agent.
The revocation of charter divest the
local/chapter of its legal personality upon
receipt of the notice by the Bureau unless in
the meantime the local chapter has
acquired independent registration in
accordance with the Rules.
CANCELLATION OF
REGISTRATION (ART 245)
Regional Director: He is the one who
approves the Application for Union
Registration and he is also the one who will
cancel the registration.
Cancellation Orders issued by Regl Director
are appealable to the BLR. The latter’s
order is final not appealable to SOL.
Cancellation cases that originated at the
BLR are appealable to SOL.
GROUNDS FOR
CANCELLATION (Art. 247)
a) Misrepresentation, false statement or
fraud in connection with the adoption or
ratification of the constitution and by-laws or
amendments thereto, the minutes of
ratification, and the list of members who
took part in the ratification;
(b) Misrepresentation, false statements or
fraud in connection with the election of
officers, minutes of the election of officers,
and the list of voters;
24
(c) Voluntary dissolution by the members.”
Note: Under Article 250 “Any violation of the
above rights and conditions of membership
shall be a ground for cancellation of union
registration? UNSA GYUD TINOON ANI: 3
or 4 ang grounds?
S.S. Ventures International vs.
S.S. Ventures Labor Union et al,
G. R. No. 161690, July 23, 2008
Registration or recognition of a labor union
after it was submitted the corresponding
papers is not a ministerial position on the
part of the BLR. The issuance to the Union
of Certificate of Registration necessarily
implies that its application for registration is
prima facie free from vitiating irregularities.
Thus:
“It cannot be over-emphasized that the
registration or the recognition of a labor
union after it has submitted the
corresponding papers is not ministerial on
the part of the BLR. Far from it. After a labor
organization has filed the necessary
registration documents, it becomes
mandatory for the BLR to check if the
requirements under Art. 234 of the Labor
Code have been sedulously complied with.
If the union’s application is infected by
falsification and like serious irregularities,
especially those appearing on the face of
the application and its attachments, a union
should be denied recognition as a legitimate
labor organization. Prescinding from these
considerations, the issuance to the Union of
Certificate of Registration No. RO300-00-
02-UR-0003 necessarily implies that its
application for registration and the
supporting documents thereof are prima
facie free from any vitiating irregularities.”
Takata (Philippines)
Corporation vs. BLR, et al. G. R.
No. 196276, June 4,2014
The bare fact that two signatures appeared
twice on the list of those who participated in
the organizational meeting would not, to our
mind, provide a valid reason to cancel
respondent’s certificate of registration. The
cancellation of a union’s registration
doubtless has an impairing dimension on
the right of labor to self-organization. For
fraud and misrepresentation to be grounds
for cancellation of union registration under
the Labor Code, the nature of the fraud and
misrepresentation must be grave and
compelling enough to vitiate the consent of
a majority of union members.
Rule XIV DO 40-03
Section 1. Cancellation of registration;
Where to file. – Subject to the requirements
of notice and due process, the registration
of any legitimate independent labor union,
local/chapter and workers’ association may
be cancelled by the Regional Director upon
the filing of a petition for cancellation of
union registration, or application by the
organization itself for voluntary dissolution.
The petition for cancellation or application
for voluntary dissolution shall be filed in the
Regional Office which issued its certificate
of registration or creation. In the case of
federations, national or industry unions and
trade union centers, the Bureau Director
may cancel the registration upon the filing of
a petition for cancellation or application for
voluntary dissolution in the Bureau of Labor
Relations. (as amended by D.O. 40-F08)
TAKE NOTE OF THE 3
GROUNDS FOR
CANCELLATION OF
REGISTRATION
Section 6. Prohibited grounds for
cancellation of registration. –
The inclusion as union members of
employees who are outside the bargaining
unit shall not be a ground to cancel the
union registration.
The ineligible employees are automatically
deemed removed from the list of
membership of the union. The affiliation of
the rank-and-file and supervisory unions
operating within the same establishment to
the same federation or national union shall
not be a ground to cancel the registration of
either union. (as amended by D.O. 40-F-08)
ART. 239-A. Voluntary
Cancellation of Registration
— The registration of a legitimate labor
organization may be cancelled by the
organization itself: Provided, That at least
25
 two-thirds, of its general membership votes,
in a meeting duly called for that purpose to
dissolve the organization: Provided, further,
That an application to cancel registration is
thereafter submitted by the board of the
organization, attested to by the president
thereof.
Note: Gikapoy na sila mag union……
JANUARY 14 LECTURES
RIGHTS AND CONDITIONS OF
MEMBERSHIP (ART 250)
Azucena: Article 250 is the Bill of Rights of
Union Members. It may be strengthened or
supplemented but noT defeated or
restricted in union by-laws and board
resolutions.
Rights:
1) Political – to vote and be voted
2) Deliberative and decision-making – right
to participate in deliberation on major policy
question and decide them by secret ballot
3) Over money matter – against excessive
fees and unauthorized collection of
contributions or disbursements; right of
access to financial records, etc.
4) To information
Rights of members/Union
officers must be an employee:
No arbitrary or excessive initiation fees….
nor shall arbitrary, excessive or oppressive
fine and forfeiture be imposed;
The members shall be entitled to full and
detailed reports of all financial
transactions…
The members shall directly elect their
officers.. No qualification requirements for
candidacy to any position shall be imposed
other than membership in good standing in
subject labor organization.
The members shall determine by secret
ballot… any question of major policy
affecting the entire membership of the
organization, unless the nature of the
organization or force majeure renders such
secret ballot impractical, in which case, the
board of directors of the organization may
make the decision in behalf of the general
membership;
Rights and conditions of
membership
No officer, agent or member of a labor
organization shall collect any fees, dues, or
other contributions in its behalf or make any
disbursement of its money or funds unless
he is duly authorized pursuant to its
constitution and by-laws;
Every payment of fees, dues or other
contributions by a member shall be
evidenced by a receipt …….and entered
into the record of the organization to be kept
and maintained for the purpose;
The funds of the organization shall not be
applied for any purpose or object other than
those expressly provided by its constitution
and by-laws or those expressly authorized
by written resolution adopted by the majority
of the members at a general meeting duly
called for the purpose;
Every income or revenue of the organization
shall be evidenced by a record showing its
source, and every expenditure of its funds
shall be evidenced by a receipt…………
Complaint against misuse of
union funds….
Any action involving the funds of the
organization shall prescribe after three (3)
years from the date of submission of the
annual financial report to the Department of
Labor and Employment or from the date the
same should have been submitted as
required by law, whichever comes earlier:
Provided, That this provision shall apply
only to a legitimate labor organization which
has submitted the financial report
requirements under this Code: Provided,
further, that failure of any labor organization
to comply with the periodic financial reports
required by law and such rules and
regulations promulgated thereunder six (6)
months after the effectivity of this Act shall
automatically result in the cancellation of
union registration of such labor
organization; (As amended by Section 16,
Republic Act No. 6715, March 21, 1989)
26

Rule XIII, Section 5. Prescription. – The
-
complaint or petition for audit or
examination of funds and book of accounts
shall prescribe within three (3) years from
the date of submission of the annual
financial report to the Department or from
the date the same should have been
submitted as required by law, whichever
comes earlier.
Assessment….
No special assessment or other
extraordinary fees may be levied upon the
members of a labor organization unless
authorized by a written resolution of a
majority of all the members in a general
membership meeting duly called for the
purpose.
Other than for mandatory activities under
the Code, no special assessments,
attorney’s fees, negotiation fees or any
other extraordinary fees may be checked off
from any amount due to an employee
without an individual written authorization
duly signed by the employee. The
authorization should specifically state the
amount, purpose and beneficiary of the
deduction; and
For this purpose, registered labor
organizations may assess reasonable dues
to finance labor relations seminars and
other labor education activities.
Who shall not be admitted as
member of the
union/Disqualification
No labor organization shall knowingly admit
as members or continue in membership any
individual who belongs to a subversive
organization or who is engaged directly or
indirectly in any subversive activity;
No person who has been convicted of a
crime involving moral turpitude shall be
eligible for election as a union officer or for
appointment to any position in the union;
UST FACULTY UNION (USTFU),
ET AL. VS. BITONIO, ET AL. G.R.
NO. 131235, NOVEMBER 16, 1999
CBL – FUNDAMENTAL LAW OF THE
MEMBERS
An employee who becomes a union
member acquires the rights and the
concomitant obligations that go with this
new status and becomes bound by the
union's rules and regulations.
When a man joins a labor union (or almost
any other democratically controlled group),
necessarily a portion of his individual
freedom is surrendered for the benefit of all
members. He accepts the will of the majority
of the members in order that he may derive
the advantages to be gained from the
concerted action of all.
On joining a labor union, the constitution
and by-laws become a part of the member's
contract of membership under which he
agrees to become bound by the constitution
and governing rules of the union so far as it
is not inconsistent with controlling principles
of law.
UNION ELECTION VS.
CERTIFICATION ELECTION
A union election is held pursuant to the
union's constitution and bylaws, and the
right to vote in it is enjoyed only by union
members. A union election should be
distinguished from a certification election,
which is the process of determining, through
secret ballot, the sole and exclusive
bargaining agent of the employees in the
appropriate bargaining unit, for purposes of
collective bargaining. 18 Specifically, the
purpose of a certification election is to
ascertain whether or not a majority of the
employees wish to be represented by a
labor organization and, in the affirmative
case, by which particular labor organization.
19
In a certification election, all employees
belonging to the appropriate bargaining unit
can vote. 20 Therefore, a union member
who likewise belongs to the appropriate
bargaining unit is entitled to vote in said
election. However, the reverse is not always
true; an employee belonging to the
appropriate bargaining unit but who is not a
member of the union cannot vote in the
union election, unless otherwise authorized
27
by the constitution and bylaws of the union.
Verily, union affairs and elections cannot be
decided in a non-union activity.
HEIRS OF TEODOLO M. CRUZ,
ET AL .VS. COURT OF
INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS, ET
AL. GR. NO. L-23331-32 (1969)
fair dealing between the union and its
members, which is fiduciary in nature,
.Just as this Court has stricken down unjust
exploitation of laborers by oppressive
employers, so will it strike down their unfair
treatment by their own unworthy leaders.
The Constitution enjoins the State to afford
protection to labor.19 Fair dealing is equally
demanded of unions as well as of
employers in their dealings with employees.
The union has been evolved as an
organization of collective strength for the
protection of labor against the unjust
exactions of capital, but equally important is
the requirement of fair dealing between the
union and its members, which is fiduciary in
nature, and arises out of two factors: "one is
the degree of dependence of the individual
employee on the union organization; the
other, a corollary of the first, is the
comprehensive power vested in the union
with respect to the individual."20 The union
may be considered but the agent of its
members for the purpose of securing for
them fair and just wages and good working
conditions and is subject to the obligation of
giving the members as its principals all
information relevant to union and labor
matters entrusted to it.
BENJAMIN VICTORIANO VS.
ELIZALDE ROPE WORKERS'
UNION ET AL G.R. No. L-25246
September 12, 1974
Closed shop and religious
ground
Benjamin Victoriano (hereinafter referred to
as Appellee), a member of the religious sect
known as the "Iglesia ni Cristo", had been in
the employ of the Elizalde Rope Factory,
Inc. (hereinafter referred to as Company)
since 1958.
As such employee, he was a member of
the Elizalde Rope Workers' Union
(hereinafter referred to as Union) which had
with the Company a collective bargaining
agreement containing a closed shop
provision.
The legal protection granted to such right to
refrain from joining is withdrawn by
operation of law, where a labor union and
an employer have agreed on a closed shop,
by virtue of which the employer may employ
only member of the collective bargaining
union, and the employees must continue to
be members of the union for the duration of
the contract in order to keep their jobs.
Victoriano vs Elizalde Rope
Case:
To that all-embracing coverage of the
closed shop arrangement, Republic Act No.
3350 introduced an exception, when it
added to Section 4 (a) (4) of the Industrial
Peace Act the following proviso: "but such
agreement shall not cover members of any
religious sects which prohibit affiliation of
their members in any such labor
organization". Republic Act No. 3350 merely
excludes ipso jure from the application and
coverage of the closed shop agreement the
employees belong to any religious sects
which prohibit affiliation of their members
with any labor organization. What the
exception provides, therefore, is that
members of said religious sects cannot be
compelled or coerced to join labor unions
even when said unions have closed shop
agreements with the employers; that in spite
of any closed shop agreement, members of
said religious sects cannot be refused
employment or dismissed from their jobs on
the sole ground that they are not members
of the collective bargaining union.
It is clear, therefore, that the assailed Act,
far from infringing the constitutional
provision on freedom of association,
upholds and reinforces it. It does not
prohibit the members of said religious sects
from affiliating with labor unions. It still
leaves to said members the liberty and the
power to affiliate, or not to affiliate, with
labor unions. If, notwithstanding their
religious beliefs, the members of said
religious sects prefer to sign up with the
labor union, they can do so. If in deference
28
and fealty to their religious faith, they refuse
to sign up, they can do so; the law does not
coerce them to join; neither does the law
prohibit them from joining; and neither may
the employer or labor union compel them to
join. Republic Act No. 3350, therefore, does
not violate the constitutional provision on
freedom of association.
Election of officers – Rule XII
Section 1. Conduct of election of union
officers; DEFAULT PROCEDURE
(a) within sixty (60) days before the
expiration of the term of the incumbent
officers, the president of the labor
organization shall constitute a committee on
election to be composed of at least three (3)
members who are not running for any
position in the election, provided that if there
are identifiable parties within the labor
organization, each party shall have equal
representation in the committee;
(b) upon constitution, the members shall
elect the chairman of the committee from
among themselves, and case of
disagreement, the president shall designate
the chairman;
(c) within ten (10) days from its constitution,
the committee shall, among others, exercise
the following powers and duties:
DUTY OF UNION COMELEC
1) set the date, time and venue of the
election;
2) prescribe the rules on the qualification
and eligibility of candidates and voters;
3) prepare and post the voters’ list and the
list of qualified candidates; 4) accredit the
authorized representatives of the
contending parties; 5) supervise the actual
conduct of the election and canvass the
votes to ensure the sanctity of the ballot;
6) keep minutes of the proceedings;
7) be the final arbiter of all election protests;
8) proclaim the winners;
and 9) prescribe such other rules as may
facilitate the orderly conduct of election.
Union officers did not call for
election…..(basin giganahan na
sa position)
Section 2. Dispute over conduct of election
of officers.
– Where the terms of the officers of a labor
organization have expired and its officers
failed or neglected to do so call for an
election of new officers, or where the labor
organization’s constitution and by-laws do
not provide for the manner by which the
said election can be called or conducted
and the intervention of the Department is
necessary, at least thirty percent (30%) of
the members of the labor organization may
file a petition for the conduct of election of
their officers with the Regional Office that
issued its certificate of registration or
certificate of creation of chartered local.
Conduct of Election
The election should be held in accordance
with the procedure laid down in the union’s
CBL. (UST FACULTY UNION CASE)
The CBL cannot be suspended to give way
to an election held not in accordance
therewith(UST FACULTY UNION CASE)
In the absence of provisions of CBL on how
elections shall be conducted, DO 40-03
provides on how it shall be done.
Impeachment or expulsion of
union of officers
The procedure prescribed in the CBL must
be followed in the impeachment or
expulsion proceedings since none is found
in the Labor Code and its implementing
rules.
UNITED POLY RESINS, INC et al. vs.
PINUELA, G.R. No. 209555, July 31, 2017
(samples)
Section 1. Any of the following shall be
ground for the impeachment or recall of the
union officers.
a. Committing or causing the commission
directly or indirectly of acts against the
interest and welfare of the union;
c. Failure to comply with the obligation to
tum over and return to union treasurer
within three (3) days unexpanded [sic] sum
of money received from the money funds to
answer for an authorized union purpose;
e. Misappropriation of union funds and
property. This is without prejudice to the
filing of an appropriate criminal or civil
action against the responsible officer/(s) by
any interested party;
29
 f. Willful violation of any provision of
the constitution or rules, regulations,
measures, resolution(s) and decision of the
union.
The Poly Risen Case says that
the grounds cannot be used to
impeachment or recall union
officers and not expulsion from
union membership
However, these provisions refer to
impeachment and recall of union officers,
and not expulsion from union membership.
This is made clear by Section 2(e) of the
same Article XV, which provides that "(t)he
union officers impeached shall 'IPSO
FACTO' to [sic] be considered resigned or
ousted from office and shall no longer be
elected nor appointed to any position in the
union." In short, any officer found guilty of
violating these provisions shall simply be
removed, impeached or recalled, from
office, but not expelled or stripped of union
membership.
It was therefore error on the part of PORFA
and petitioners to terminate respondent's
employment based on Article XV, Section 1,
paragraphs (e) and (f) of the union's
Constitution. Such a ground does not
constitute just cause for termination.
Due process in
impeachment/Expulsion of
member
Litton Mills Employees Association vs.
Calleja (1988) - The union officer must be
given due process as stated in their
Constitution and By-laws
Ferrer v NLRC (1993) - Just an officer is
entitled to due process, so does a member.
A member may only be expelled for a valid
reason following the procedure outlined in
the CBL of the union.
Take note, if there is a closed shop
provision in the CBA, expulsion from the
union may result in termination of
employment. The CBA may state that as a
condition for continued employment, the
worker must be a member of the Union.
EXHAUSTION OF
ADMINISTRATIVE IN INTRA-
UNION DISPUTES
JESUS B. DIAMONON vs. DOLE, ET AL.
GR 108951 March 7, 2000
When the Constitution and by-laws of both
unions dictated the remedy for intra-union
dispute, such as petitioner's complaint
against private respondents for
unauthorized or illegal disbursement of
unions funds, this should be resorted to
before recourse can be made to the
appropriate administrative or judicial body,
not only to give the grievance machinery or
appeals' body of the union the opportunity
to decide the matter by itself, but also to
prevent unnecessary and premature resort
to administrative or judicial bodies. Thus, a
party with an administrative remedy must
not merely initiate the prescribed
administrative procedure to obtain relief, but
also pursue it to its appropriate conclusion
before seeking judicial intervention. 31 This
rule clearly applies to the instant case. The
underlying principle of the rule on
exhaustion of administrative remedies rests
on the presumption that when the
administrative body, or grievance
machinery, as in this case, is afforded a
chance to pass upon the matter, it will
decide the same correctly. 32 Petitioner's
premature invocation of public respondent's
intervention is fatal to his cause of action.
33
EXCEPTION TO EXHAUSTION
OF ADM REMEDIES - WHEN
REMEDIES OF THE UNION IS
ILLUSORY AND VAIN
EMILIO E. DIOKNO, ET AL. VS.
CACDAC, G.R. NO. 168475,
JUL4 2007
Verily, there are exceptions to the
applicability of the doctrine.37 Among the
established exceptions are: 1) when the
question raised is purely legal; 2) when the
administrative body is in estoppel; 3) when
the act complained of is patently illegal; 4)
when there is urgent need for judicial
30
intervention; 5) when the claim involved is
small; 6) when irreparable damage will be
suffered; 7) when there is no other plain,
speedy, and adequate remedy; 8) when
strong public interest is involved; 9) when
the subject of the proceeding is private land;
10) in quo warranto proceedings;38 and 11)
where the facts show that there was a
violation of due process.39
As aptly determined by the BLR Director,
private respondents Daya, et al., were
prejudiced by the disqualification order of
the COMELEC. They endeavored to seek
reconsideration, but the COMELEC failed to
act thereon.40 The COMELEC was also
found to have refused to receive their
written protest.41 The foregoing facts
sustain the finding that private respondents
Daya, et al., were deprived of due process.
Hence, it becomes incumbent upon private
respondents Daya, et al., to seek the aid of
the BLR. To insist on the contrary is to
render their exhaustion of remedies within
the union as illusory and vain.42 These
antecedent circumstances convince this
Court that there was proper application by
the Med-Arbiter of the exception to the rule
of exhaustion of administrative remedies, as
affirmed by the BLR Director, and upheld by
the Court of Appeals.
POWER OF THE BLR OR
MEDARB TO ENTERTAIN
INTRA-UNION DISPUTES AS
CITED IN DIOKNO CASE
ART. 226. BUREAU OF LABOR
RELATIONS. – The Bureau of Labor
Relations and the Labor Relations Divisions
in the regional offices of the Department of
Labor shall have original and exclusive
authority to act, at their own initiative or
upon request of either or both parties, on all
inter-union and intra-union conflicts, and all
disputes, grievances or problems arising
from or affecting labor-management
relations in all workplaces whether
agricultural or nonagricultural, except those
arising from the implementation or
interpretation of collective bargaining
agreements which shall be the subject of
grievance procedure and/or voluntary
arbitration.
The Bureau shall have fifteen (15) working
days to act on labor cases before it, subject
to extension by agreement of the parties.
The amendment to Article 226, as couched
in Republic Act No. 6715,33 which is relied
upon by petitioners in arguing that the BLR
had been divested of its jurisdiction, simply
reads, thus:
Sec. 14. The second paragraph of Article
226 of the same Code is likewise hereby
amended to read as follows:
"The Bureau shall have fifteen (15) calendar
days to act on labor cases before it, subject
to extension by agreement of the parties."
WHO WILL REPORT ANY
VIOLATION TO DOLE SEE Art
250 (p)
Rodriguez v. Director, Bureau of Labor
Relation - that the 30% requirement is not
mandatory. In this case, the Court, speaking
through Chief Justice Andres R. Narvasa,39
held in part:
The respondent Director’s ruling, however,
that the assent of 30% of the union
membership, mentioned in Article 242 of the
Labor Code, was mandatory and essential
to the filing of a complaint for any violation
of rights and conditions of membership in a
labor organization (such as the arbitrary and
oppressive increase of union dues here
complained of), cannot be affirmed and will
be reversed.
The very article relied upon militates against
the proposition. It states that a report of a
violation of rights and conditions of
membership in a labor organization may be
made by "(a)at least thirty percent (30%) of
all the members of a union or any member
or members specially concerned." The use
of the permissive "may" in the provision at
once negates the notion that the assent of
30% of all the members is mandatory. More
decisive is the fact that the provision
expressly declares that the report may be
made, alternatively by "any member or
members specially concerned."
And further confirmation that the assent of
30% of the union members is not a factor in
the acquisition of jurisdiction by the Bureau
of Labor Relations is furnished by Article
31
226 of the same Labor Code, which grants
original and exclusive jurisdiction to the
Bureau, and the Labor Relations Division in
the Regional Offices of the Department of
Labor, over "all inter-union and intra-union
conflicts, and all disputes, grievances or
problems arising from or affecting labor
management relations," making no
reference whatsoever to any such 30%-
support requirement. Indeed, the officials
mentioned are given the power to act "on all
inter-union and intra-union conflicts (1) "
upon request of either or both parties" as
well as (2) "at their own
Check-offs and assessments
Check-off is a method of deducting from an
employee's pay at prescribed period, the
amounts due to the union for fees, fines or
assessment.
Art. 292 – union has the right to collection
union dues.
Art. 113 – one of the lawful deductions from
employee’s wage is for union dues.
Art. 250 – union dues must be reasonable.
No special assessment or other
extraordinary fees may be levied upon the
members of a labor organization unless
authorized by a written resolution of a
majority of all the members in a general
membership meeting duly called for the
purpose. The secretary of the organization
shall record the minutes of the meeting
including the list of all members present, the
votes cast, the purpose of the special
assessment or fees and the recipient of
such assessment or fees. The record shall
be attested to by the president.
Assessment may also be
checked off. Authorization from
the members. Art. 250.
Note: Assessment will diminish
the compensation of union
members since their dues will
be deducted from their wages.
The members shall determine by secret
ballot, after due deliberation, any question
of major policy affecting the entire
membership of the organization, unless the
nature of the organization or force majeure
renders such secret ballot impractical, in
which case, the board of directors of the
organization may make the decision in
behalf of the general membership;
Other than for mandatory activities under
the Code, no special assessments,
attorney’s fees, negotiation fees or any
other extraordinary fees may be checked off
from any amount due to an employee
without an individual written authorization
duly signed by the employee. The
authorization should specifically state the
amount, purpose and beneficiary of the
deduction;
Read: Palacol vs. Calleja February 26, 1990
3 requisites to collect special
assessment
Noticeably, Article 241 speaks of three (3)
requisites that must be complied with in
order that the special assessment for
Union's incidental expenses, attorney's fees
and representation expenses, as stipulated
in Article XII of the CBA, be valid and
upheld namely: 1) authorization by a written
resolution of the majority of all the members
at the general membership meeting duly
called for the purpose; (2) secretary's record
of the minutes of the meeting; and (3)
individual written authorization for check-off
duly signed by the employee concerned.
ABS CBN Supervisory Union vs. ABS-CBN
March 11, 1999
Authorization for special
assessment should proceed
from free consent
No special assessment or other
extraordinary fees may be levied upon the
members of a labor organization unless
authorized by a written resolution of a
majority of all the members in a general
membership meeting duly called for the
purpose. The secretary of the organization
shall record the minutes of the meeting
including the list of all members present, the
votes cast, the purpose of the special
assessment or fees and the recipient of
such assessment or fees. The record shall
be attested to by the president. (par. N, Art
250)
Other than for mandatory activities under
the Code, no special assessments,
32
attorney’s fees, negotiation fees or any
other extraordinary fees may be checked off
from any amount due to an employee
without an individual written authorization
duly signed by the employee. The
authorization should specifically state the
amount, purpose and beneficiary of the
deduction; (par. O)
CHECK-OFF OF AGENCY FEE
Employees of an appropriate bargaining unit
who are not members of the recognized
collective bargaining agent may be
assessed a reasonable fee equivalent to the
dues and other fees paid by members of the
recognized collective bargaining agent, if
such non-union members accept the
benefits under the collective bargaining
agreement: Provided, that the individual
authorization required under Article 242,
paragraph (o) of this Code shall not apply to
the non-members of the recognized
collective bargaining agent (Art. 259)
Walay dawlips – dawat limpyo – agency fee
EVANGELINE J. GABRIEL et al.
vs. SEC OF LABOR, GR No.
115949, March 16, 2000
Atty’s fee ni Atty. – charge to
union funds
Facts:The union's Executive Board decided
to retain the service of Atty. Ignacio P.
Lacsina (now deceased) as union counsel
in connection with the negotiations for a
new Collective Bargaining Agreement
(CBA). Accordingly, on October 19, 1991,
the board called a general membership
meeting for the purpose. At the said
meeting, the majority of all union members
approved and signed a resolution
confirming the decision of the executive
board to engage the services of Atty.
Lacsina as union counsel.
Ruling: Art. 222 (b) states: No attorney's
fees, negotiation fees or similar charges of
any kind arising from any collective
bargaining negotiations or conclusions of
the collective agreement shall be imposed
on any individual member of the contracting
union: Provided, however, that attorney's
fees may be charged against unions funds
in an amount to be agreed upon by the
parties. Any contract, agreement or
arrangement of any sort to the contrary shall
be null and void. (Emphasis ours)
Art. 241 (o) provides: Other than for
mandatory activities under the Code, no
special assessment, attorney's fees,
negotiation fees or any other extraordinary
fees may be checked off from any amount
due to an employee without an individual
written authorization duly signed by the
employee. The authorization should
specifically state the amount, purpose and
beneficiary of the deduction. (Emphasis
ours).
HOLY CROSS OF DAVAO
COLLEGE, INC., VS. .HON.
JEROME JOAQUIN, in his
capacity as Voluntary
Arbitrator, ET AL. G.R. No.
110007 October 18, 1996
Check-offs in truth impose an extra burden
on the employer in the form of additional
administrative and bookkeeping costs. It is a
burden assumed by management at the
instance of the union and for its benefit, in
order to facilitate the collection of dues
necessary for the latter's life and
sustenance.
But the obligation to pay union dues and
agency fees obviously devolves not upon
the employer, but the individual employee. It
is a personal obligation not demandable
from the employer upon default or refusal of
the employee to consent to a check-off.
The only obligation of the employer under a
check-off is to effect the deductions and
remit the collections to the union.
Where the employer fails or refuses to
implement a check-off agreement, logic and
prudence dictate that the union itself
undertake the collection of union dues and
assessments from its members (and agency
fees from non-union employees); this, of
course, without prejudice to suing the
employer for unfair labor practice.
REPORTORIAL
REQUIREMENTS TO DOLE–
FINANCIAL AND OTHER
REPORTS
33
 1. List of newly elected and appointed
officers within 30 calendar days after
election…
2. Annual financial report
3. Audited and verified report of the
treasurer…..
ERNESTO C. VERCELES, et al.
vs. BLR, ET AL. GR No. 152322,
February 15, 2005
The passage of General Assembly
Resolution No. 10 dated 10 December 1997
and Resolution No. 8, Series of 2000,55
which supposedly cured the lapses
committed by the association’s officers and
reiterated the approval of the general
membership of the acts and collateral
actions of the association’s officers cannot
redeem the petitioners from their
predicament. The obligation to hold
meetings and render financial reports is
mandated by UEEA’s constitution and by-
laws. This fact was never denied by the
petitioners. Their eventual compliance, as
what happened in this case, shall not
release them from the obligation to
accomplish these things in the future.
Prompt compliance in rendering financial
reports together with the holding of regular
meetings with the submission of the minutes
thereon with the BLR-DOLE and DOLE-
NCR shall negate any suspicion of
dishonesty on the part of UEEA’s officers.
This is not only true with UEEA, but likewise
with other unions/associations, as this
matter is imbued with public interest.
Undeniably, transparency in the official
undertakings of union officers will bolster
genuine trade unionism in the country.
JANUARY 20 & 21 LECTURES
EMPLOYEES’ RIGHT TO SELF
ORGANIZATION Title V, Article
253
What is Right to self-organization?
It is the right of workers and employees to
form, join or assist unions, organizations or
associations for purposes of collective
bargaining and negotiation and for mutual
aid and protection. It also refers to the right
to engage in peaceful concerted activities or
to participate in policy and decision-making
processes affecting their rights and benefits.
What is the Workers' Association?
A workers’ association means any group of
workers, including ambulant, intermittent,
self-employed, rural workers and those
without definite employers, organized for
mutual aid and protection of its members or
for any legitimate purpose other than
collective bargaining.
CONSTITUTIONAL
PROVISIONS RELATING
TO RIGHT TO SELF
ORGANIZATION
Article III, Section 8. 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 shall not be abridged. (Bill of
Rights)
Article XIII, Section 3. The State shall afford
full protection to labor, local and overseas,
organized and unorganized, and promote
full employment and equality of employment
opportunities for all.
It shall guarantee the rights of all workers to
self-organization, collective bargaining and
negotiations, and peaceful concerted
activities, including the right to strike in
accordance with law. They shall be entitled
to security of tenure, humane conditions of
work, and a living wage. They shall also
participate in policy and decision-making
processes affecting their rights and benefits
as may be provided by law.
RIGHT TO FORM an
ASSOCIATION OR UNION
Article 253 of the Labor Code – the right to
form or assist a labor organization is
granted to all kinds of employees of all kinds
of employers – public or private, profit or
nonprofit, commercial or religious.
Article 292 (c) Any employee, whether
employed for a definite period or not, shall,
beginning on his first day of service, be
considered as an employee for purposes of
membership in any labor union. (As
34
 amended by Section 33, Republic Act No.
6715)
Art. 257. Non-abridgment of the right to self-
organization. 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. Such right shall include
the right to form, join, or assist labor
organizations for the purpose of collective
bargaining through representatives of their
own choosing and to engage in lawful
concerted activities for the same purpose
for their mutual aid and protection, subject
to the provisions of Article 264 of this Code.
Concept of the right to self-
organization
It includes two rights:
1) the right to form, join or assist a labor
organization
2) the right to engage in lawful concerted
activities (strikes or pickets)
A labor organization may be a union or
workers’ association for purposes of
collective bargaining with the employer or
for mutual aid and protection.
PERSONS WHO CANNOT EXERCISE
RIGHT TO SELF ORGANIZATION (in
employment )
I Private Sector:
A) Managerial Employee
b) Confidential Employee
II Public Sector:
a) High level employees – policy
maker or managerial or whose duties are of
a highly confidential nature
b) Members of the AFP
c) Police Officers
d)Policemen
e) Firemen
f) Jail Guards
Note: But they can join civic organization
like Rotary, Jaycees or fraternity like Free
and Accepted Masons of the Philippines
INELIGIBILITY OF MGR EE AND
RIGHT OF SUPERVISORY EE
Art. 255. Ineligibility of managerial
employees to join any labor organization;
right of supervisory employees. Managerial
employees are not eligible to join, assist or
form any labor organization.
Supervisory employees shall not be eligible
for membership in a labor organization of
the rank-and-file employees but may join,
assist or form separate labor organizations
of their own. (As amended by Section 18,
Republic Act No. 6715, March 21, 1989)
UNITED PEPSI-COLA SUPERVISORY
UNION (UPSU vs. HON. BIENVENIDO
E. LAGUESMA ET AL G.R. No. 122226
March 25, 1998
Note: WHY MANAGERS CANNOT
JOIN OR FORM A UNION.
In Bulletin Publishing Co., Inc. v. Hon.
Augusto Sanchez, this Court elaborated on
this rationale, thus:
. . . The rationale for this inhibition has been
stated to be, because if these managerial
employees would belong to or be affiliated
with a Union, the latter might not be assured
of their loyalty to the Union in view of
evident conflict of interests. The Union can
also become company-dominated with the
presence of managerial employees in Union
membership.32
To be sure, the Court in Philips Industrial
was dealing with the right of confidential
employees to organize. But the same
reason for denying them the right to
organize justifies even more the ban on
managerial employees from forming unions.
After all, those who qualify as top or middle
managers are executives who receive from
their employers information that not only is
confidential but also is not generally
available to the public, or to their
competitors, or to other employees. It is
hardly necessary to point out that to say that
the first sentence of Art. 245 is
unconstitutional would be to contradict the
decision in that case.
Recurring contentious issue:
confi ee exclusion or inclusion
AZUCENA: THE CONFI Ees inclusion in or
exclusion from a union, either of supervisors
or of RF, is a recurrent contentious issue.
And the court rulings have not been easy to
track down. They have swung back and
forth, like a pendulum.
35
He said that the METROLAB INDUSTRIES CHARTERED BANK et al. G.R.
VS. CONFESSOR, Feb. 28, 1996, seems to
No. 161933 April 22, 2008
have settled the question at last.
Note: CONFI EES not eligible to
join a union
METROLAB INDUSTRIES, INC.,
vs. HONORABLE MA. NIEVES As regards the qualification of bank cashiers
ROLDAN-CONFESOR, et al. as confidential employees, National
Association of Trade Unions (NATU) –
G.R. No. 108855 February 28, Republic Planters Bank Supervisors
1996 Chapter v. Torres16 declared that they are
Reiterated in MERALCO VS. confidential employees having control,
custody and/or access to confidential
SEC OF LABOR, January 27,
matters, e.g., the branch's cash position,
1999 statements of financial condition, vault
Note: confi ees are not rf combination, cash codes for telegraphic
transfers, demand drafts and other
negotiable instruments, pursuant to Sec.
Although Article 245 of the Labor Code 20
1166.4 of the Central Bank Manual
limits the ineligibility to join, form and assist
regarding joint custody, and therefore,
any labor organization to managerial
disqualified from joining or assisting a union;
employees, jurisprudence has extended this
or joining, assisting or forming any other
prohibition to confidential employees or
labor organization.17
those who by reason of their positions or
Golden Farms, Inc. v. Ferrer-Calleja18
nature of work are required to assist or act
meanwhile stated that "confidential
in a fiduciary manner to managerial
employees such as accounting personnel,
employees and hence, are likewise privy to
radio and telegraph operators who, having
sensitive and highly confidential records.
access to confidential information, may
The Union's assurances fail to convince.
become the source of undue advantage.
The dangers sought to be prevented,
Said employee(s) may act as spy or spies of
particularly the threat of conflict of interest
either party to a collective bargaining
and espionage, are not eliminated by non-
agreement."19
membership of Metrolab's executive
Finally, in Philips Industrial Development,
secretaries or confidential employees in the
Inc. v. National Labor Relations
Union. Forming part of the bargaining unit,
Commission,20 the Court designated
the executive secretaries stand to benefit
personnel staff, in which human resources
from any agreement executed between the
staff may be qualified, as confidential
Union and Metrolab. Such a scenario, thus,
employees because by the very nature of
gives rise to a potential conflict between
their functions, they assist and act in a
personal interests and their duty as
confidential capacity to, or have access to
confidential employees to act for and on
confidential matters of, persons who
behalf of Metrolab. They do not have to be
exercise managerial functions in the field of
union members to affect or influence either
labor relations.
side.
Finally, confidential employees cannot be
classified as rank and file. As previously STANDARD CHARTERED BANK
discussed, the nature of employment of EMPLOYEES UNION (SCBEU-
confidential employees is quite distinct from NUBE) VS. STANDARD
the rank and file, thus, warranting a
separate category. Excluding confidential CHARTERED BANK et al. G.R.
employees from the rank and file bargaining No. 161933 April 22, 2008
unit, therefore, is not tantamount to
discrimination.
Note: Confidential employees

STANDARD CHARTERED BANK The disqualification of managerial and

confidential employees from joining a
EMPLOYEES UNION (SCBEU- bargaining unit for rank and file employees
NUBE) VS. STANDARD is already well-entrenched in jurisprudence.
36
While Article 245 of the Labor Code limits
the ineligibility to join, form and assist any
labor organization to managerial
employees, jurisprudence has extended this
prohibition to confidential employees or
those who by reason of their positions or
nature of work are required to assist or act
in a fiduciary manner to managerial
employees and hence, are likewise privy to
sensitive and highly confidential records.15
In this case, the question that needs to be
answered is whether the Bank's Chief
Cashiers and Assistant Cashiers, personnel
of the Telex Department and HR staff are
confidential employees, such that they
should be excluded.
FRANKLIN BAKER COMPANY
OF THE PHILIPPINES VS. .
HONORABLE CRESENCIO B.
TRAJANO, ET AL. G.R. No.
75039 January 28, 1988
Who is a Manager? Who is a
supervisory employee
It will be noted, however, that in the
performance of their duties and functions
and in the exercise of their recommendatory
powers, subject employees may only
recommend, as the ultimate power to hire,
fire or suspend as the case may be, rests
upon the plant personnel manager.
The test of "supervisory" or "managerial
status" depends on whether a person
possesses authority to act in the interest of
his employer in the matter specified in
Article 212 (k) of the Labor Code and
Section 1 (m) of its Implementing Rules and
whether such authority is not merely
routinary or clerical in nature, but requires
the use of independent judgment. Thus,
where such recommendatory powers as in
the case at bar, are subject to evaluation,
review and final action by the department
heads and other higher executives of the
company, the same, although present, are
not effective and not an exercise of
independent judgment as required by law
(National Warehousing Corp. v. CIR, 7
SCRA 602-603 [1963]).
Furthermore, in line with the ruling of this
Court, subject employees are not
managerial employees because as borne by
the records, they do not participate in policy
making but are given ready policies to
execute and standard practices to observe,
thus having little freedom of action (National
Waterworks and Sewerage Authority v.
NWSA Consolidated, L-18938, 11 SCRA
766 [1964]).
UNIVERSITY OF THE
IMMACULATE CONCEPTION vs.
OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY
OF LABOR AND
EMPLOYMENT;, UIC TEACHING
AND NONTEACHING
EMPLOYEES UNION-FFW, et al.
G.R. NOS. 178085 – 178086
September 14, 2015
… Confidentiality is not a matter of official
rank, it is a matter of job content and
authority. It is not measured by closeness to
or distance from top management but by the
significance of the jobholder’s role in the
pursuit of corporate objectives and strategy.
In principle, every managerial position is
confidential — one does not become a
manager without having gained the
confidence of the appointing authority. But
not every confidential employee is
managerial; he may be a supervisory or
even a rank-and file employee.
Confidentiality, in other words, cuts across
the pyramid of jobs from the base to the
apex, from messengerial to managerial.63
A confidential employee is defined as one
entrusted with confidence on delicate
matters, or with the custody, handling, or
care and protection of the employer’s
property.64 For all intents and purposes, the
terms "confidential employee" and
"employee holding a position of trust and
confidence" are synonymous.
SAN MIGUEL CORPORATION
SUPERVISORS AND EXEMPT
UNION AND ERNESTO L.
PONCE, President VS,.
hONORABLE BIENVENIDO E.
LAGUESMA et al. G.R. No.
110399 August 15, 1997
37
Note: In the field of labor
relations; the labor nexus
Confidential employees are those who (1)
assist or act in a confidential capacity, (2) to
persons who formulate, determine, and
effectuate management policies in the field
of labor relations. 5 The two criteria are
cumulative, and both must be met if an
employee is to be considered a confidential
employee — that is, the confidential
relationship must exist between the
employee and his supervisor, and the
supervisor must handle the prescribed
responsibilities relating to labor relations. 6
The exclusion from bargaining units of
employees who, in the normal course of
their duties, become aware of management
policies relating to labor relations is a
principal objective sought to be
accomplished by the ''confidential employee
rule." The broad rationale behind this rule is
that employees should not be placed in a
position involving a potential conflict of
interests. 7 "Management should not be
required to handle labor relations matters
through employees who are represented by
the union with which the company is
required to deal and who in the normal
performance of their duties may obtain
advance information of the company's
position with regard to contract negotiations,
the disposition of grievances, or other labor
relations matters."
TUNAY NA PAGKAKAISA NG
MANGGAGAWA SA ASIA
BREWERY vs. ASIA BREWERY,
INC., G.R. No. 162025 August 3,
2010
Note: DOCTRINE OF
NECESSARY IMPLICATION
Although Article 245 of the Labor Code
limits the ineligibility to join, form and assist
any labor organization to managerial
employees, jurisprudence has extended this
prohibition to confidential employees or
those who by reason of their positions or
nature of work are required to assist or act
in a fiduciary manner to managerial
employees and hence, are likewise privy to
sensitive and highly confidential records.14
Confidential employees are thus excluded
from the rank-and-file bargaining unit. The
rationale for their separate category and
disqualification to join any labor organization
is similar to the inhibition for managerial
employees because if allowed to be
affiliated with a Union, the latter might not
be assured of their loyalty in view of evident
conflict of interests and the Union can also
become company-denominated with the
presence of managerial employees in the
Union membership.15 Having access to
confidential information, confidential
employees may also become the source of
undue advantage. Said employees may act
as a spy or spies of either party to a
collective bargaining agreement.16
EXAMPLES OF CONFI POSITIONS: In
Philips Industrial Development, Inc. v.
NLRC,17 this Court held that petitioner’s
"division secretaries, all Staff of General
Management, Personnel and Industrial
Relations Department, Secretaries of Audit,
EDP and Financial Systems" are
confidential employees not included within
the rank-and-file bargaining unit.18 Earlier,
in Pier 8 Arrastre & Stevedoring Services,
Inc. v. Roldan-Confesor,19 we declared that
legal secretaries who are tasked with,
among others, the typing of legal
documents, memoranda and
correspondence, the keeping of records and
files, the giving of and receiving notices, and
such other duties as required by the legal
personnel of the corporation, fall under the
category of confidential employees and
hence excluded from the bargaining unit
composed of rank-and-file employees.20
TUNAY NA PAGKAKAISA NG
MANGGAGAWA SA ASIA
BREWERY vs. ASIA BREWERY,
INC., G.R. No. 162025 August 3,
2010
Note: confidential employee
rule
Confidential employees are defined as
those who (1) assist or act in a confidential
capacity, (2) to persons who formulate,
determine, and effectuate management
policies in the field of labor relations. The
two (2) criteria are cumulative, and both
must be met if an employee is to be
considered a confidential employee – that
is, the confidential relationship must exist
between the employee and his supervisor,
38
and the supervisor must handle the
prescribed responsibilities relating to labor
relations. The exclusion from bargaining
units of employees who, in the normal
course of their duties, become aware of
management policies relating to labor
relations is a principal objective sought to be
accomplished by the "confidential employee
rule."26 There is no showing in this case
that the secretaries/clerks and checkers
assisted or acted in a confidential capacity
to managerial employees and obtained
confidential information relating to labor
relations policies. And even assuming that
they had exposure to internal business
operations of the company, respondent
claimed, this is not per se ground for their
exclusion in the bargaining unit of the daily-
paid rank-and-file employees.27
Not being confidential employees, the
secretaries/clerks and checkers are not
disqualified from membership in the Union
of respondent’s rank-and-file employees.
Petitioner argues that respondent’s act of
unilaterally stopping the deduction of union
dues from these employees constitutes
unfair labor practice as it "restrained" the
workers’ exercise of their right to self-
organization, as provided in Article 248 (a)
of the Labor Code.
TUNAY NA PAGKAKAISA NG
MANGGAGAWA SA ASIA
BREWERY vs. ASIA BREWERY,
INC., G.R. No. 162025 August 3,
2010
NOTE: THESE EMPLOYEES
ARE NOT CONFIDENTIAL BUT
RF
As can be gleaned from the above listing, it
is rather curious that there would be several
secretaries/clerks for just one (1)
department/division performing tasks which
are mostly routine and clerical.
Respondents insisted they fall under the
"Confidential and Executive Secretaries"
expressly excluded by the CBA from the
rank-and-file bargaining unit. However,
perusal of the job descriptions of these
secretaries/clerks reveals that their
assigned duties and responsibilities involve
routine activities of recording and
monitoring, and other paper works for their
respective departments while secretarial
tasks such as receiving telephone calls and
filing of office correspondence appear to
have been commonly imposed as additional
duties.23 Respondent failed to indicate who
among these numerous secretaries/clerks
have access to confidential data relating to
management policies that could give rise to
potential conflict of interest with their Union
membership. Clearly, the rationale under
our previous rulings for the exclusion of
executive secretaries or division secretaries
would have little or no significance
considering the lack of or very limited
access to confidential information of these
secretaries/clerks. It is not even far fetched
that the job category may exist only on
paper since they are all daily-paid workers.
Quite understandably, the petitioner had
earlier expressed the view that the positions
were just being "reclassified" as these
employees actually discharged routine
functions.
We thus hold that the secretaries/clerks,
numbering about forty (40), are rank-and-file
employees and not confidential employees.
Art. 253. Right of employees in
the public service
Employees of government corporations
established under the Corporation Code
shall have the right to organize and to
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. (As amended by Executive Order No.
111, December 24, 1986)
RIGHT TO SELF
ORGANIZATION IN THE PUBLIC
SECTOR
2 KINDS OF GOVT EES IN ARTICLE 254
THOSE EMPLOYED IN GOVT OWNED OR
CONTROLLED CORP ESTABLISHED
UNDER THE CORP CODE/WITHOUT
ORIGINAL CHARTER (COVERED BY THE
LABOR CODE)
THOSE EMPLOYED IN THE CIVIL
SERVICE/WITH ORIGINAL CHARTER
(COVERED BY CIVIL SERVICE LAW)
THEIR ASSOCIATION OR
ORGANIZATION SHALL BE GOVERNED
BY EO NO. 180 AND EO NO. 292, S 1987
OR THE ADMINISTRATIVE CODE OF THE
1987
39
 organizational unit where it seeks to operate
must be submitted….
SOME PRINCIPLES ON GOVT
In Association of CA Employees vs. Calleja,
EE RIGHT TO SELF it was held that BLR has jurisdiction over
ORGANIZATION intra-union disputes pursuant to Article 232
of the Labor Code.
Labor organization is technically called
employees organization PABLO ARIZALA, ET AL. VS
Registration is made both with CSC and CA, GR No. 43633-34 Sept 14,
BLR. Once registered, it is called a 1990
registered employees organization.
SEBA is called accredited employees’
organization However, the concept of the government
The unit where the govt employees’ employees' right of self-organization differs
organization seeks to operate is called an significantly from that of employees in the
organizational unit. private sector. The latter's right of self-
The right to strike is prohibited. organization, i.e., "to form, join or assist
Ref. Rules and Regulations to Govern the labor organizations for purposes of
Exercise of the Right to Govt Ees to Self- collective bargaining," admittedly includes
Organization the right to deal and negotiate with their
respective employers in order to fix the
terms and conditions of employment and
SOME DEFINITION/RULES
also, to engage in concerted activities for
REGISTERED EMPLOYEES’
the attainment of their objectives, such as
ORGANIZATION – REGISTERED WITH
strikes, picketing, boycotts. But the right of
THE CSC AND BLR
government employees to "form, join or
ACCREDITED EEs ORGANIZATION –
assist employees organizations of their own
SEBA
choosing" under Executive Order No. 180 is
ORGANIZATIONAL UNIT – refers to the
not regarded as existing or available for
unit where the organization seeks to
"purposes of collective bargaining," but
operate and represent.
simply "for the furtherance and protection of
WHO MAY JOIN – ALL EMPLOYEES
their interests." 38
EXCEPT MGR OR HIGH LEVEL
In other words, the right of Government
EMPLOYEES, MEMBER OF AFP, POLICE
employees to deal and negotiate with their
OFFICERS AND POLICEMEN, FIREMEN
respective employers is not quite as
AND JAIL GUARDS.
extensive as that of private employees.
High level employees – whose functions are
Excluded from negotiation by government
normally considered as policy- making or
employees are the "terms and conditions of
managerial or whose duties are of a highly
employment ... that are fixed by law," it
confidential nature. Mgrl functions: can
being only those terms and conditions not
effectively recommend mgrl actions;
otherwise fixed by law that "may be subject
formulate or execute mgmt policies and
of negotiation between the duly recognized
decisions; can hire, transfer, suspend,
employees' organizations and appropriate
dismiss or discipline employees
government authorities," 39
The right to strike is prohibited in the
Organizational activities of government sector.
union in the public sector/ some
rules Samples of terms and
Activities should not prejudice or disrupt conditions subject to
public service
Cannot a strike negotiation in the public sector
Ees should not be discriminated against in
respect of their employment be reason of Note: Salaries not subject to negotiation
the membership in the Ees organization since they are fixed by law or GAA
Non-interference in union activities Schedule of VL and other leaves
In their application for registration, the name Work assignment of pregnant employees
of employees comprising at least 10% of all Personnel growth and development
the employees in the appropriate Physical fitness program
40
Annual medical/PE
Recreational, social, athletic and cultural
activities
MATTERS NOT SUBJECT TO
NEGOTIATION IN PUBLIC
SECTOR
THOSE REQUIRE APPROPRIATE OF
FUNDS like increase in salary and
allowances /facilities requiring capital
outlays, car plan, provident fund, special
hospitalization, medical or dental,
rice/sugar/other subsidies, travel expenses,
increase in retirement benefits
THOSE INVOLVE THE EXERCISE OF
MGT PREROGATIVE like appointment,
promotions, assignment/detail,
reclassification of position, revision of
compensation structure, etc
SAN JOSE CITY ELECTRIC
SERVICE COOPERATIVE, INC.
(SAJELCO),vs. MOLE, ET AL.
G.R. No. 77231 May 31, 1989
Note: member-employee of the
cooperative cannot form a
union
A cooperative, therefore, is by its nature
different from an ordinary business concern
being run either, by persons, partnerships or
corporations. Its owners and/or members
are the ones who run and operate the
business while the others are its employees.
An employee therefore of such a
cooperative who is a member and co-owner
thereof cannot invoke the right to collective
bargaining for certainly an owner cannot
bargain with himself or his co-owners. In the
opinion of August 14, 1981 of the Solicitor
General, he correctly opined that employees
of cooperatives who are themselves
members of the cooperative have no right to
form or join labor organizations for purposes
of collective bargaining for being
themselves co-owners of the cooperative.
However, in so far as it involves
cooperatives with employees who are not
members or co-owners thereof, certainly
such employees are entitled to exercise the
rights of all workers to organization,
collective bargaining, negotiations and
others as are enshrined in the Constitution
and existing laws of the country.
INTERNATIONAL CATHOLIC
IMMIGRATION COMMISSION
VS. HON. PURA CALLEJA ET
AL G.R. No. 85750 September
28, 1990
Note; employees in the
international organization
cannot form a union
There are basically three propositions
underlying the grant of international
immunities to international organizations.
These principles, contained in the ILO
Memorandum are stated thus: 1)
international institutions should have a
status which protects them against control
or interference by any one government in
the performance of functions for the
effective discharge of which they are
responsible to democratically constituted
international bodies in which all the nations
concerned are represented; 2) no country
should derive any national financial
advantage by levying fiscal charges on
common international funds; and 3) the
international organization should, as a
collectivity of States members, be accorded
the facilities for the conduct of its official
business customarily extended to each
other by its individual member States. 12
The theory behind all three propositions is
said to be essentially institutional in
character. "It is not concerned with the
status, dignity or privileges of individuals,
but with the elements of functional
independence necessary to free
international institutions from national
control and to enable them to discharge
their responsibilities impartially on behalf of
all their members. 13 The raison d'etre for
these immunities is the assurance of
unimpeded performance of their functions
by the agencies concerned.
KAPATIRAN SA MEAT AND
CANNING DIVISION (TUPAS
Local Chapter No. 1027)
vs.THE HONORABLE BLR
DIRECTOR PURA FERRER
CALLEJA,ET AL. G.R. No. 82914
41
June 20, 1988
Note: INC CAN FORM A UNION
OF THEIR OWN. Cf Victoriano
case
Facts: TUPAS moved to dismiss the petition
for being defective in form and that the
members of the NEW ULO were mostly
members of the Iglesia ni Kristo sect which
three (3) years previous refused to affiliate
with any labor union. It also accused the
company of using the NEW ULO to defeat
TUPAS' bargaining rights (Annex B).
Ruling:
After deliberating on the petition and the
documents annexed thereto, We find no
merit in the Petition. The public respondent
did not err in dismissing the petitioner's
appeal in BLR Case No. A-12-389-87. This
Court's decision in Victoriano vs. Elizalde
Rope Workers' Union, 59 SCRA 54,
upholding the right of members of the
IGLESIA NI KRISTO sect not to join a labor
union for being contrary to their religious
beliefs, does not bar the members of that
sect from forming their own union. The
public respondent correctly observed that
the "recognition of the tenets of the sect ...
should not infringe on the basic right of self-
organization granted by the constitution to
workers, regardless of religious affiliation."
The fact that TUPAS was able to negotiate
a new CBA with ROBINA within the 60-day
freedom period of the existing CBA, does
not foreclose the right of the rival union,
NEW ULO, to challenge TUPAS' claim to
majority status, by filing a timely petition for
certification election on October 13, 1987
before TUPAS' old CBA expired on
November 15, 1987 and before it signed a
new CBA with the company on December 3,
1987. As pointed out by Med-Arbiter
Abdullah, a "certification election is the best
forum in ascertaining the majority status of
the contending unions wherein the workers
themselves can freely choose their
bargaining representative thru secret ballot."
Since it has not been shown that this order
is tainted with unfairness, this Court will not
thwart the holding of a certification election
(Associated Trade Unions [ATU] vs. Noriel,
88 SCRA 96).
Security guards right to self-
organization
MANILA ELECTRIC COMPANY,
vs. THE HON. SECRETARY OF
LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT, et
al G.R. No. 91902 May 20, 1991
(En Banc)
On March 2, 1989, the present Congress
passed RA 6715.2 Section 18 thereof
amended Art. 245, to read as follows:
Art. 245. Ineligibility of managerial
employees to join any labor organization;
right of supervisory employees.—
Managerial employees are not eligible to
join, assist or form any labor organization.
Supervisory employees shall not be eligible
for membership in a labor organization of
the rank-and-file employees but may join,
assist, or form separate labor organizations
of their own. (emphasis ours)
As will be noted, the second sentence of
Art. 245 embodies an amendment
disqualifying supervisory employees from
membership in a labor organization of the
rank-and-file employees. It does not include
security guards in the disqualification.
The implementing rules of RA 6715,
therefore, insofar as they disqualify security
guards from joining a rank and file
organization are null and void, for being not
germane to the object and purposes of EO
111 and RA 6715 upon which such rules
purportedly derive statutory moorings.
RIGHTS OF LEGITIMATE
LABOR ORGANIZATION (ART.
251)
•RIGHTS OF SEBA
a.To act as the representative of its
members for the purpose of collective
bargaining;
b.To be certified as the exclusive
representative of all the employees in an
appropriate bargaining unit for purposes of
collective bargaining;
c.To be furnished by the employer, upon
written request, with its annual audited
financial statements, including the balance
sheet and the profit and loss statement,
within thirty (30) calendar days from the
date of receipt of the request, after the
42
union has been duly recognized by the
employer or certified as the sole and
exclusive bargaining representative of the
employees in the bargaining unit, or within
sixty (60) calendar days before the
expiration of the existing collective
bargaining agreement, or during the
collective bargaining negotiation;
RIGHTS OF SEBA AND/OR LLO
To own property, real or personal, for the
use and benefit of the labor organization
and its members;
To sue and be sued in its registered name;
and
To undertake all other activities designed to
benefit the organization and its members,
including cooperative, housing, welfare and
other projects not contrary to law.
Notwithstanding any provision of a general
or special law to the contrary, the income
and the properties of legitimate labor
organizations, including grants,
endowments, gifts, donations and
contributions they may receive from
fraternal and similar organizations, local or
foreign, which are actually, directly and
exclusively used for their lawful purposes,
shall be free from taxes, duties and other
assessments. The exemptions provided
herein may be withdrawn only by a special
law expressly repealing this provision. (As
amended by Section 17, Republic Act No.
6715, March 21, 1989)
FUNCTION OF THE LLO OR
SEBA
It is the function precisely of a labor union
such as petitioner to carry the
representation of its members particularly
against the employer's unfair labor practices
against it and its members and to file an
action for their benefit and behalf without
joining them and to avoid the cumbersome
procedure of joining each and every
member as a separate party (as authorized
under Rule 3, section 3).(Davao Free
workers vs. CIR, 1974)
In Liberty Manufacturing Workers Union v.
Court of First Instance,8 this Court
reiterated the view that a labor union has
the requisite personality to sue on behalf of
its members for their individual money
claims. It would be an unwarranted
impairment of the right to self-organization
through formation of labor associations if
thereafter such collective entities would be
barred from instituting action in their
representative capacity. So marked is the
respect under the Constitution and the
statutes to such a right to self-organization
as a result of which it may enter into
collective bargaining agreements that in
another decision, Mactan Workers Union v.
Aboitiz, 9 it was held by his Court that once
such a collective contract is entered into, its
benefits extend to all the laborers and
employees in the collective bargaining unit.
That would include those who do not belong
to the labor organization that was chosen to
represent the employees. (La Carlota Sugar
Central vs. CIR (1975)
JERRY E. ACEDERA, et al. vs.
ICTSII, ET AL. G.R. No. 146073
January 13, 2003
SEBA as a real party-in-interest.
Its members wanted to
intervene in the case.
A labor union is one such party authorized
to represent its members under Article
242(a) of the Labor Code which provides
that a union may act as the representative
of its members for the purpose of collective
bargaining. This authority includes the
power to represent its members for the
purpose of enforcing the provisions of the
CBA. That APCWU acted in a
representative capacity "for and in behalf of
its Union members and other employees
similarly situated," the title of the case filed
by it at the Labor Arbiter’s Office so
expressly states.
While a party acting in a representative
capacity, such as a union, may be permitted
to intervene in a case, ordinarily, a person
whose interests are already represented will
not be permitted to do the same28 except
43
when there is a suggestion of fraud or
collusion or that the representative will not
act in good faith for the protection of all
interests represented by him.29
PER INTERVENORS:
They stress that they have complied with
the requisites for intervention because (1)
they are the ones who stand to gain or lose
by the direct legal operation and effect of
any judgment that may be rendered in this
case, (2) no undue delay or prejudice would
result from their intervention since their
Complaint-in-Intervention with Motion for
Intervention was filed while the Labor
Arbiter was still hearing the case and before
any decision thereon was rendered, and (3)
it was not possible for them to file a
separate case as they would be guilty of
forum shopping because the only forum
available for them was the Labor Arbiter.26
WAIVER BY UNION OF
BACKWAGES AND MONEY
CLAIMS THAT BELONG TO THE
WORKERS – union cannot
waive without express
authorization
HEIRS OF TEODOLO M. CRUZ, ET AL.
VS. CIR, G.R. No. L-23331-32
December 27, 1969
turn should certainly verify and assure itself
of the fact and extent of the authority of the
union leadership to execute any
compromise or settlement of the judgment
on behalf of the individual workers who are
the real judgment creditors.
Reports required to be
submitted to the Bureau
(a) Its constitution and by-laws, or
amendments thereto, the minutes of
ratification, and the list of members who
took part in the ratification of the constitution
and by-laws within thirty (30) days from
adoption or ratification of the constitution
and by-lam or amendments thereto;
(b) Its list of officers, minutes of the election
of officers, and list of voters within thirty (30)
days from election;
(c) Its annual financial report within thirty
(30) days after the close of every fiscal year;
and
(d) Its list of members at least once a year
or whenever required by the Bureau.
Failure to comply with the above
requirements shall not be a ground for
cancellation of union registration but shall
subject the erring officers or members to
suspension, expulsion from membership, or
any appropriate penalty.“ (REPUBLIC ACT
No. 9481)

Where, however, collective bargaining

process is not involved, and what is at stake
are back wages already earned by the
individual workers by way of overtime,
premium and differential pay, and final
judgment has been rendered in their favor,
the present case, the real parties in interest
with direct material interest, as against the
union which has only served as a vehicle for
collective action to enforce their just claims,
are the individual workers themselves.24

Authority of the union to waive or quitclaim

all or part of the judgment award in favor of
the individual workers cannot be lightly
presumed but must be expressly granted,
and the employer, as judgment debtor, must
deal in all good faith with the union as the
agent of the individual workers. The Court in

44