CASE DIGEST: CRUZVALE, INC. V LAGUESMA

CRUZVALE, INC.

LAGUESMA

238 SCRA 389

[November 25, 1994]

NATURE

Special civil action of certiorari, with prayer for a writ of preliminary injunction or temporary restraining order, to reverse and set aside the decision of respondent Undersecretary (Laguesma) upholding the order of respondent Med-Arbiter (Tutay)

FACTS

-Private respondent, Union of Filipino Workers (UFW), filed with the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), Regional Office No. IV, a petition for certification election among the regular rank-and-file workers of petitioner.

-Petitioner filed its comment to the petition for certification election. It sought the denial of the petition, among the grounds enumerated is that the Regional Office No. IV of the DOLE has no jurisdiction over the petition since petitioner Company’s place of business is located at Cubao, Quezon City, which is outside the jurisdiction of the said Regional Office. Consequently, it is the National Capital Region or NCR of the DOLE which has jurisdiction over said petition.

-Med-Arbiter found petitioner’s claim unmeritorious and rendered a decision in favor of respondent union.

ISSUE/S

1. WON petitioners correctly interpreted Section 1, Rule V, Book V of the Omnibus Rules Implementing the Labor Code which states: “Where to file. A petition for certification election shall be filed with the Regional Office which has jurisdiction over the principal office of the Employer. The petition shall be in writing and under oath.”

HELD

1. NO

Ratio The word “jurisdiction” as used in said provision refers to the venue where the petition for certification must be filed. Unlike jurisdiction, which implies the power of the court to decide a case, venue merely refers to the place where the action shall be brought. Venue touches more the convenience of the parties rather than the substance of the case. Reasoning Section 1, Rule V, Book V of the Omnibus Rules Implementing the Labor Code refers only to cases where the place of work of the employees and the place of the principal office of the employer are within the same territorial jurisdiction of the Regional Office where the petition for certification election is filed. The said provision does not apply to the filing of petitions for certification election where the place of work of the employees and the place of principal office of the employer are located within the territorial jurisdictions of different regional offices. We assume that in the drafting of the Omnibus Rules, the Secretary of Labor and Employment took into consideration the fact that there are many companies with factories located in places different from places where the corporate offices are located. The worker, being the economically-disadvantaged party whether as complainant, petitioner or respondent, as the case may be, the nearest governmental machinery to settle a labor dispute must beplaced at hisimmediate disposal and the employer must in no case be allowed a choice in favor of another competent agency sitting in another place to the inconvenience of the worker. Petitioner has not shown how it will be prejudiced by the hearing on the petition for certification election before the Regional Office No. IV, which has its offices in Quezon City, the same city where the principal place of business of petitioner is located. Petitioner is, therefore, being unreasonable in demanding that the petition for certification election be filed with the National Capital Region Office, which holds offices in Manila. Unlike in the Rules governing the procedure before Regional Offices, the New Rules of Procedure of the National Labor Relations Commission prescribes that all cases in which labor arbiters have jurisdiction should be filed in the branch office which has territorial jurisdiction over the “workplace of the complainant/petitioner” (Rule IV, Sec. 1[a]). The NLRC Rules defines the workplace as follows: “For purposes of venue, workplace shall be understood as the place or locality where the employee is regularly assigned whenthe cause of action arose. It shall includethe place where the employee is supposed to report back after a temporary detail, assignment or travel. . . “

Disposition

WHEREFORE, the petition is DISMISSED and the temporary restraining order is LIFTED.

4. Substantial SupportRATIONALE AND COMPUTATION