Mike and Ryan alleged that on May 11, 2011, they were hired by The W Construction through its agent, U R Employed International Corporation, as construction workers in Malaysia. They entered into a two-year employment contract with a monthly salary of 800 Malaysian Ringgit.
Mike and Ryan narrated that upon their arrival in Malaysia, the broker who fetched them from the airport took their passports. They were made to live in a place with unsafe living conditions. Also, they worked beyond regular hours without pay. Later, they discovered that they only had tourist visas, and that the employer was hiding them from the authorities because they did not have work permits.
Mike and Ryan claimed that they reported their living and working conditions to their broker, but their grievances were unheeded.
Mike and Ryan stated that they were left without any other recourse, which was why on August 14, 2011, Ryan sent an e-mail to the editorial of a Philippine newspaper company, narrating their experience and seeking assistance.
Mike and Ryan continued that in the last week of August 2011, the employer’s human relations officer questioned them about the e-mail sent to the Philippine newspaper company. On September 13, 2011, a supervisor informed them about the termination of their employment. The employer told them that they were processed for repatriation and would be sent home on September 15, 2011. However, they were only repatriated sometime in November 2011. In the meantime, the employer cut off their food supply.
On December 5, 2011, Mike and Ryan filed a complaint for illegal dismissal and money claims against their employer.
Initially, the complaint was dismissed without prejudice because both parties failed to submit their respective position papers. On March 26, 2012, the complaint was reinstated upon a Motion to Revive filed by Mike and Ryan.
The employer denied the allegations of Mike and Ryan. The employer countered that Mike voluntarily resigned from his job, while Ryan was dismissed from employment on the ground of grave misconduct when he sent a derogatory email to a Philippine newspaper company. The employer further submitted a summary of pay slips to prove that Mike and Ryan were properly paid their salary and benefits.
The Office of the Labor Arbiter found that Mike and Ryan were constructively dismissed due to the unbearable and unfavorable working conditions set by the employer. They were awarded reimbursement of placement fees, backwages until the end of their employment contracts, damages, and attorney’s fees. Ryan’s claims for overtime pay and illegal deductions were denied for being unsubstantiated. Mike’s claim of illegal deduction was given credence by the Office of the Labor Arbiter.
The National Labor Relations Commission denied the employer’s appeal and affirmed the ruling of the Office of the Labor Arbiter.
The employer sought recourse before the Court of Appeals, ascribing grave abuse of discretion on the part of the National Labor Relations Commission.
Record revealed that before Mike and Ryan filed their complaint with the Office of the Labor Arbiter, they also filed a complaint with the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration against the employer and its agent for violation of the 2002 POEA Rules and Regulations Governing the Recruitment and Employment of Land-Based Overseas Workers. The complaint alleged the same set of facts in the complaint before the Office of the Labor Arbiter and were supported by the same affidavits. The complaint filed before the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration was dismissed for failure of Mike and Ryan to substantiate their allegations and attend the scheduled hearings. Mike and Ryan appealed the dismissal to the Department of Labor and Employment, which issued an order dismissing their appeal.
Regarding the petition assailing the ruling of the National Labor Relations Commission, the Court of Appeals dismissed the same since it found substantial evidence to prove that respondents were illegally dismissed.
The employer then elevated its case to the Supreme Court. It pointed out that the other complaint filed by Mike and Ryan before the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration had been dismissed. The employer thus posited that it was erroneous for the Court of Appeals to not consider the orders issued by the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration and the Department of Labor and Employment, when Mike and Ryan alleged the same facts in their complaint filed before the Office of the Labor Arbiter.
Was the Court of Appeals correct in dismissing the employer’s petition?
The Supreme Court ruled in the affirmative because no basis supported the argument that the Office of the Labor Arbiter should have considered the orders issued by the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration and the Department of Labor and Employment in the adjudication of the complaint filed by Mike and Ryan before the Office of the Labor Arbiter.
The first reason discussed by the Supreme Court was that the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration could not have prevented the Office of the Labor Arbiter from ruling on the complaint of Mike and Ryan. Stated otherwise, the Doctrine of Primary Jurisdiction did not apply.
The Supreme Court discussed that the Doctrine of Primary Jurisdiction, also known as the Doctrine of Prior Resort, is the power and authority vested by the Constitution or by statute upon an administrative body to act upon a matter by virtue of its specific competence. The Doctrine of Primary Jurisdiction prevents the court from arrogating unto itself the authority to resolve a controversy which falls under the jurisdiction of a tribunal possessed with special competence.
The Supreme Court further discussed that Primary Jurisdiction does not necessarily denote Exclusive Jurisdiction. Primary Jurisdiction applies where a claim is originally cognizable in the courts and comes into play whenever enforcement of the claim requires the resolution of issues which, under a regulatory scheme, has been placed within the special competence of an administrative body; in such case, the judicial process is suspended pending referral of the issues to the administrative body for its review.
In the present case, the Supreme Court found that while Mike and Ryan alleged the same set of facts and submitted the same affidavits before the Office of the Labor Arbiter and the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration, the complaints raised different causes of action. Specifically, the complaint filed before the Office of the Labor Arbiter involved the issue of illegal dismissal and various money claims, while the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration complaint involved administrative disciplinary liability for violation of the 2002 POEA Rules and Regulations Governing the Recruitment and Employment of Land-Based Overseas Workers. For the Supreme Court, the Doctrine of Primary Jurisdiction could not have applied.
The second reason discussed by the Supreme Court was that in some instances, an administrative body is granted primary jurisdiction, concurrent with another government agency or the regular court.
However, the Supreme Court found that a review of the respective jurisdictions of the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration and the Office of the Labor Arbiter reveals that these administrative bodies do not have concurrent jurisdiction.
The Supreme Court mentioned that Section 10 of the Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipinos Act of 1995, as amended by Republic Act No. 10022, provides that the Office of the Labor Arbiter shall have 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 damage. On the other hand, Section 6, Part A, Rule X of the Implementing Rules and Regulations of Republic Act No. 10022 provides that the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration exercises administrative jurisdiction arising out of violations of rules and regulations and administrative disciplinary jurisdiction over employers, principals, contracting partners, and overseas Filipino workers.
For the Supreme Court, the jurisdiction of these administrative bodies does not in any way intersect as to warrant the application of the doctrine of primary jurisdiction. Accordingly, said the Supreme Court, the appreciation by the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration and Office of the Labor Arbiter of the complaints should be limited to matters falling within their respective jurisdictions, and only insofar as relevant to the resolution of the controversies presented before them.
The third reason discussed by the Supreme Court was that the finality of the Order issued by the Department of Labor and Employment had no effect on the resolution of the present petition. For the Supreme Court, the Doctrine of Immutability of Judgments does not apply to this case.
Under the Doctrine of Immutability of Judgments, all the issues between the parties are deemed resolved and laid to rest once a judgment becomes final. No other action can be taken on the decision except to order its execution. The decision becomes immutable and unalterable and may no longer be modified in any respect even if the modification is meant to correct erroneous conclusions of fact or law and whether it will be made by the court that rendered it or by the highest court of the land.
In the present case, the Supreme Court found that the Order of the Department of Labor and Employment, which had become final, settled the issue of whether the employer and its agent violated the 2002 POEA Rules and Regulations Governing the Recruitment and Employment of Land-Based Overseas Workers. It did not involve the issue of the illegal dismissal and money claims lodged by Mike and Ryan with the Office of the Labor Arbiter. To reiterate, the Supreme Court found that the finality of the Order issued by the Department of Labor and Employment had no effect on the resolution of the present petition.
Further reading:
- U R Employed International Corp. v. Pinmiliw, G.R. No. 225263, March 16, 2022.
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