Philippine Supreme Court Jurisprudence


Philippine Supreme Court Jurisprudence > Year 1985 > August 1985 Decisions > G.R. No. L-34147 August 28, 1985 - TERESITA ALO, ET AL. v. VALERIO V. ROVIRA, ET AL.:




PHILIPPINE SUPREME COURT DECISIONS

FIRST DIVISION

[G.R. No. L-34147. August 28, 1985.]

TERESITA ALO and FEDERATION OF FREE FARMERS (FFW), Petitioners, v. HON. VALERIO V. ROVIRA, Presiding Judge of the Court of First Instance, Branch IV, Iloilo City, GENOVEVA SO CHAN TOO, SY KIAN TIOK and the PROVINCIAL SHERIFF OF ILOILO, Respondents.


D E C I S I O N


ALAMPAY, J.:


This is a Petition for certiorari filed by Teresita Alo and the Federation of Free Workers (FFW) — the labor organization to which she belongs — against Hon. Valerio V. Rovira, as the Presiding Judge of the then Court of First Instance of Iloilo, Branch IV and impleading, as other co-respondents, Genoveva So Chan Too, Sy Kian Tiok, and the Provincial Sheriff of Iloilo. Petitioners seek the annulment of the Order issued in Civil Case No. 8769, dated September 11, 1971, granting the writ of preliminary injunction prayed for by private respondents as well as the corresponding writ dated September 13, 1971 that was issued pursuant to the aforesaid order.chanrobles law library : red

Civil Case No. 8769 is a civil action for damages filed by private respondents spouses Genoveva So Chan Too and Sy Kian Tiok against Teresita Alo and her friends and sympathizers, for conducting a picket in front of petitioners’ store — the Iloilo Shanghai Bazar — because of which, private respondents aver that they had been deprived of the income they expect from the daily sales of their business establishment.

Petitioners alleged that sometime in August, 1971, Teresita Alo, while working in private respondents’ store as cashier, organized a local chapter of the FFW and adopted the name Iloilo Shanghai Bazar Workers Union FFW; that on August 26, 1971, the FFW wrote private respondents a letter requesting the latter to recognize their organization as the bargaining agents of the rank and file employees of the Bazar; that instead of replying to said letter, the private respondents filed a petition for certification election with the Court of Industrial Relations (CIR) which was docketed as Case No. 129-MC-Iloilo; that from August 1 to 15, 1971, Teresita Alo was on leave attending a labor seminar sponsored by the FFW; that upon her return to work on August 16, 1971, she was demoted from cashier to an ordinary sales girl; that, finally, on August 27, 1971, she was dismissed from the service on account of her union activities; that on September 2, 1971, the FFW filed a notice of strike with the then Department of Labor due to the dismissal of Teresita Alo and also form management’s refusal to bargain; that on September 2, 1971, petitioner Alo and some sympathizers picketed the premises, of private respondents’ store and on September 10, 1971 they filed with the CIR a charge docketed as Charge No. 206-Iloilo, for Unfair Labor Practice, Violation of Eight-Hour Labor Law, and Minimum Wage Law; that on September 8, 1971, herein private respondents filed a civil action for damages (Civil Case No. 8769) with the CFI of Iloilo City, Branch IV, Respondent Judge presiding; and on September 11, 1971, after hearing, respondent judge ordered the issuance of a writ of injunction, enjoining petitioners and their named sympathizers from conducting a picket line in front of the Iloilo Shanghai Bazar; said order is now the subject of petitioners’ challenge on the ground of lack of jurisdiction on the part of the court below to act on a labor dispute.chanrobles.com:cralaw:red

In their Answer to the instant petition, respondents denied the foregoing allegations claiming that there is no employer-employee relationship and that the petitioners have no cause of action against them.

From the records, it appears that the acts complained of in the unfair labor practice charge of petitioners in the Court of Industrial Relations and those sought to be enjoined in the civil action for damages of private respondents before the CFI of Iloilo City are interwoven or intertwined with one another. Both involve the alleged unfair labor practice charge and the consequent labor dispute occasioned thereby.

We find pertinent and relevant the pronouncements made in the case of Veterans Security Free Workers Union (FFW) v. Hon. Gaudencio Cloribel, Et Al., L-26439, Jan. 30, 1970, 31 SCRA 297-298: —

". . .. Labor disputes arising out of unfair labor practices committed by any of the parties do not present a question of concurrent jurisdiction between the Court of First Instance and the Court of Industrial Relations, but that jurisdiction over such matters is vested exclusively in the Court of Industrial Relations. The fact that a civil case was filed ahead in the Court of First Instance than the filing of the unfair labor practices charge in the Industrial Court does not deprive the Court of Industrial Relations of its jurisdiction."cralaw virtua1aw library

Accordingly, the public respondent judge erred in taking cognizance of the case filed before it and in issuing the injunction relief sought by private respondents. Clearly, the court below had no jurisdiction over the case involving a labor dispute.

While the instant petition was pending before this Court, Presidential Decree No. 442, otherwise known as the Labor Code of the Philippines, was promulgated and became effective on May 1, 1974. Under the said Code, as amended, the Court of Industrial Relations was abolished (Art. 299) and unfair labor practice cases, among others, were placed under the jurisdiction of the Labor Arbiter and the National Labor Relations Commission (Art. 217).

Thus, with the enactment of P.D. No. 442, there should be no doubt whatsoever as to which governmental entity shall exercise jurisdiction over a labor dispute such as that which is the subject matter of the present petition.

"Unlike the Court of Industrial Relations whose jurisdiction was limited to unfair labor practice, representation case, and national interest cases, the jurisdiction of the National Labor Relations Commission was expanded to accommodate all cases involving employer employee relations." (Bengzon v. Inciong, L-48706-07, June 29, 1979, 91 SCRA 248).

Consequently, whether under the law governing the labor dispute that arose at the time or under the Presidential Decree which was later promulgated and presently applicable, the Court of First Instance (now the Regional Trial Court) would not have jurisdiction over the subject Civil Case No. 8769.chanrobles virtual lawlibrary

WHEREFORE, the petition is hereby granted. The challenged Orders issued on September 11 and 13, 1977 by public respondent judge are hereby declared null and void for lack of jurisdiction on the part of the court below to grant the same. The writ of preliminary injunction dated February 8, 1973, enjoining the enforcement of the challenged Orders in this case, is hereby made PERMANENT. Costs against private respondents.

SO ORDERED.

Teehankee (Chairman), Melencio-Herrera, Plana, Relova, Gutierrez, Jr., and De la Fuente, JJ., concur.




Back to Home | Back to Main




















chanrobles.com





ChanRobles On-Line Bar Review

ChanRobles Internet Bar Review : www.chanroblesbar.com

ChanRobles MCLE On-line

ChanRobles Lawnet Inc. - ChanRobles MCLE On-line : www.chanroblesmcleonline.com






August-1985 Jurisprudence                 

  • G.R. No. L-42636 August 1, 1985 - MARIA LUISA DE LEON ESCALER, ET AL. v. COURT OF APPEALS, ET AL.

  • G.R. No. L-57905 August 1, 1985 - DEVELOPMENT BANK OF THE PHILIPPINES v. JOAQUIN ILUSTRE, JR., ET AL.

  • G.R. No. L-29146 August 5, 1985 - BENITA SALAO v. BENITO CRISOSTOMO

  • G.R. No. L-36936 August 5, 1985 - PEOPLE OF THE PHIL. v. ARSENIO ARBOIS, ET AL.

  • G.R. No. L-45277 August 5, 1985 - AUGUSTO BASA v. REPUBLIC OF THE PHIL., ET AL.

  • G.R. No. L-45967 August 5, 1985 - CESARIO DIONG-AN, ET AL. v. COURT OF APPEALS, ET AL.

  • G.R. No. 70895 August 5, 1985 - HABALUYAS ENTERPRISES, INC., ET AL. v. MAXIMO M. JAPZON, ET AL.

  • A.M. No. 2796-P August 7, 1985 - JOSE L. MOYA, ET AL. v. RENATO A. BASSIG

  • G.R. No. L-42400 August 7, 1985 - ISAURO ABCEDE, ET AL. v. WORKMEN’S COMPENSATION COMMISSION, ET AL.

  • G.R. No. L-42916 August 7, 1985 - DONATO JEREZA v. LUIS T. MONDIA, ET AL.

  • G.R. No. L-49930 August 7, 1985 - FRANCISCO MALONG, ET AL. v. PHILIPPINE NATIONAL RAILWAYS, ET AL.

  • G.R. No. L-63048 August 7, 1985 - EMILIO TEJIDO, ET AL. v. JUAN URIARTE ZAMACOMA, ET AL.

  • G.R. Nos. L-63408 & 64026 August 7, 1985 - GAUDIOSO C. LLAMOSO, ET AL. v. SANDIGANBAYAN, ET AL.

  • G.R. No. L-68458 August 7, 1985 - LORENZO BOLAÑOS, ET AL. v. INTERMEDIATE APPELLATE COURT, ET AL.

  • G.R. No. L-69491 August 7, 1985 - MAXIMO DE LA TORRE, ET AL. v. EMPLOYEES’ COMPENSATION COMMISSION, ET AL.

  • G.R. No. L-66395 August 7, 1985 - BENEDICTO MALIA, ET AL. v. INTERMEDIATE APPELLATE COURT, ET AL.

  • G.R. No. L-44944 August 9, 1985 - TOP-WELD MANUFACTURING, INC. v. ECED, S.A., ET AL.

  • G.R. No. L-61898 August 9, 1985 - LAO SOK v. LYDIA SABAYSABAY, ET AL.

  • G.R. No. L-62043 August 13, 1985 - PEOPLE OF THE PHIL. v. NICOLAS CANAMO, ET AL.

  • G.R. No. L-67766 & L-70881 August 14, 1986

    ISIDRO T. HILDAWA v. JUAN PONCE ENRILE, ET AL.

  • G.R. No. L-27935 August 16, 1985 - PEOPLE OF THE PHIL. v. JUAN L. BOCAR, ET AL.

  • G.R. No. L-29359 August 16, 1985 - URSULA CALDERON, ET AL. v. VICTORIANO DE LA CRUZ

  • G.R. No. L-45749 August 16, 1985 - PEOPLE OF THE PHIL. v. FELICIDAD C. VILLALON, ET AL.

  • G.R. No. L-41605 August 19, 1985 - ROGELIO PRING, ET AL. v. COURT OF APPEALS, ET AL.

  • G.R. No. L-45662 August 20, 1985 - FELIPE U. ERESE v. EMPLOYEES’ COMPENSATION COMMISSION

  • G.R. Nos. L-40367-69 August 22, 1985 - PEOPLE OF THE PHIL. v. PACITO STO. TOMAS

  • G.R. No. L-45123 August 26, 1985 - PEOPLE OF THE PHIL. v. MANGGAYANAN SINAW-AY, ET AL.

  • G.R. Nos. L-49607-13 August 26, 1985 - BENJAMIN LU HAYCO v. COURT OF APPEALS

  • G.R. No. L-67207 August 26, 1985 - ST. DOMINIC CORPORATION v. INTERMEDIATE APPELLATE COURT, ET AL.

  • A.M. No. R-156-P August 27, 1985 - PEPITA CELIS v. LEVY Q. MARQUEZ

  • G.R. No. L-34147 August 28, 1985 - TERESITA ALO, ET AL. v. VALERIO V. ROVIRA, ET AL.

  • G.R. No. L-41745 August 28, 1985 - MUNICIPALITY OF DAET v. HIDALGO ENTERPRISES, INC., ET AL.

  • G.R. No. L-44717 August 28, 1985 - CHARTERED BANK EMPLOYEES ASSOCIATION v. BLAS F. OPLE, ET AL.

  • G.R. No. L-45278 August 28, 1985 - NAPOLEON ANTAZO v. PEOPLE OF THE PHIL., ET AL.

  • G.R. Nos. 71208-09 August 30, 1985 - SATURNINA GALMAN, ET AL. v. MANUEL PAMARAN, ET AL.