A labor contractor’s Certificate of Registration with the Department of Labor and Employment is not conclusive evidence of its status as a legitimate labor contracting entity. At most, it causes a disputable presumption that the entity is a legitimate labor contractor which can be refuted by other evidence. In order to determine whether an entity is a labor-only contractor or a legitimate labor contractor, what must be considered is the totality of the facts and surrounding circumstances of the case.
The employer posited that backwages are awarded only to an illegally dismissed employee. Did the Supreme Court sustain this position?
The accused pointed out that the POEA certification (which the trial court relied on in convicting him of the crime of illegal recruitment in large scale) was not authenticated in court by its signatory. Was this sufficient to overturn his conviction for the crime?
