C. Alcantara & Sons Vs CA G.R. No. 155109 March 14, 2012
C. Alcantara & Sons Vs CA G.R. No. 155109 March 14, 2012
C. Alcantara & Sons Vs CA G.R. No. 155109 March 14, 2012
SUPREME COURT
Manila
SPECIAL SECOND DIVISION
G.R. No. 155109
Notwithstanding the provision of the Labor Code mandating that the reinstatement aspect of the
decision be immediately executory, the LA refused to reinstate the dismissed Union members. On
November 8, 1999, the NLRC affirmed the LA decision insofar as it declared the strike illegal and
ordered the Union officers dismissed from employment and liable for damages but modified the
same by considering the Union members to have been validly dismissed from employment for
committing prohibited and illegal acts.10
On petition for certiorari, the Court of Appeals (CA) annulled the NLRC decision and reinstated that
of the LA. Aggrieved, CASI, the Union and the Union officers and members elevated the matter to
this Court. The cases were docketed as G.R. Nos. 155109 and 155135. 11
During the pendency of the cases, the affected Union members (who were ordered reinstated) filed
with the LA a motion for reinstatement pending appeal and the computation of their backwages.
Instead of reinstating the Union members, the LA awarded separation pay and other benefits. 12 On
appeal, the NLRC denied the Union members claim for separation pay, accrued wages and other
benefits.13 When elevated to the CA, the appellate court held that reinstatement pending appeal
applies only to illegal dismissal cases under Article 223 of the Labor Code and not to cases under
Article 263.14 Hence, the petition by the Union and its officers and members in G.R. No. 179220.
G.R. Nos. 155109, 155135, and 179220 were consolidated. On September 29, 2010, the Court
rendered a decision the dispositive portion of which reads:
WHEREFORE, the Court DENIES the petition of the Nagkahiusang Mamumuo sa Alsons-SPFL and
its officers and members in G.R. No. 155135 for lack of merit, and REVERSES and SETS ASIDE the
decision of the Court of Appeals in CA-G.R. SP 59604 dated March 20, 2002. The Court, on the
other hand, GRANTS the petition of C. Alcantara & Sons, Inc. in G.R. 155109 and REINSTATES the
decision of the National Labor Relations Commission in NLRC CA M-004996-99 dated November 8,
1999.
Further, the Court PARTIALLY GRANTS the petition of the Nagkahiusang Mamumuo sa AlsonsSPFL and their dismissed members in G.R. No. 179220 and ORDERS C. Alcantara & Sons, Inc. to
pay the terminated Union members backwages for four (4) months and nine (9) days and separation
pays equivalent to one-half month salary for every year of service to the company up to the date of
their termination, with interest of 12% per annum from the time this decision becomes final and
executory until such backwages and separation pays are paid. The Court DENIES all other claims.
SO ORDERED.15
The Court agreed with the CA on the illegality of the strike as well as the termination of the Union
officers, but disagreed with the CA insofar as it affirmed the reinstatement of the Union members.
The Court, instead, sustained the dismissal not only of the Union officers but also the Union
members who, during the illegal strike, committed prohibited acts by threatening, coercing, and
intimidating non-striking employees, officers, suppliers and customers; obstructing the free ingress to
and egress from the company premises; and resisting and defying the implementation of the writ of
preliminary injunction issued against the strikers.16
The Court further held that the terminated Union members, who were ordered reinstated by the LA,
should have been immediately reinstated due to the immediate executory nature of the
reinstatement aspect of the LA decision. In view, however, of CASIs failure to reinstate the
dismissed employees, the Court ordered CASI to pay the terminated Union members their accrued
backwages from the date of the LA decision until the eventual reversal by the NLRC of the order of
reinstatement.17 In addition to the accrued backwages, the Court awarded separation pay as a form
of financial assistance to the Union members equivalent to one-half month salary for every year of
service to the company up to the date of their termination.18
Not satisfied, CASI filed a Motion for Partial Reconsideration of the above decision based on the
following grounds:
I.
IT IS RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED THAT A PRECEDENT SETTING RULING OF
THIS HONORABLE COURT IN ESCARIO V. NLRC [G.R. No. 160302, 27
SEPTEMBER 2010] PARTICULARLY ON THE PROPER APPLICATION OF
ARTICLES 264 AND 279 OF THE LABOR CODE SUPPORTS THE AFFIRMATION
AND NOT THE REVERSAL OF THE FINDINGS OF THE COURT OF APPEALS
["CA"], AND NEGATES THE ENTITLEMENT TO ACCRUED WAGES OF THE
UNION MEMBERS WHO COMMITTED ILLEGAL ACTS DURING THE ILLEGAL
STRIKE, NOTWITHSTANDING THAT THE LABOR ARBITER AWARDED THE
SAME.
II.
IT IS RESPECTFULY SUBMITTED THAT THIS HONORABLE COURT ERRED
WHEN IT RESOLVED TO GRANT SEPARATION PAY TO THE UNION MEMBERS
WHO COMMITTED ILLEGAL ACTS DURING THE ILLEGAL STRIKE
CONSIDERING THAT JURISPRUDENCE CITED TO JUSTIFY THE GRANT OF
SEPARATION PAY DO NOT APPLY TO THE PRESENT CASE AS IT APPLIES
ONLY TO DISMISSALS FOR A JUST CAUSE.19
The Union, its officers and members likewise filed their separate motion for reconsideration assailing
the Courts conclusions that: (1) the strike is illegal; (2) that the officers of the Union and its
appointed shop stewards automatically forfeited their employment status when they participated in
the strike; (3) that the Union members committed illegal acts during the strike and are deemed to
have lost their employment status; and (4) that CASI is entitled to actual damages and attorneys
fees.20 They also fault the Court in not finding that: (1) CASI and its officers are guilty of acts of unfair
labor practice or violation of Article 248 of the Labor Code; (2) the lockout declared by the company
is illegal; (3) CASI and its officers committed acts of discrimination; (4) CASI and its officers violated
Article 254 of the Labor Code; and (5) CASI and its officers are liable for actual, moral, and
exemplary damages to the Union, its officers and members.21
Simply stated, CASI only questions the propriety of the award of backwages and separation pay,
while the Union, its officers and members seek the reversal of the Courts conclusions on the
illegality of the strike, the validity of the termination of the Union officers and members, and the
award of actual damages and attorneys fees as well as the denial of their counterclaims against
CASI.
After a careful review of the records of the case, we find it necessary to reconsider the Courts
September 29, 2010 decision, but only as to the award of separation pay.
The LA, the NLRC, the CA and the Court are one in saying that the strike staged by the Union,
participated in by the Union officers and members, is illegal being in violation of the no strike-no
lockout provision of the CBA which enjoined both the Union and the company from resorting to the
use of economic weapons available to them under the law and to instead take recourse to voluntary
arbitration in settling their disputes.22 We, therefore, find no reason to depart from such conclusion.
Article 264 (a) of the Labor Code lays down the liabilities of the Union officers and members
participating in illegal strikes and/or committing illegal acts, to wit:
ART. 264. PROHIBITED ACTIVITIES
(a) x x x
Any worker whose employment has been terminated as a consequence of an unlawful lockout shall
be entitled to reinstatement with full backwages. Any Union officer who knowingly participates in an
illegal strike and any worker or Union officer who knowingly participates in the commission of illegal
acts during a strike may be declared to have lost his employment status: Provided, That mere
participation of a worker in a lawful strike shall not constitute sufficient ground for termination of his
employment, even if a replacement had been hired by the employer during such lawful strike.
Thus, the above-quoted provision sanctions the dismissal of a Union officer who knowingly
participates in an illegal strike or who knowingly participates in the commission of illegal acts during
a lawful strike.23 In this case, the Union officers were in clear breach of the above provision of law
when they knowingly participated in the illegal strike. 24
As to the Union members, the same provision of law provides that a member is liable when he
knowingly participates in the commission of illegal acts during a strike. We find no reason to reverse
the conclusion of the Court that CASI presented substantial evidence to show that the striking Union
members committed the following prohibited acts:
a. They threatened, coerced, and intimidated non-striking employees, officers,
suppliers and customers;
b. They obstructed the free ingress to and egress from the company premises; and
c. They resisted and defied the implementation of the writ of preliminary injunction
issued against the strikers.25
The commission of the above prohibited acts by the striking Union members warrants their dismissal
from employment.
As clearly narrated earlier, the LA found the strike illegal and sustained the dismissal of the Union
officers, but ordered the reinstatement of the striking Union members for lack of evidence showing
that they committed illegal acts during the illegal strike. This decision, however, was later reversed
by the NLRC. Pursuant to Article 22326 of the Labor Code and well-established jurisprudence,27 the
decision of the LA reinstating a dismissed or separated employee, insofar as the reinstatement
aspect is concerned, shall immediately be executory, pending appeal. 28 The employee shall either be
admitted back to work under the same terms and conditions prevailing prior to his dismissal or
separation, or, at the option of the employee, merely reinstated in the payroll. 29 It is obligatory on the
part of the employer to reinstate and pay the wages of the dismissed employee during the period of
appeal until reversal by the higher court.30 If the employer fails to exercise the option of re-admitting
the employee to work or to reinstate him in the payroll, the employer must pay the employees
salaries during the period between the LAs order of reinstatement pending appeal and the resolution
of the higher court overturning that of the LA.31 In this case, CASI is liable to pay the striking Union
members their accrued wages for four months and nine days, which is the period from the notice of
the LAs order of reinstatement until the reversal thereof by the NLRC. 32
Citing Escario v. National Labor Relations Commission (Third Division),33 CASI claims that the award
of the four-month accrued salaries to the Union members is not sanctioned by jurisprudence. In
Escario, the Court categorically stated that the strikers were not entitled to their wages during the
period of the strike (even if the strike might be legal), because they performed no work during the
strike. The Court further held that it was neither fair nor just that the dismissed employees should
litigate against their employer on the latters time.34 In this case, however, the four-month accrued
salaries awarded to the Union members are not the backwages referred to in Escario. To be sure,
the awards were not given as their salaries during the period of the strike. Rather, they constitute the
employers liability to the employees for its failure to exercise the option of actual reinstatement or
payroll reinstatement following the LAs decision to reinstate the Union members as mandated by
Article 223 of the Labor Code adequately discussed earlier. In other words, such monetary award
refers to the Union members accrued salaries by reason of the reinstatement order of the LA which
is self-executory pursuant to Article 223.35 We, therefore, sustain the award of the four-month
accrued salaries.
1wphi1
Finally, as regards the separation pay as a form of financial assistance awarded by the Court, we
find it necessary to reconsider the same and delete the award pursuant to prevailing jurisprudence.
Separation pay may be given as a form of financial assistance when a worker is dismissed in cases
such as the installation of labor-saving devices, redundancy, retrenchment to prevent losses, closing
or cessation of operation of the establishment, or in case the employee was found to have been
suffering from a disease such that his continued employment is prohibited by law.36 It is a statutory
right defined as the amount that an employee receives at the time of his severance from the service
and is designed to provide the employee with the wherewithal during the period that he is looking for
another employment.37 It is oriented towards the immediate future, the transitional period the
dismissed employee must undergo before locating a replacement job.38 As a general rule, when just
causes for terminating the services of an employee exist, the employee is not entitled to separation
pay because lawbreakers should not benefit from their illegal acts.39 The rule, however, is subject to
exceptions.40 The Court, in Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. v. NLRC, 41 laid down the
guidelines when separation pay in the form of financial assistance may be allowed, to wit:
We hold that henceforth separation pay shall be allowed as a measure of social justice only in those
instances where the employee is validly dismissed for causes other than serious misconduct or
those reflecting on his moral character. Where the reason for the valid dismissal is, for example,
habitual intoxication or an offense involving moral turpitude, like theft or illicit sexual relations with a
fellow worker, the employer may not be required to give the dismissed employee separation pay, or
financial assistance, or whatever other name it is called, on the ground of social justice.
A contrary rule would, as the petitioner correctly argues, have the effect, of rewarding rather than
punishing the erring employee for his offense. And we do not agree that the punishment is his
dismissal only and that the separation pay has nothing to do with the wrong he has committed x x
x.42
We had the occasion to resolve the same issue in Toyota Motor Phils. Corp. Workers Association
(TMPCWA) v. National Labor Relations Commission.43 Following the declaration that the strike
staged by the Union members is illegal, the Union officers and members were considered validly
dismissed from employment for committing illegal acts during the illegal strike. The Court affirmed
the CAs conclusion that the commission of illegal acts during the illegal strike constituted serious
misconduct.44 Hence, the award of separation pay to the Union officials and members was not
sustained.45
Indeed, we applied social justice and equity considerations in several cases to justify the award of
financial assistance. In Piero v. National Labor Relations Commission,46 the Court declared the
strike to be illegal for failure to comply with the procedural requirements. We, likewise, sustained the
dismissal of the Union president for participating in said illegal strike. Considering, however, that his
infraction is not so reprehensible and unscrupulous as to warrant complete disregard of his long
years of service, and considering further that he has no previous derogatory records, we granted
financial assistance to support him in the twilight of his life after long years of service. 47 The same
compassion was also applied in Aparente, Sr. v. NLRC48 where the employee was declared to have
been validly terminated from service after having been found guilty of driving without a valid drivers
license, which is a clear violation of the companys rules and regulations. 49 We, likewise, awarded
financial assistance in Salavarria v. Letran College50 to the legally dismissed teacher for violation of
school policy because such infraction neither amounted to serious misconduct nor reflected that of a
morally depraved person.
However, in a number of cases cited in Toyota Motor Phils. Corp. Workers Association (TMPCWA) v.
National Labor Relations Commission,51 we refrained from awarding separation pay or financial
assistance to Union officers and members who were separated from service due to their
participation in or commission of illegal acts during the strike. 52 In Pilipino Telephone Corporation v.
Pilipino Telephone Employees Association (PILTEA),53 the strike was found to be illegal because of
procedural infirmities and for defiance of the Secretary of Labors assumption order. Hence, we
upheld the Union officers dismissal without granting financial assistance. In Sukhotai Cuisine and
Restaurant v. Court of Appeals,54 and Manila Diamond Hotel and Resort, Inc. (Manila Diamond Hotel)
v. Manila Diamond Hotel Employees Union,55 the Union officers and members who participated in
and committed illegal acts during the illegal strike were deemed to have lost their employment status
and were not awarded financial assistance.
In Telefunken Semiconductors Employees Union v. Court of Appeals, 56 the Court held that the
strikers open and willful defiance of the assumption order of the Secretary of Labor constitute
serious misconduct and reflective of their moral character, hence, granting of financial assistance to
them cannot be justified. In Chua v. National Labor Relations Commission, 57 we disallowed the
award of financial assistance to the dismissed employees for their participation in the unlawful and
violent strike which resulted in multiple deaths and extensive property damage because it constitutes
serious misconduct on their part.
Here, not only did the Court declare the strike illegal, rather, it also found the Union officers to have
knowingly participated in the illegal strike. Worse, the Union members committed prohibited acts
during the strike. Thus, as we concluded in Toyota, Telefunken, Chua and the other cases cited
above, we delete the award of separation pay as a form of financial assistance.
WHEREFORE, premises considered, the motion for reconsideration of the Union, its officers and
members are DENIED for lack of merit, while the motion for partial reconsideration filed by C.
Alcantara & Sons, Inc. is PARTLY GRANTED. The Decision of the Court dated September 29, 2010
is hereby PARTLY RECONSIDERED by deleting the award of separation pay.
SO ORDERED.
DIOSDADO M. PERALTA
Associate Justice
WE CONCUR:
ANTONIO T. CARPIO
Associate Justice
Chairperson
PRESBITERO J. VELASCO, JR.
Associate Justice
BIENVENIDO L. REYES
Associate Justice
ATT E S TATI O N
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 Courts Division.
ANTONIO T. CARPIO
Associate Justice
Special Second Division, Chairperson
C E R TI F I C ATI O N
Pursuant to Section 13, Article VIII of the Constitution and the Division Chairpersons 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 Courts Division.
RENATO C. CORONA
Chief Justice
Footnotes
1
Id. at 1501-1651.
The officers of the Union are the following: Felixberto Irag, Joshua Barredo,
Edilberto Demetria, Romulo Lungay, Bonerme Maturan, Eduardo Campuso, Gilberto
Gabronino, Cirilo Mino, Roberto Abonado, Fructoso Cabahog, Alfredo Tropico,
Hector Estuita, Eduardo Capuyan, Alejandro Harder, Jaime Montederamos,
Reynaldo Limpajan, Ernesto Cuario, Edgar Monday, Herminio Robillo, Matroil delos
Santos, Raul Cantiga, Rudy Anadon, Bonifacio Salvador, Florente Seno, Warlito
Monte, Pedro Esquierdo, Danilo Mejos, Bartolome Castillanes, Saturnino Cagas,
Eduardo Larena, Ermelando Basadre, Elpidio Libranza.Teddy Suelo, Tranquilino
Orallo, Manolito Sabellano, Primitivo Garcia, Jose Amoylin, Carlos Baldos, Carmelito
Tobias and Juanito Aldepolla.
3
These are Ludivicio Abad, Ricardo Alto, Feliciano Amper, Roberto Andrade, Julio
Anino, Pedro Aquino, Romeo Araneta, Constancio Arnaiz, Justino Ascano, Ernesto
Baino, Jesus Beritan, Diosdado Bongabong, Carilito Cal, Rolando Capuyan, Aurelio
Carin, Angelito Castaeda, Leonaro Casurra, Filemon Cesar, Romeo Comprado,
4
Id. at 1654-1655.
Id. at 1473.
10
Id. at 1475.
11
Id.
12
Id.
13
Id. at 1475-1476.
14
Id. at 1476.
15
Id. at 1482-1483.
16
Id. at 1478-1479.
17
Id. at 1480-1481.
18
Id. at 1481-1482.
19
Id. at 1486.
20
Id. at 1511-1513.
21
Id. at 1513-1515.
22
Id. at 1477.
24
Id.
25
26
Islriz Trading/Victor Hugo Lu v. Capada, G.R. No. 168501, January 31, 2011, 641
SCRA 9; Garcia v. Philippine Airlines, Inc., G.R. No. 164856, January 20, 2009, 576
SCRA 479.
27
28
29
Id.
30
Id. at 493.
32
33
34
Id. at 274.
35
36
Gold City Integrated Port Service, Inc. v. NLRC, 315 Phil. 698, 711 (1995).
37
Id. at 712 .
38
Id.
57
40
Id. at 220.
41
42
Id. at 649.
43
44
Id.
45
Id. at 227.
46
47
Id. at 543-544.
48
49
Id.
50
51
52
Id. at 225.
53
G.R. Nos. 160058 & 160094, June 22, 2007, 525 SCRA 361.
54
55
56