The Heritage Hotel, Manila v.

National Union of Workers

GR No. 178296

Facts:

Respondent filed a petition for certification election which was subsequently granted.
However, petitioner then discovered that respondent failed to submit to the
Bureau of Labor Relations (BLR) its annual financial report for several years and its list of
members since it filed its registration papers in 1995. Consequently, it filed a Petition for
Cancellation of Registration against respondent, on the ground of the non-submission of
the said documents. Petitioner prayed that respondent’s Certificate of Creation of
Local/Chapter be cancelled and its name be deleted from the list of legitimate labor
organizations. It further requested for the suspension of the certification election
proceedings. Nevertheless, the certification election pushed through and respondent won.

In ruling, the regional Director of DOLE-NCR and DOLE Secretary both held that
constitutionally guaranteed freedom of association and right of workers to self-
organization outweighed respondent’s non-compliance with the statutory requirements to
maintain its status as a legitimate labor organization.

Issues:

Whether or not the failure to comply with the statutory requirement (filing financial reports
and the list of its members) sufficient ground for the cancellation of registration of the
respondent as a labor union.

Held:

No, the noncompliance should not be a ground for the cancellation. Articles 238 and 239
of the Labor Code provide that failure to file financial reports and the list of its members
are grounds for the cancellation of Union Organization.

However, consideration must be taken of the fundamental rights guaranteed by Article XI

II, Section 3 of the Constitution, i.e., the rights of all workers to self-
organization, collective bargaining and negotiations, and peaceful concerted activities. La
bor authorities should bear in mind that registration confers upon a union the status of leg
itimacy and the concomitant right and privileges granted by law to a legitimate labor orga
nization, particularly the right to participate in or ask for certification election in a bargai
ning unit. Thus, the cancellation of a certificate of registration is the equivalent of snuffin
g out the life of a labor organization. For without such registration, it loses – as a rule – it
s rights under the Labor Code.

Furthermore, It is worth mentioning that the Labor Code’s provisions on cancellation of

union registration and on reportorial requirements have been recently amended by Republic
Act (R.A.) No. 9481, An Act Strengthening the Workers’ Constitutional Right to Self-
Organization, Amending for the Purpose Presidential Decree No. 442, As Amended,
Otherwise Known as the Labor Code of the Philippines, which lapsed into law on May 25,
2007 and became effective on June 14, 2007. The amendment sought to strengthen the
workers’ right to self-organization and enhance the Philippines’ compliance with its
international obligations as embodied in the International Labour Organization (ILO)
Convention No. 87, pertaining to the non-dissolution of workers’ organizations by
administrative authority.