LABOR LAW REVIEW — ATTY. GOLANCO
The State affirms labor as the
1. What is labor law?
LABOR LAW governs the rights and duties of
employers and employees, first with respect to the
terms and conditions of employment, and second
with respect to the labor disputes arising from
collective bargaining respecting such terms and
conditions
a. What is labor standard (5 examples)
LABOR STANDARDS deals with the minimum
standards as to wages, hours of work and other
terms and conditions of employment that employers
must provide their employees.
-wages/minimum wage
-overtime pay
-holiday pay
-hours of work
-service incentive leave
i. How much is the current minimum wage in the
NCR?
P537 (₱512 minimum wage rate under the previous
W.O. + ₱25.00 basic wage increase)
ii. Basic wage or COLA
P10 (integrated into the basic wage)
b. What is labor relations (5 examples)
LABOR RELATIONS defines the status rights and
duties as well as the institutional mechanisms that
govern the individual and collective interactions
between employers, employees and their
representatives.
-collective bargaining
-labor organizations
-strike
-termination of employment
-security of tenure
2. Various specific constitutional provisions
related to labor law
ART II. SEC 9. The State shall promote a just and
dynamic social order that will ensure the prosperity
and independence of the nation and free the people
from poverty through policies that provide adequate
social services, promote full employment, a rising
standard of living and an improved quality of life for
all.
ART II. SEC 10. The State shall promote social
justice in all phases of national development.
ART II. SEC 18.
primary social economic force. It shall protect the
rights of workers and promote their welfare.
ART III. SEC 8. The right of the people, including
those employed in the public and private sectors, to
form unions, associations, or societies for purposes
not contrary to law shall not be abridged.
ART XII. SEC 12. The State shall promote the
preferential use of Filipino labor, domestic materials
and locally-produced goods and adopt measures
that help make them competitive.
ART XIII. SEC 2. The promotion of social justice
shall include the commitment to create economic
opportunities based on freedom of initiative and self-
reliance.
ART XIII. SEC 14. The State shall protect working
women by providing safe and healthful working
conditions, taking into account their maternal
functions and such facilities and opportunities that
will enhance their welfare and enable them to realize
their full potential in the service of the nation.
3. Various specific civil law provisions related to
labor law
ART. 1700. The relation between capital and labor
are not merely contractual. They are so impressed
with public interest that labor contracts must yield to
the common good. Therefore, such contracts are
subject to the special laws on labor unions, collective
bargaining, strikes and lockouts, closed shop,
wages, working conditions, hours of labor and
similar subjects.
ART. 1701. Neither capital nor labor shall act
oppressively against the other, or impair the interest
or convenience of the public.
ART. 1702. In case of doubt, all labor legislations
and all labor contracts shall be construed in favor of
the safety and decent living of the laborer.
ART. 1703. No contract which practically amounts
to involuntary servitude, under any guise
whatsoever, shall be valid.
ART. 1708. The laborer’s wages shall not be subject
to execution or attachment, except for debts
incurred for food, shelter, clothing, and medical
assistance.
ART. 1709. The employer shall neither seize nor
retain any tool or other articles belonging to the
laborer.
ART. 1710. Dismissal of laborers shall be subject to
the supervision of the Government under special
laws.
* What is SILB?
4. Art. XIII, Sec. 3 of 1987 Constitution
ART XIII. SEC 3. The State shall afford protection
to labor, local and overseas, organized and
unorganized, and promote full employment and
equality of employment opportunities for all.
It shall guarantee the rights of workers to self-
organization, collective bargaining and negotiations,
and peaceful concerted activities, including the right
to strike in accordance with law.
They shall be entitled to security of tenure, humane
conditions of work, and a living wage. They shall also
participate in policy and decision-making processes
affecting their rights and benefits as may be
provided by law.
The State shall promote the principle of shared
responsibility between workers and employers and
the preferential use of voluntary modes of settling
disputes, including conciliation, and shall enforce
their mutual compliance therewith to foster
industrial peace.
The State shall regulate the relations between
workers and employers, recognizing the right of
labor to their just share in the fruits of production
and the right of enterprises to reasonable returns on
investments and to expansion and growth.
a. Organized v. Unorganized ; right to self-
organization
Organized
Unorganized
The Right to Self-organization is the right of
workers and employees to form, join or assist
unions, organizations or associations for purposes of
collective bargaining and negotiation and for mutual
aid and protection.
Labor Organizations are unions or associations of
employees which exists in whole or in part for the
purpose of collective bargaining.
b. What is strike?
Strike is any temporary stoppage of work by the
concerted action of employees as a result of an
industrial or labor dispute.
Concerted activity is one undertaken by two or
more employees or by one on behalf of the others.
Lockout is a temporary refusal of an employer to
furnish work, as a result of an industrial or labor
dispute.
*Is picketing a form of strike?
Picketing is not one of the forms of strike; it is an
act of marching to and fro the employer’s premises,
usually accompanied by the display of placards and
other signs making known the facts involved in a
labor dispute.
c. Requisites of strike?
Procedural requisites:
a. must be based on valid and factual grounds
– either cba deadlock (economic) or ulp
(political)
b. notice of strike must be filed with ncmb-dole
– at least 30/15 days
c. notice must be served to ncmb-dole at least 24
hours prior to taking strike/lockout vote by secret
balloting
d. strike vote must be taken where a majority
vote of the union members must approve it
e. strike or lockout vote report should be
submitted to ncmb-dole at least 7 days before
the intended date
f. except in cases of union busting, the cooling off
period – cba deadlock 30 days, ulp 15days –
prescribed should be fully observed
g. 7-day waiting period or strike ban after
submission of strike/lockout vote to the ncmb-
dole should be fully observed in all cases
d. What is the right to strike or peaceably assembly?
The right to strike is a constitutional and legal right
of the workers; it is a means of a last resort and
presupposes that the duty to bargain in good faith
has been fulfilled and voluntary modes of dispute
settlement have been tried and exhausted.
The right to peaceably assemble - to petition the
government for a redress of grievances and, for that
matter, to organize or form associations for purposes
not contrary to law, as well as to engage in peaceful
concerted activities.
e. Conciliation v. Arbitration v. Mediation
Conciliation is a process where a disinterested
third party meets with management and labor
during a labor dispute or in collective bargaining
conference wherein by cooling tempers, aids the
parties in reaching an agreement.
Mediation is a process where a third party studies
each side of the dispute and submits a proposal for
the disputants to consider; mediator cannot make an
award or render a decision.
Arbitration is the submission of a dispute to an
impartial person for determination on the basis of
evidence and arguments of the parties.
f. Kinds of Arbitration
Voluntary arbitration refers to the mode of
settling labor- management disputes by which the
parties select a competent, trained and impartial
person who shall decide on the merits of the case
and whose decision is final, executory and binding.
Compulsory arbitration is the process of
settlement of labor disputes by a government
agency which has the authority to investigate and
make award binding on the parties.
5. Specific provisions of the RPC which could be
violated, give at least 7?
a. Specific articles
b. Elements
ART 272. SLAVERY.
(a) the offender purchases, sells, kidnaps, or detains
a human being; and
(b) purpose is to enslave such human being – i.e.
defendant was obliged to render server in plaintiff’s
house as a servant without remuneration whatever
and to remain there so long as she has not paid her
debt.
ART 273. EXPLOITATION OF CHILD LABOR. (a)
offender retains a minor in his service;
(b) against the will of the minor; and
(c) under pretext of reimbursing himself of a debt
incurred by an ascendant, guardian or person
entrusted with custody of such minor.
ART 274. SERVICES RENDERED UNDER
COMPULSION IN PAYMENT OF DEBT.
(a) offender compels a debtor to work for him, either
as household servant or farm labourer;
(b) against the debtor’s will; and
(c) purpose is to require or enforce the payment of
debt.
ART 278. EXPLOITATION OF MINORS.
(a) causing any boy or girl under 16 to perform any
dangerous feat of balancing, strength or contortion
– offender is any person;
(b) employing children under 16 who are not the
children or descendants of the offender in
exhibitions of acrobat, gymnast, rope-walker, diver,
or wild animal tamer – offender is person engaged
in similar calling;
(c) employing any descendant under 12 in
dangerous exhibitions above – offender engaged in
any of said callings;
(d) delivering a child under 16 gratuitously to any
person following any of the callings above, or to any
habitual vagrant or beggar – offender is an
ascendant, or any person entrusted with care of
such child;
(e) inducing any child under 16 to abandon home to
follow any person engaged in any of the callings
above, or to accompany a habitual vagrant or beggar
– offender is any person.
ART 289. FORMATION, MAINTENANCE, AND
PROHIBITION OF COMBINATION OF CAPITAL
AND LABOR THROUGH VIOLENCE OR
THREATS.
(a) offender employs violence or threats, in such a
degree as to compel or force the laborers or
employers in the free and legal exercise of their
industry or work; and
(b) purpose is to organize, maintain, or prevent
coalitions of capital or labor, strikes or lockouts.
ART 291. REVEALING SECRETS WITH ABUSE
OF OFFICE.
(a) offender is a manager, employee, or servant;
(b) learns of principal/master’s secrets in such
capacity; and
(c) reveals such secrets.
ART 292. REVELATION OF INDUSTRIAL
SECRETS.
(a) offender is a person in charge, employee or
workman of a manufacturing/industrial
establishment;
(b) has a secret of the industry which offender has
learned;
(c) reveals such secret; and
(d) prejudice is caused to the owner.
c. Estafa? What specific par apply to labor?
**A person may be charged and convicted for both
illegal recruitment and estafa.
Act constitution estafa – the accused represented
themselves to complainants to have the capacity to
send workers abroad, although they did not have the
authority or license. It is by this representation that
they induced complainants to pay a placement fee.
(Art. 315, par. 2)
ESTAFA BY MEANS OF DECEIT
(a) false pretense, fraudulent act or fraudulent
means;
(b) made or executed prior to or simultaneous with
the commission of fraud;
(c) offended party must have relied on the false
pretense, fraudulent act or means, that is, he was
induced to part with his money/prop because of it;
and
(d) as a result thereof, he suffered damages.
d. Theft?
6. What is Art. 3 of the Labor Code?
ART 3. The State shall afford protection to labor,
promote full employment, ensure equal work
opportunities for all, regardless of sex, race or creed,
and regulate the relations between workers and
employers. The State shall assure the rights of
workers to self-organization, collective bargaining,
security of tenure, and just and humane conditions
of work.
a. What is security of tenure?
Security of tenure is a constitutional right of an
employee not to be terminated by the employer,
except for just cause or when authorized by law.
b. What are the grounds for valid termination of
employment?
i. Just causes
ART 297. (a) Serious misconduct or willful
disobedience by the employee of the lawful orders
of his employer or representative in connection with
his work;
(b) Gross or habitual neglect by the employee of
his duties (repeated failure);
(c) Fraud or willful breach by the employee of the
trust reposed in him by his employer or duly
authorized representative (in connection with
employee’s work);
(d) Commission of a crime or offense by the
employee against the person of his employer or any
immediate member of his family or his duly
authorized representatives;
(e) Other causes analogous to the foregoing (ex.
Drunkenness, theft of property of co-employee).
Serious misconduct- grave transgression of a
rule; forbidden act; willful dereliction of duty with
wrongful intent; ex. Sexual harassment, falsification,
gross immorality.
Willful disobedience- or insubordination; ex.
refusal to undergo random drug testing
ii. authorized causes
(a) Automation or robotics – labor-saving
devices;
(b) Redundancy – services of employee are in
excess of what is reasonably demanded;
(c) Retrenchment (downsizing) – reduction usually
due to poor financial returns; “to prevent substantial
losses”;
(d) Closure or cessation of operation of
establishment or undertaking;
(e) Disease
c. What is a fraud?
Fraud is a conscious and intentional proposition to
evade the normal fulfillment of an obligation.
d. What is confidential employee?
A confidential employee assists and acts in a
confidential capacity or have access to confidential
matters; by reason of their positions or nature of
work are required to assist or act in a fiduciary
manner to managerial employees.
e. Can you terminate a factory worker on the ground
of fraud? On what ground can you terminate him?
f. What is collective bargaining?
Duty to bargain collectively is an obligation to
meet and convene promptly and expeditiously in
good faith for the purpose of negotiating an
agreement with respect to terms and conditions of
employment including proposals for adjusting any
grievances or questions arising under such
agreement and executing a contract incorporating
such agreements if requested by either parties.
The purpose of collective bargaining is to
encourage a truly democratic method of regulating
the relations between employers and employees by
means of agreements freely entered into through
collective bargaining.
Collective Bargaining Agreement is a contract
executed upon request of either the employer or the
exclusive bargaining representative of the
employees, incorporating the agreement, reached
after negotiations with respect to wages, hours of
work, and other terms and conditions of
employment in a bargaining unit.
g. What is the freedom period?
Freedom period is the 60-day period immediately
preceding the expiration of the representation period
of five years in the CBA.
9. Art. 4 of the Labor Code?
ART 4. All doubts in the implementation and
interpretation of the provisions of this Code,
including its implementing rules and regulations,
shall be resolved in favour of labor.
a. Rationale – those who have less in life should have
more in law; employer stands on higher footing.
10. Art. 6 of the Labor Code?
ART 6. All rights and benefits granted to workers
under this Code shall, except as may otherwise be
provided herein, apply alike to all workers, whether
agricultural or non-agricultural.
Exceptions: (a) corporate officers;
(b) employees of GOCCs created by special or
original charter;
(c) local water districts;
(d) foreign governments;
(e) international agencies
a. Does this apply to employees of public sector?
It depends. Employees of GOCCs created by special
or original charter are not covered by the provisions
of the Labor Code.
b. Who are the government employees that are
covered by the provisions of the Labor Code?
Those who are employed in a government
corporation incorporated under the
Corporation Code.
c. What type of employees that are covered by the
Labor Code?
The LCP applies to all workers, whether
agricultural or non-agricultural.
d. Employees of LRTA, covered by the labor code?
e. Water District
11. Worker v. Employee
A worker is any member of the labor force, whether
employed or unemployed.
An employee is any person who performs services
for an employer in which either or both mental and
physical efforts are used and who receives
compensation.
a. Is worker same as employee? NO
b. ART 219(f). An employee includes any person
in the employ of an employer; shall not be limited to
the employees of a particular employer and shall
include any individual whose work has ceased as a
result of or in connection with any current labor
dispute or because of any ULP.
c. Does the Labor Code applies even when there is
no er-ee relationship?
d. Example when there is no er-ee relationship
-farm workers are not employees of sugar central;
-caddies are not employees of a golf club;
-working scholar is not an employee of the school;
-collecting agents on commission basis
e. Is there an er-ee relationship between a piece-
rate employee and the "employer"?
Piece-rate worker – paid a standard amount for
every piece or unit of work produced without regard
to the time spent in producing.
12. What is recruitment and placement?
ART 13. Recruitment and placement – any act
of canvassing, enlisting, contracting, transporting,
utilizing, hiring, or procuring workers, and includes
contract services, referrals, advertising or promising
for employment, locally or overseas, whether for
profit or not.
a. Requisites to be considered as a valid recruitment
and placement
b. People v. Panis – The number of persons
dealt with is NOT an essential ingredient of
the act of recruitment and placement of
workers.
Facts: Four separate informations were filed against
Serapio Abug, private respondent, alleging that
without first securing a license as a holder of
authority to operate a fee-charging employment
agency, he did operate a private fee charging
employment agency by charging fees and expenses
and promising employment in Saudi Arabia to four
separate individuals.
Abug filed a motion to quash on the ground that the
informations did not charge an offense because he
was accused of illegally recruiting only one person in
each of the four informations. Under the proviso in
Article 13(b), he claimed, there would be illegal
recruitment only "whenever two or more persons are
in any manner promised or offered any employment
for a fee.”
Issue: Whether or not the number persons is an
essential ingredient of the act of recruitment and
placement of workers – NO.
Held: The proviso was intended neither to
impose a condition on the basic rule nor to
provide an exception thereto but merely to
create a presumption. The presumption is that
the individual or entity is engaged in recruitment and
placement whenever he or it is dealing with two or
more persons to whom, in consideration of a fee, an
offer or promise of employment is made in the
course of the "canvassing, enlisting, contracting,
transporting, utilizing, hiring or procuring workers."
Any of the acts mentioned in the basic rule in Article
13(b) will constitute recruitment and placement
even if only one prospective worker is involved. The
proviso merely lays down a rule of evidence. The
words "shall be deemed" create that presumption.
c. License v. Authority
A license is a document issued by DOLE authorizing
a person or entity to operate a private employment
agency.
An authority is a document issued by DOLE
authorizing a person or association to engage in
recruitment and placement activities as a private
recruitment entity.
13. Powers and functions of the BLE (Art. 15)
The Bureau of Local Employment shall assume
the functions of the Bureau of Apprenticeship and
the domestic employment functions of the Bureau of
Employment Services.
(a) Formulate policies, standards and
procedures on productive manpower resources,
development, utilization and allocation;
(b) Establish and administer a machinery for the
effective allocation of manpower resources for
maximum employment and placement;
(c) Develop and maintain a responsive vocational
guidance and testing system in aid of proper
human resources allocation;
(d) Regulate and supervise a private sector
participation in the recruitment and
placement of workers locally under such rules
and regulations as may be issued by the Secretary;
(e) Establish and maintain a registration or work
permit system to regulate employment of
aliens;
(f) Develop and maintain a labor market
information system in aid of proper manpower
and development planning;
(g) Formulate employment programs designed
to benefit disadvantaged groups and communities;
and
(h) Perform other functions as may be provided by
law.
a. Does the BLE possess any adjudicatory powers
b. Jurisdiction, if ever
14. Powers and functions of the PESO
A Public Employment Service Office is intended
to serve as employment service and
information center in its area of operation. It is a
non-fee charging multi-employment service facility
or entity established, recognized or accredited
pursuant to RA 8759 or the PESO Act of 1999 and its
IRR.
-Regularly obtains lists of job vacancies from
employers, publicizes them, invites and
evaluates applicants, and refers them for
possible hiring;
-Provides training and educational guidance
and employment counselling services;
-Tenders special services to the public such as
-holding of job fairs and livelihood and self-
employment bazaars
-special credit assistance for placed overseas
workers
-special program for employment of students
(SPES)
-work appreciation program (WAP)
-hiring of workers in infrastructure projects
(WHIP), etc.
a. Can PESO conduct recruitment or placement
activities?
b. Do they refer/
15. DO 141-14
Revised Rules and Regulations Governing
Recruitment and Placement for Local
Employment
a. Where should a person file a complaint for illegal
recruitment (Local Employment)
SEC 45. The victim of illegal recruitment or other
related illegal acts or his parents or legal guardians
may file a written report or complaint under oath
with the Regional Office or Field Office [of
DOLE] having jurisdiction over the place where the
illegal act was committed.
16. Jurisdiction of Labor arbiter (DUR-DOVE-
TVCO)
(1) claims for damages arising from er-ee
(2) ULP cases
(3) cases involving terms and conditions of
employment accompanied with claim for
reinstatement
(4) wage distortion
(5) monetary claims of overseas contract workers
arising from er-ee
(6) cases arising from violation of Article 278
(7) except claims for Employees Compensation,
Social Security, Medicare and maternity benefits, all
other claims arising from er-ee relations
(8) termination disputes
(9) cases under Article 128(b) involving the visitorial
and enforcement powers of the DOLE Secretary
(10) enforcement of compromise agreements
(11) other cases as may be provided by law.
a. ART 224. (DURVET)
(a) ULP cases;
(b) termination disputes;
(c) if accompanied with claim for reinstatement,
those cases involving wages, rates of pay, hours of
work, and other terms and conditions of
employment;
(d) claims for actual, moral, exemplary, and other
forms of damages arising from er-ee relations;
(e) cases arising from violation of Article 278,
including questions involving legality of strikes,
picketing and lockouts; and
(f) except claims for Employees Compensation,
Social Security, Medicare and maternity benefits, all
other claims arising from er-ee relations, including
those in domestic/household service for amounts
exceeding P5000 (regardless of claim for
reinstatement).
17. Powers and Functions of POEA
Principal Functions of the Philippine Overseas
Employment Administration:
(a) formulation, implementation and monitoring of
overseas employment of Filipino workers;
(b) protection of their rights to fair and equitable
employment practices;
(c) deployment of Filipino workers through
government-to-government hiring.
Regulatory Functions:
(a) deploy only to countries:
-where the Philippines has concluded bilateral
labor agreements;
-complying with the international laws and
standards for migrant workers;
-guaranteeing to protect the rights of Filipino
migrant workers;
(b) inform migrant workers of their rights;
(c) instruct and guide the workers how to assert their
rights and provide mechanism for redress;
(d) regulate private sector participation in the
recruitment and overseas placement of workers;
amd
(e) formulate and implement a system for promoting
and monitoring the overseas employment of Filipino
workers.
**Jurisdiction retained with POEA
(adjudicatory) – original and exclusive jurisdiction to
hear and decide:
(a) all cases which are administrative in character,
involving or arising out of violations of rules and
regulations relating to licensing and registration of
recruitment and employment agencies or entities;
and
(b) disciplinary action cases and other special cases
which are administrative in character, involving
employers, principals, contracting partners and
Filipino migrant workers.
a. Liability of POEA governing board
RA 8042. SEC 4. The members of the POEA
Governing Board who actually voted in favor of an
order allowing the deployment of migrant workers
without (DFA certification) any of the
aforementioned guarantees shall suffer the penalties
of removal or dismissal from service with
disqualification to hold any appointive public office
for five (5) years.
18. Art. 18 of Labor code
ART 18. Ban on Direct-Hiring - No employer may
hire a Filipino worker for overseas employment
except through the Boards and entities authorized
by the Secretary of Labor.
a. Exceptions
(a) members of the diplomatic corps;
(b) international organizations;
(c) other employers as may be allowed by the
Secretary;
(d) name hirees
b. Rationale
-to assure best possible terms and conditions of
work to the employee;
-to assure the foreign employer the he hires only
qualified Filipino workers; and
-to insure compliance with the Labor Code provisions
on the solidary liability of private employment and
recruitment agencies with their foreign principals.
c. Direct Hiring and Named Hiring
Direct Hiring of Filipino workers by foreign
employers for overseas employment is not allowed.
Name Hirees are individual workers who are able
to secure contracts for overseas employment on
their own efforts and representations without the
assistance or participation of any agency. Allowed
but hiring shall nonetheless pass through the POEA
for processing purposes.
19. Functions of the CFO
Among other functions, the CFO provides advice
and assistance to the President and the Congress
in the formulation of policies and measures
affecting Filipinos overseas. It also formulates, in
coordination with agencies concerned, an
integrated program for the promotion of the
welfare of Filipinos overseas for implementation by
suitable existing agencies.
*attached to the DFA
BP 79. SEC 3. Powers and Functions of the
Commission on Filipinos Overseas
a. Provide advice and assistance to the President
(Prime Minister) of the Philippines and the Batasang
Pambansa in the formulation of policies and
measures affecting Filipinos overseas;
b. Formulate, in coordination with agencies
concerned, an integrated program for the promotion
of the welfare of Filipinos overseas for
implementation by suitable existing agencies;
c. Coordinate and monitor the implementation of
such an integrated program;
d. Initiate and directly undertake the implementation
of special projects and programs, whenever
necessary, to promote the welfare of Filipinos
overseas with respect to their interests and activities
in the Philippines;
e. Serve as a forum for preserving and enhancing
the social, economic and cultural ties of Filipinos
overseas with their motherland;
f. Provide liaison services to Filipinos overseas with
appropriate government and private agencies in the
transaction of business and similar ventures in the
Philippines;
g. Promulgate rules and regulations to carry out the
objectives of this Act;
h. Call upon any agency of the Government,
including government-owned or controlled
corporations, to render whatever assistance is
needed in the pursuance of the objectives of this
Act; and
i. Perform such other related functions as may be
directed by the President (Prime Minister) or
assigned by law.
20. OWWA
Overseas Workers Welfare Administration
provides social and welfare services including
insurance coverage, legal assistance, placement
assistance, and remittance services to Filipino
overseas workers.
Under Ra 8042, it shall provide the Filipino migrant
worker and his family assistance in the enforcement
of contractual obligations.
21. RA 8042
Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipinos Act of 1995
a. OFW
SEC 3(a). Overseas Filipino Worker refers to a
person who is to be engaged, is engaged, or has
been engaged in a remunerated activity in
(a) a state of which he/she is not a citizen; or
(b) on board a vessel navigating foreign seas other
than a government military/non-commercial ship; or
(c) on an installation located offshore or on the high
seas.
b. Santiago v CF Sharp – Even before the start
of any employer-employee relationship,
contemporaneous with the perfection of the
employment contract was the birth of certain
rights and obligations, the breach of which
may give rise to a cause of action against the
erring party.
Facts: Paul V. Santiago was a seaman for Smith Bell
Management, Inc. for 5 years. Later, he signed a
new contract of employment for 9 months with
monthly salary of $515, overtime pay and other
benefits. After the contract was approved by the
POEA, Paul was scheduled to leave the port of Manila
for Canada on 1998 on board the MSV Seaspread. A
week before his departure, Capt. Pacifico Fernandez
(CF Sharp’s Vice President) sent a facsimile message
to the captain of the ship that: “I received a phone
call today from Paul’s wife asking me not to send
Paul anymore. Other unknown callers gave me
feedbacks that if Paul is allowed to depart, he will
jump ship in Canada like his brother Christopher
Santiago, who jumped ship in Japan last 1997. We
do not want this to happen again and have the
vessel penalized.” Paul filed a complaint for illegal
dismissal, damages, and attorney's fees against
respondent and its foreign principal, Cable and
Wireless (Marine) Ltd.
Issue: Whether or not the petitioner is entitled to
relief – YES.
Held: The perfection of the contract in this case
coincided with the date of execution thereof,
occurred when petitioner and respondent agreed on
the object and the cause, as well as the rest of the
terms and conditions therein. The commencement
of the employer-employee relationship would have
taken place had petitioner been actually deployed
from the point of hire.
While the POEA Standard Contract must be
recognized and respected, neither the manning
agent nor the employer can simply prevent a
seafarer from being deployed without a valid reason.
Respondents act of preventing petitioner from
departing and boarding constitutes a breach of
contract, giving rise to petitioners cause of action.
On jurisdiction: Despite the absence of an employer-
employee relationship between petitioner and
respondent, the NLRC [Labor Arbiter] has
jurisdiction over the complaint. Section 10 of
R.A. No. 8042 provides that: “The LA’s of the NLRC
shall have the original and exclusive jurisdiction to
hear and decide…the claims arising out of an
employer-employee relationship or by virtue of any
law or contract involving Filipino workers for
overseas deployment including claims for actual,
moral, exemplary and other forms of damages.”
On regular employment: seafarers are
considered contractual employees and cannot
be considered as regular employees under the
Labor Code. Their employment is governed by the
contracts they sign every time they are rehired and
their employment is terminated when the contract
expires. The exigencies of their work necessitates
that they be employed on a contractual basis.
c. Requirements where a Filipino work abroad
SEC 4. Deployment is allowed only in countries
where the rights of Filipino migrant workers are
protected.
(a) has existing labor and social laws
protecting the rights of workers, including
migrant workers;
(b) signatory to and/or ratifier of multilateral
conventions relating to protection of workers,
including migrant workers; and
(c) concluded a bilateral agreement with the
government on the protection of the rights of OFWs;
and
(d) taking positive, concrete measures** to
protect the rights of migrant workers in furtherance
of any of the guarantees above.
**shall include legislative or executive initiatives
diplomatic negotiations, judicial decisions,
programs, projects, activities and such other acts by
the receiving country aimed at protecting the rights
of migrant workers.
d. Rehires
Rehires refer to land-based workers who renewed
their employment contracts with the same principal.
e. OF In distress
Overseas Filipino in distress refers to an
Overseas Filipino who has a medical, psycho-social
or legal assistance problem requiring treatment,
hospitalization, counseling, legal representation as
specified in Rule IX of these Rules or any other kind
of intervention with the authorities in the country
where he or she is found.
22. Who can Issue travel/employment ban
RA 8042. Sec 5. The POEA Governing Board
after consultation with the DFA may, at any
time, terminate or impose a ban on the
deployment of migrant workers
a. How to determine?
In pursuit of national interest or when public welfare
requires.
23. Illegal Recruitment
Illegal recruitment refers to any act of
canvassing, enlisting, contracting, transporting,
utilizing, hiring or procuring workers, and includes
referrals, contract services, promising or advertising
for employment, locally or abroad, whether for profit
or not, when undertaken by a non-licensee or non-
holder of authority contemplated in Art. 13(f) of the
Labor Code.
a. What are the prohibited acts?
LCP ART 34. It shall be unlawful for any individual,
entity, licensee, or holder of authority:
(a) To charge or accept, directly or indirectly, any
amount greater than that specified in the schedule
of allowable fees prescribed by the Secretary of
Labor, or to make a worker pay any amount greater
than that actually received by him as a loan or
advance;
(b) To furnish or publish any false notice or considered an offense involving economic sabotage;
information or document in relation to recruitment and
or employment; (n) To allow a non-Filipino citizen to head or manage
(c) To give any false notice, testimony, information a licensed recruitment/manning agency.
or document or commit any act of misrepresentation b. Economic Sabotage
for the purpose of securing a license or authority a. Large-Scale Illegal Recruitment – Illegal
under this Code; recruitment committed by one person or with
(d) To induce or attempt to induce a worker already another person against 3 or more persons
employed to quit his employment in order to offer individually or as a group;
him to another unless the transfer is designed to b. Illegal Recruitment by a Syndicate – Illegal
liberate the worker from oppressive terms and recruitment committed by a group of 3 or more
conditions of employment; persons conspiring and confederating with one
(e) To influence or to attempt to influence any another in carrying out the act circumscribed by
person or entity not to employ any worker who has the law.
not applied for employment through his agency;
(f) To engage in the recruitment or placement of People v. Chua: Thus for illegal recruitment in
workers in jobs harmful to public health or morality large scale to prosper, the prosecution has to
or to the dignity of the Republic of the Philippines; prove three essential elements, to wit:
(g) To obstruct or attempt to obstruct inspection by 1. Accused undertook a recruitment activity
the Secretary of Labor or by his duly authorized under Article 13(b) or any prohibited practice
representatives; under Article 34 of the Labor Code;
(h) To fail to file reports on the status of 2. The accused did not have the license or the
employment, placement vacancies, remittance of authority to lawfully engage in the recruitment
foreign exchange earnings, separation from jobs, and placement of workers; and
departures and such other matters or information as 3. The accused committed such illegal activity
may be required by the Secretary of Labor. against three or more persons individually or as
(I) To substitute or alter employment contracts a group.
approved and verified by the Department of Labor
from the time of actual signing thereof by the parties
up to and including the periods of expiration of the
same without the approval of the Secretary of Labor;
(j) To become an officer or member of the Board of
any corporation engaged in travel agency or to be
engaged directly or indirectly in the management of
a travel agency; and
(k) To withhold or deny travel documents from
applicant workers before departure for monetary or
financial considerations other than those authorized
under this Code and its implementing rules and
regulations.
RA 8042. SEC 6. Additional prohibited acts:
(l) Failure to actually deploy a contracted worker
without valid reason as determined by DOLE;
(m) Failure to reimburse expenses incurred by the
worker in connection with his documentation and
processing for purposes of deployment, in cases
where the deployment does not actually take place
without the worker's fault. Illegal recruitment when
committed by a syndicate or in large scale shall be