SECURITY AGENCY, INC.,
Petitioner,
Present:
Chairperson,
BIENVENIDO
E. LAGUESMA, VELASCO, JR., JJ.
REGIONAL DIRECTOR BRENDA
A. VILLAFUERTE, ALEXANDER
POCDING,
FIDEL BALANGAY,
BUAGEN
DAVID
MENDOZA, JR.,
GABRIEL
TAMULONG,
ANTON
PEDRO, FRANCISCO PINEDA,
GASTON
DUYAO, HULLARUB,
NOLI
DIONEDA, ATONG CENON, JR.,
TOMMY
BAUCAS, WILLIAM PAPSONGAY,
RICKY DORIA, GEOFREY MINO,
ORLANDO RILLASE, SIMPLICIO TELLO,
M. G. NOCES, R. D. ALEJO, and Promulgated:
P. C. DINTAN,
Respondents.
x - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - -x
CARPIO, J.:
The Case
This
is a petition for review[1] with
prayer for the issuance of a temporary restraining order or writ of preliminary
injunction of the 29 May 2001 Decision[2] and the
26 February 2002 Resolution[3] of the
Court of Appeals in CA-G.R. SP No. 57653.
The 29 May 2001 Decision of the Court of Appeals affirmed the 4 October
1999 Order of the Secretary of Labor in OS-LS-04-4-097-280. The 26 February 2002 Resolution denied the
motion for reconsideration.
The Facts
Ex-Bataan Veterans Security Agency, Inc. (EBVSAI) is in the
business of providing security services while private respondents are EBVSAI’s employees assigned to the National Power
Corporation at Ambuklao Hydro Electric Plant, Bokod, Benguet (Ambuklao Plant).
On 20 February 1996, private respondents led
by Alexander Pocding (Pocding)
instituted a complaint[4] for
underpayment of wages against EBVSAI before the Regional Office of the
Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE).
On
7 March 1996, the Regional Office conducted a complaint inspection at the Ambuklao Plant where the following violations were noted:
(1) non-presentation of records; (2) non-payment of holiday pay; (3)
non-payment of rest day premium; (4) underpayment of night shift differential
pay; (5) non-payment of service incentive leave; (6) underpayment of 13th
month pay; (7) no registration; (8) no annual medical report; (9) no annual
work accidental report; (10) no safety committee; and (11) no trained first aider.[5] On the same date, the Regional Office issued
a notice of hearing[6]
requiring EBVSAI and private respondents to attend the hearing on 22 March 1996. Other hearings were set for 8 May 1996, 27
May 1996 and 10 June 1996.
On
19 August 1996, the Director of the Regional Office (Regional Director) issued
an Order, the dispositive portion of which reads:
WHEREFORE, premises considered, respondent EX-BATAAN VETERANS SECURITY AGENCY is hereby ORDERED to pay the computed deficiencies owing to the affected employees in the total amount of SEVEN HUNDRED SIXTY THREE THOUSAND NINE HUNDRED NINETY SEVEN PESOS and 85/PESOS within ten (10) calendar days upon receipt hereof. Otherwise, a Writ of Execution shall be issued to enforce compliance of this Order.
NAME DEFICIENCY
1.
ALEXANDER POCDING P
36,380.85
2. FIDEL BALANGAY 36,380.85
3. BUAGEN CLYDE 36,380.85
4. DENNIS EPI 36,380.85
5. DAVID MENDOZA, JR. 36,380.85
6. GABRIEL TAMULONG 36,380.85
7. ANTON PEDRO 36,380.85
8. FRANCISCO PINEDA 36,380.85
9. GASTON DUYAO 36,380.85
10. HULLARUB 36,380.85
11. NOLI D[EO]NIDA 36,380.85
12. ATONG CENON, JR. 36,380.85
13. TOMMY BAUCAS 36,380.85
14. WILIAM PAPSONGAY 36,380.85
15. RICKY DORIA 36,380.85
16. GEOFREY MINO 36,380.85
17. ORLANDO R[IL]LASE 36,380.85
18. SIMPLICO TELLO 36,380.85
19. NOCES, M.G. 36,380.85
20. ALEJO, R.D. 36,380.85
21. D[I]NTAN, P.C. 36,380.85
------------------
TOTAL
P 763,997.85
===========
x x x x
SO ORDERED.[7]
EBVSAI filed a motion for reconsideration[8] and
alleged that the Regional Director does not have jurisdiction over the subject
matter of the case because the money claim of each private respondent exceeded P5,000. EBVSAI pointed
out that the Regional Director should have endorsed the case to the Labor
Arbiter.
In
a supplemental motion for reconsideration,[9] EBVSAI
questioned the Regional Director’s basis for the computation of the deficiencies
due to each private respondent.
In
an Order[10]
dated 16 January 1997, the Regional Director denied EBVSAI’s
motion for reconsideration and supplemental motion for reconsideration. The Regional Director stated that, pursuant
to Republic Act No. 7730 (RA 7730),[11] the
limitations under Articles 129[12] and 217(6)[13] of the
Labor Code no longer apply to the Secretary of Labor’s visitorial
and enforcement powers under Article 128(b).[14] The Secretary of Labor or his duly authorized
representatives are now empowered to hear and decide, in a summary proceeding,
any matter involving the recovery of any amount of wages and other monetary
claims arising out of employer-employee relations at the time of the
inspection.
EBVSAI
appealed to the Secretary of Labor.
The
Ruling of the Secretary of Labor
In an Order[15] dated 4
October 1999, the Secretary of Labor affirmed with modification the Regional
Director’s 19 August 1996 Order. The
Secretary of Labor ordered that the P1,000
received by private respondents Romeo Alejo, Atong Cenon, Jr., Geofrey Mino, Dennis Epi, and Ricky Doria be deducted
from their respective claims. The
Secretary of Labor ruled that, pursuant to RA 7730, the Court’s decision in the
Servando[16] case is
no longer controlling insofar as the restrictive effect of Article 129 on the visitorial and enforcement power of the Secretary of Labor
is concerned.
The
Secretary of Labor also stated that there was no denial of due process because
EBVSAI was accorded several opportunities to present its side but EBVSAI failed
to present any evidence to controvert the findings of the Regional
Director. Moreover, the Secretary of
Labor doubted the veracity and authenticity of EBVSAI’s
documentary evidence. The Secretary of
Labor noted that these documents were not presented at the initial stage of the
hearing and that the payroll documents did not indicate the periods covered by EBVSAI’s alleged payments.
EVBSAI
filed a motion for reconsideration which was denied by the Secretary of Labor
in his
EBVSAI
filed a petition for certiorari before the Court of Appeals.
The Ruling of the Court of Appeals
In its
The
Court of Appeals also denied EBVSAI’s motion for
reconsideration in its
Hence, this petition.
The
Issues
This
case raises the following issues:
1. Whether the Secretary of Labor or his
duly authorized representatives acquired jurisdiction over EBVSAI; and
2. Whether the Secretary of Labor or his
duly authorized representatives have jurisdiction over the money claims of
private respondents which exceed P5,000.
The
Ruling of the Court
The
petition has no merit.
On the Regional Director’s
Jurisdiction over EBVSAI
EBVSAI
claims that the Regional Director did not acquire jurisdiction over EBVSAI
because he failed to comply with Section 11, Rule 14 of the 1997 Rules of Civil
Procedure.[18] EBVSAI points out that the notice of hearing
was served at the Ambuklao Plant, not at EBVSAI’s main office in
The
Rules on the Disposition of Labor Standards Cases in the Regional Offices[19] (rules)
specifically state that notices and copies of orders shall be served on the
parties or their duly authorized representatives at their last known address
or, if they are represented by counsel, through the latter.[20] The
rules shall be liberally construed[21] and
only in the absence of any applicable provision will the Rules of Court apply
in a suppletory character.[22]
In
this case, EBVSAI does not deny having received the notices of hearing. In fact, on 29
March and
On the Regional Director’s
Jurisdiction over the Money Claims
EBVSAI
maintains that under Articles 129 and 217(6) of the Labor Code, the Labor
Arbiter, not the Regional Director, has exclusive and original jurisdiction
over the case because the individual monetary claim of private respondents
exceeds P5,000.
EBVSAI also argues that the case falls under the exception clause in
Article 128(b) of the Labor Code. EBVSAI
asserts that the Regional Director should have certified the case to the
Arbitration Branch of the National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC) for a
full-blown hearing on the merits.
In
Allied Investigation Bureau, Inc. v. Sec. of Labor, we ruled that:
While it is true that
under Articles 129 and 217 of the Labor Code, the Labor Arbiter has
jurisdiction to hear and decide cases where the aggregate money claims of each
employee exceeds P5,000.00, said provisions of law do not contemplate
nor cover the visitorial and enforcement powers of
the Secretary of Labor or his duly authorized representatives.
Rather, said powers are defined and set forth in Article 128 of the Labor Code (as amended by R.A. No. 7730) thus:
Art. 128 Visitorial and enforcement power. --- x x x
(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of Article[s] 129 and 217 of this Code to the contrary, and in cases where the relationship of employer-employee still exists, the Secretary of Labor and Employment or his duly authorized representatives shall have the power to issue compliance orders to give effect to [the labor standards provisions of this Code and other] labor legislation based on the findings of labor employment and enforcement officers or industrial safety engineers made in the course of inspection. The Secretary or his duly authorized representatives shall issue writs of execution to the appropriate authority for the enforcement of their orders, except in cases where the employer contests the findings of the labor employment and enforcement officer and raises issues supported by documentary proofs which were not considered in the course of inspection.
x x x x
The aforequoted provision explicitly excludes from its coverage Articles 129 and 217 of the Labor Code by the phrase “(N)otwithstanding the provisions of Articles 129 and 217of this Code to the contrary x x x” thereby retaining and further strengthening the power of the Secretary of Labor or his duly authorized representatives to issue compliance orders to give effect to the labor standards provisions of said Code and other labor legislation based on the findings of labor employment and enforcement officer or industrial safety engineer made in the course of inspection.[23] (Italics in the original)
This
was further affirmed in our ruling in Cirineo
Bowling Plaza, Inc. v. Sensing,[24] where
we sustained the jurisdiction of the DOLE Regional Director and held that “the
visitorial and enforcement powers of the DOLE
Regional Director to order and enforce compliance with labor standard laws can
be exercised even where the individual claim exceeds P5,000.”
However,
if the labor standards case is covered by the exception clause in Article
128(b) of the Labor Code, then the Regional Director will have to endorse the
case to the appropriate Arbitration Branch of the NLRC. In order to divest the Regional Director or
his representatives of jurisdiction, the following elements must be present:
(a) that the employer contests the findings of the labor regulations officer
and raises issues thereon; (b) that in order to resolve such issues, there is a
need to examine evidentiary matters; and (c) that such matters are not
verifiable in the normal course of inspection.[25] The rules also provide that the employer
shall raise such objections during the hearing of the case or at any time after
receipt of the notice of inspection results.[26]
In
this case, the Regional Director validly assumed jurisdiction over the money
claims of private respondents even if the claims exceeded P5,000 because such jurisdiction was exercised in accordance
with Article 128(b) of the Labor Code and the case does not fall under the
exception clause.
The
Court notes that EBVSAI did not contest the findings of the labor regulations
officer during the hearing or after receipt of the notice of inspection
results. It was only in its supplemental
motion for reconsideration before the Regional Director that EBVSAI questioned
the findings of the labor regulations officer and presented documentary
evidence to controvert the claims of private respondents. But even if this was the case, the Regional
Director and the Secretary of Labor still looked into and considered EBVSAI’s documentary evidence and found that such did not
warrant the reversal of the Regional Director’s order. The Secretary of Labor also doubted the
veracity and authenticity of EBVSAI’s documentary
evidence. Moreover, the pieces of
evidence presented by EBVSAI were verifiable in the normal course of inspection
because all employment records of the employees should be kept and maintained
in or about the premises of the workplace, which in this case is in Ambuklao Plant, the establishment where private respondents
were regularly assigned.[27]
WHEREFORE,
we DENY the petition. We AFFIRM
the
SO ORDERED.
ANTONIO
T. CARPIO
Associate Justice
WE CONCUR:
LEONARDO A. QUISUMBING
Associate Justice
Chairperson
CONCHITA CARPIO MORALES DANTE O. TINGA
Associate Justice Associate Justice
PRESBITERO J. VELASCO, JR.
Associate Justice
ATTESTATION
I attest that the conclusions in the above Decision had been reached in consultation before the case was assigned to the writer of the opinion of the Court’s Division.
LEONARDO A. QUISUMBING
Associate Justice
Chairperson
CERTIFICATION
Pursuant to Section 13, Article VIII of the Constitution, and the Division Chairperson’s Attestation, I certify that the conclusions in the above Decision had been reached in consultation before the case was assigned to the writer of the opinion of the Court’s Division.
REYNATO S. PUNO
Chief Justice
[1] Under Rule 45 of the 1997 Rules of Civil Procedure.
[2] Rollo, pp. 125-133. Penned by Associate Justice Alicia L. Santos with Associate Justices Ramon A. Barcelona and Rodrigo V. Cosico, concurring.
[3]
[4]
[5]
[6]
[7]
[8]
[9]
[10]
[11] Entitled “AN ACT FURTHER
STRENGTHENING THE VISITORIAL AND ENFORCEMENT POWERS
OF THE SECRETARY OF LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT, AMENDING FOR THE PURPOSE ARTICLE 128 OF P.D. 442, AS
AMENDED, OTHERWISE KNOWN AS THE LABOR
CODE OF THE PHILIPPINES,” dated
[12] Article 129 of the Labor Code provides:
Article 129. RECOVERY OF WAGES, SIMPLE MONEY
CLAIMS AND OTHER BENEFITS. - Upon
complaint of any interested party, the regional director of the Department of Labor and Employment or any
of the duly authorized hearing officers of
the Department is empowered, through summary proceeding and after due notice,
to hear and decide any matter involving
the recovery of wages and other monetary claims and
benefits, including legal interest, owing to an employee or person employed in domestic or household service or househelper under this Code, arising from employer- employee relations: Provided, That
such complaint does not include a claim for reinstatement;
Provided, further, That the aggregate money claim of each employee or househelper
does not exceed Five Thousand pesos (P5,000.00). x x
x
[13] Article 217(6) of the Labor Code provides:
Article 217. JURISDICTION OF LABOR ARBITERS AND THE COMMISSION. - (a) Except as otherwise provided under this Code, the Labor Arbiter 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:
x x x
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.
[14] Article 128 of the Labor Code provides:
Article 128. VISITORIAL AND ENFORCEMENT POWER. - x x x
(b)
Notwithstanding the provisions of Articles 129 and 217 of this Code to the contrary, and in cases where the relationship
of employer-employee still exists, the Secretary
of Labor and Employment or his duly authorized representatives shall have the power to issue compliance orders to give
effect to the labor standards provisions
of this Code and other labor
legislation based on the findings of labor employment and enforcement officers or industrial
safety engineers made in the course of inspection. The Secretary or his duly authorized representatives shall
issue writs of execution to the appropriate
authority for the enforcement of their orders, except in cases where the employer contests the
findings of the labor employment
and enforcement officer
and raises issues
supported by documentary proofs which were not considered in the course of inspection.
[15] Rollo, pp. 107-111.
[16] G.R. No. 85840,
[17] Rollo, pp. 122-123.
[18] Section 11, Rule 14 of the 1997 Rules of Civil Procedure provides:
SEC.11. Service upon domestic private juridical entity. - When the defendant is a corporation, partnership or association organized under the laws of the Philippines with a juridical personality, service may be made on the president, managing partner, general manager, corporate secretary, treasurer, or in-house counsel.
[19] Dated
[20] Department of Labor and Employment, Rules on the Disposition of Labor Standard Cases in the Regional Offices, Section 4, Rule II (1987).
[21]
[22]
[23] 377 Phil. 80, 88-90 (1999).
[24] G.R. No. 146572,
[25] Batong Buhay Gold Mines, Inc. v. Sec. Dela Serna, 370 Phil. 872 (1999), citing SSK Parts Corporation v. Camas, G.R. No. 85934, 30 January 1990, 181 SCRA 675.
[26] Department of Labor and Employment, Rules on the Disposition of Labor Standard Cases in the Regional Offices, Section 1(b), Rule III (1987).
[27] Implementing Rules of Book III, Rule X, Section 11.