CORDILLERA CAREER DEVELOPMENT COLLEGE

College of Law

PRACTICUM II
Compliance No. ___

PROCEDURE (Quasi-judicial Body)

Office: NLRC
Resource Person: Labor Arbiter Malcom Bacuso
Date/Time: May 2, 2022 at 1:00 PM

I. REPORT

On May 2, 2022, I went to the National Labor Relations Office CAR-Baguio City. The resource
person we interviewed was Labor Arbiter Malcom Bacuso. He explained to us what the procedures in
their office are. He said that in cases where workers or employers feel like they are still not being heard,
even after having followed the grievance procedure, they may raise their cases to the National Labor
Relations Commission (NLRC). The NLRC is a quasi-judicial body under DOLE that is tasked to promote
and maintain industrial peace by resolving labor and management disputes. He explained that to file a
case with the NLRC, the aggrieved party must create a complaint petition that cites their cause for
action. All the complainants and respondents must be cited within the petition and this petition must be
signed under oath. The petition must then be brought to the labor arbiters of their respective regional
arbitration branches. The aggrieved party must also serve the opposing party with a copy of the pleading
along with its supporting documents.

Moreover, he enumerated the jurisdiction of Labor Arbiters which are the following cases:
1. Unfair labor practice (ULP) cases;
2. Termination disputes (or illegal dismissal cases);
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 employer-
employee relations;
5. Cases arising from any violation of Article 264 of the Labor Code, including questions
involving the legality of strikes and lockouts;
6. Except claims for employees compensation not included in the next succeeding paragraph,
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), whether or not accompanied with a claim
for reinstatement;
7. Wage distortion disputes in unorganized establishments not voluntarily settled by the parties
pursuant to Republic Act No. 6627;
8. Enforcement of compromise agreements when there is non-compliance by any of the parties
pursuant to Article 227 of the Labor Code, as amended;
9. Money claims arising out of employer-employee relationship or 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 by Section 10 of R.A. No. 8042, as amended
by R.A. No. 10022;
10. Contested cases under the exception clause of Article 128(b) of the Labor Code, as amended
by R.A. 7730; and
11. Other cases as may be provided by law.

Just like in other cases, in the NLRC, there is also a mandatory conciliation and mediation
conference which shall be called for the purpose of (1) amicably settling the case upon a fair
compromise; (2) determining the real parties in interest; (3) determining the necessity of amending the
complaint and including all causes of action; (4) defining and simplifying the issues in the case; (5)
entering into admissions or stipulations of facts; and (6) threshing out all other preliminary matters. The
non-appearance of the complainant or petitioner during the two (2) settings for mandatory conciliation
and mediation conference scheduled in the summons, despite due notice thereof, shall be a ground for
the dismissal of the case without prejudice.

The Labor Arbiter shall take full control and personally conduct the hearing or clarificatory
conference and may ask questions for the purpose of clarifying points of law or facts involved in the
case. The Labor Arbiter may allow the presentation of testimonial evidence with right of cross-
examination by the opposing party and shall limit the presentation of evidence to matters relevant to
the issue before him/her and necessary for a just and speedy disposition of the case. The Labor Arbiter
shall make a written summary of the proceedings, including the substance of the evidence presented, in
consultation with the parties. The written summary shall be signed by the parties and shall form part of
the records.

The parties and their counsels appearing before the Labor Arbiter shall be prepared for
continuous hearing or clarificatory conference. No postponement or continuance shall be allowed by the
Labor Arbiter, except upon meritorious grounds and subject to the requirement of expeditious
disposition of cases. The hearing or clarificatory conference shall be terminated within thirty (30)
calendar days from the date of the initial clarificatory conference. In cases involving overseas Filipino
workers, the aggregate period for conducting the mandatory conciliation and mediation conference,
including hearing on the merits or clarificatory conference, shall not exceed sixty (60) days, which will be
reckoned from the date of acquisition of jurisdiction by the Labor Arbiter over the person of the
respondents. In case of non-appearance of any of the parties during the hearing or clarificatory
conference despite due notice, proceedings shall be conducted ex parte. Thereafter, the case shall be
deemed submitted for decision.

II. OBSERVATION

During the interview, I observed that the resource person was very knowledgeable of the Labor
Code and pertinent provisions of law. He was able to explain to us the procedures that must be taken in
the proper disposition of cases. With regards to the procedure, I observed that 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. In this
case, following are the effects: (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 shall be subsumed/absorbed by the assumed or certified case except when the
order specified otherwise. The parties to the case should inform the DOLE Secretary of pendency
thereof.
Moreover, I observed in the procedure that a party may file a motion to revive or re-open a case
dismissed without prejudice, within ten (10) calendar days from receipt of notice of the order dismissing
the same; otherwise, the only remedy shall be to re-file the case. A party declared to have waived
his/her right to file position paper may, at any time after notice thereof and before the case is submitted
for decision, file a motion under oath to set aside the order of waiver upon proper showing that his/her
failure to appear was due to justifiable and meritorious grounds.

III. RECOMMENDATION

As a law student, I recommend that observations shall be done by law students whenever
possible because during observations, we can learn a lot of things. We will be educated on what
happens during the actual hearings. With observations too, we will have confidence in appearing in
court soon because of the exposure in court. The quasi-judicial body observation will serve as an eye
opener to provide an actual, definite and in-depth understanding beyond the four corners of the books
we have read.
 Overall, the visit and the observation of the proceedings in the National Labor Relations
Commission was productive since it made me apply and realize the true flow of the proceedings. You
can also observe the techniques employed by the Labor Arbiters. The Labor Arbiter plays a vital role in
the society to weigh the quantum of evidence which tilts the scales of justice to those who is to be
protected and punished by law. The Labor Arbiter properly adhered to the rules as contemplated by the
law and exercised sound discretion in deciding the courses of actions to take. The observations like this
inspires one person to pursue and put the reality the dream of becoming a lawyer.

IV. ATTACHMENTS
- (Applicable Law/Procedure/Manual)
- Certificate of Appearance
- Photo (Depicting the student with the resource person/Officer
in charge at the office/court)

(Signature)
________________
Name of Student

Date of Submission: _____________