Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
COURT OF APPEALS,
PAMANA PHILIPPINES,INC., RAZUL Z. REQUESTO, and ALETA TOLENTINO, respondents.
FACTS:
Consulta was Managing Associate of Pamana. On 1987 she was issued a certificationauthorizing her
to negotiate for and in behalf of PAMANA with the Federation of Filipino CivilianEmployees
Association. Consulta was able to secure an account with FFCEA in behalf of PAMANA. However,
Consulta claimed that PAMANA did not pay her commission for the PPCEAaccount and filed a
complaint for unpaid wages or commission.
ISSUE:
Whether or not Consulta was an employee of PAMANA.
HELD:
The SC held that Pamana was an independent agent and not an employee. The power of control in
the four fold test is missing. The manner in which Consulta was to pursue her tasked activities was
not subject to the control of PAMANA. Consulta failed to show that she worked definite hours. The
amount of time, the methods and means, the management and maintenance of her sales division
were left to her sound judgment. Finally, Pamana paid Consulta not for labor she performed but only
for the results of her labor. Without results, Consultas labor was her own burden and loss. Her right
to compensation, or to commission, depended on the tangible results of her work - whether she
brought in paying recruits. The fact that the appointment required Consulta to solicit business
exclusively for Pamana did not mean Pamana exercised control over the means and methods of
Consultas work as the term control is understood in labor jurisprudence. Neither did it make
Consulta an employee of Pamana. Pamana did not prohibit Consulta from engaging in any other
business, or from being connected with any other company, for as long as the business or company
did not compete with Pamanas business. The exclusivity clause was a reasonable restriction to
prevent similar acts prejudicial to Pamanas business interest. Article 1306 of the Civil Code provides
that the contracting parties may establish such stipulation, clauses, terms and conditions as they
may deem convenient, provided that they are not contrary to law, morals, good customs, public
order, or public policy. There being no employer-employee relationship between Pamana and
Consulta, the Labor Arbiter and the NLRC had no jurisdiction to entertain and rule on Consultas
money claim. Consultas remedy is to file an ordinary civil action to litigate her claim.
Petition is dismissed.
Article 2180 of the Civil Code is misplaced. An implementing rule on labor cannot be used by an
employer as a shield to void liability under the substantive provisions of the Civil Code.
Funtecha is an employee of Filamer. He need not have an official appointment for a drivers position
in order that Filamer may be held responsible for his grossly negligent act, it being sufficient that the
act of driving at the time of the incident was for the benefit of Filamer (the act of driving the jeep
from the school to Masas house is beneficial to the school because this enables Masa to do a timely
school transportation service in the morning). Hence, the fact that Funtecha was not the school driver
or was not acting with the scope of his janitorial duties does not relieve Filamer of the burden of
rebutting the presumption juris tantum that there was negligence on its part either in the selection of
a servant or employee, or in the supervision over him. Filamer has failed to show proof of its having
exercised the required diligence of a good father of a family over its employees Funtecha and Allan.