SECOND DIVISION
G.R. No. 196110, February 06, 2017
PNCC SKYWAY CORPORATION (PSC), Petitioner, v. THE SECRETARY OF LABOR & EMPLOYMENT, PNCC SKYWAY TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT, AND SECURITY DIVISION WORKERS ORGANIZATION, Respondent.
D E C I S I O N
PERALTA, J.:
This is a Petition for Review on Certiorari under Rule 451 of the Rules of Court seeking the reversal of the Decision2 dated July 22, 2010 and Resolution3 dated March 10, 2011 of the Court of Appeals in CA-G.R. SP No. 111200.
The facts are as follows:chanRoblesvirtualLawlibrary
Sometime in March 1977, the Philippine National Construction Corporation (PNCC) was awarded by the Toll Regulatory Board (TRB) with the franchise of constructing, operating and maintaining the north and south expressways, including the South Metro Manila Skyway (Skyway). On December 15, 1998, it created petitioner PNCC Skyway Corporation (PSC) for the purpose of taking charge of its traffic safety, maintaining its facilities and collecting toll.
Eight years later, or on July 18, 2007, the Citra Metro Manila Tollway Corporation (Citra), a private investor under a build-and-transfer scheme, entered into an agreement with the TRB and the PNCC to transfer the operation of the Skyway from petitioner PSC to the Skyway O & M Corporation (SOMCO). The said transfer provided for a five-month transition period from July 2007 until the full torn-over of the Skyway at 10:00 p.m. of December 31, 2007 upon which petitioner PSC will close its operation.
On December 28, 2007, or three (3) days before the flail transfer of the operation of the Skyway to SOMCO, petitioner PSC served termination letters to its employees, many of whom were members of private respondent PNCC Skyway Traffic Management and Security Division Worker's Organization (Union). According to the letter, PSC has no choice but to close its operations resulting in the termination of its employees effective January 31, 2008. However, the employees are entitled to receive separation pay amounting to 250% of the basic monthly pay for every year of service, among others things. Petitioner PSC, likewise, served a notice of termination to the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE).
On that same day of December 28, 2007, private respondent Union, immediately upon receipt of the termination letters, filed a Notice of Strike before the DOLE alleging that the closure of the operation of PSC is tantamount to union-busting because it is a means of terminating employees who are members thereof. Furthermore, the notices of termination were served on its employees three (3) days before petitioner PSC ceases its operations, thereby violating the employees' right to due process. As a matter of fact, the employees were no longer allowed to work as of January 1, 2008. Private respondent Union, thus, prayed that petitioner PSC be held guilty of unfair labor practice and illegal dismissal. It, likewise, prayed for the reinstatement of all dismissed employees, along with the award of backwages, moral and exemplary damages, and attorney's fees.
For its defense, PSC denied that the closure of its operation was intended to remove employees who are members of private respondent Union. Instead, it claimed that it was done in good faith and in the exercise of management prerogative, considering that it was anchored on an agreement between the TRB, the PNCC and the private investor Citra. PSC likewise denied that it had violated the right to due process of its employees, considering that the notices of termination were served on December 28, 2007 while the termination was effective only on January 31, 2008, PSC alleged that the Union was guilty of an illegal strike when it started a strike on the same day it filed a notice of strike on December 28, 2007.
On August 29, 2008, public respondent Secretary of Labor and Employment (SOLE), in its assailed Decision,4 found that there was an authorized cause for the closure of the operation of PSC albeit it failed to comply with the procedural requirements set forth under Article 283 of the Labor Code. The dispositive portion of the Decision reads, as thus:ChanRoblesVirtualawlibrary
WHEREFORE, premises considered, judgment is hereby rendered:chanRoblesvirtualLawlibraryBoth PSC and private respondent Union file their respective motions for partial reconsideration but was denied for lack of merit in a Resolution5 dated August 26, 2009.
1. HOLDING there was lawful cause to terminate the employees and deny their claims for reinstatement as there was valid cessation of PSC's operation.
2. DISMISSING theĀ chargesĀ of unfair labor practice and union-busting for lack of basis.
3. DISMISSING the charge of illegal strike against the Union and its members for lack of basis.
4. HOLDING there was failure on the part of the PNCC Skyway Corporation to comply with the procedural notice requirements of Article 283 of the Labor Code.
5. DENYING the payment of moral and exemplary damages, and attorney's fees for lack of bases.
As it had previously offered, PSC is hereby ORDERED to pay the affected employees their separation pay in the amount of no less than 250% of their respective basic monthly pay per year of service, a gratuity pay of Php40,000 each employee, plus all their remaining benefits like 13th month pay, rice subsidy, cash conversion of vacation and sick leaves, and medical reimbursement.
Likewise, PSC is ordered to pay the amount of Php30,000 as indemnity to each dismissed employee covered by this case, who were not validly notified in writing of their termination on 31 December 2007 pursuant to Article 283 of the Labor Code.
SO ORDERED.
WHETHER OR NOT THE HONORABLE COURT OF APPEALS ERRED IN UPHOLDING THE LABOR SECRETARY'S FINDINGS THAT PSC FAILED TO COMPLY WITH THE PROCEDURAL REQUIREMENTS OF ARTICLE 283 OF THE LABOR CODE ON NOTICE.In essence, the PSC insists that there was substantial compliance with the procedural requirements of Article 283 of the Labor Code considering that the alleged effectivity of the termination was made one (1) month from the notice of termination and that the affected employees were paid for the said month.
WHETHER OR NOT THE HONORABLE COURT OF APPEALS ERRED IN UPHOLDING THE LABOR SECRETARY'S FAILURE TO CONSIDER THAT THE EMPLOYEES WERE PAID OF THEIR SALARIES AND BENEFITS FOR THE MONTH OF JANUARY 2008 WHICH IS CONSIDERED AS SUBSTANTIAL COMPLIANCE WITH THE REQUIREMENTS OF ARTICLE 283 OF THE LABOR CODE.
WHETHER THE AGABON AND SERRANO CASES ARE INAPPLICABLE IN THIS CASE.
x x x In a Rule 45 review, we consider the correctness of the assailed CA decision, in contrast with the review for jurisdictional error that we undertake under Rule 65. Furthermore, Rule 45 limits us to the review of questions of law raised against the assailed CA decision. In ruling for legal correctness, we have to view the CA decision in the same context that the petition for certiorari it ruled upon was presented to it; we have to examine the CA decision from the prism of whether it correctly determined the presence or absence of grave abuse of discretion in the NLRC decision before it, not on the basis of whether the NLRC decision on the merits of the case was correct. In other words, we have to be keenly aware that the CA undertook a Rule 65 review, not a review on appeal, of the NLRC decision challenged before it. This is the approach that should be basic in a Rule 45 review of a CA ruling in a labor case. In question form, the question to ask is: Did the CA correctly determine whether the NLRC committed grave abuse of discretion in ruling on the case?10chanroblesvirtuallawlibraryThus, in the instant petition for review, we will examine the CA decision limited to whether it correctly determined the presence or absence of grave abuse of discretion in the SOLE decision before it, not on the basis of whether the SOLE decision on the merits of the case was correct. Moreso, in this case, where the SOLE and the Court of Appeals were unanimous in ruling that PSC's closure or cessation of business operations was due to the amendment of the STOA by CITRA, PNCC and the Republic of the Philippines (ASTOA), and not because of any alleged anti-union position. We find no reason to modify such finding. In any case, none of the parties raised the issue of either the legality of the dismissal or the validity of the closure of PSC's operation. Furthermore, it must be emphasized that this Court is not a trier of facts, a rule which applies with greater force in labor cases where the findings of fact of the quasi-judicial agencies are accorded respect and even finality, as long as they are supported by substantial evidence from which an independent evaluation of the facts may be made.
Art. 283. Closure of establishment and reduction of personnel. The employer may also terminate the employment of any employee due to the installation of labor saving devices, redundancy, retrenchment to prevent losses or the closing or cessation of operation of the establishment or undertaking unless the closing is for the purpose of circumventing the provisions of this Title, by serving a written notice on the workers and the Ministry of Labor and Employment at least one (1) month before the intended date thereof. In case of termination due to the installation of labor saving devices or redundancy, the worker affected thereby shall be entitled to a separation pay equivalent to at least his one (1) month pay or to at least one (1) month pay for every year of service, whichever is higher. In case of retrenchment to prevent losses and in cases of closures or cessation of operations of establishment or under taking not due to serious business losses or financial reverses, the separation pay shall be equivalent to one (1) month pay or at least one-half (1/2) month pay for every year of service, whichever is higher. A fraction of at least six (6) months shall be considered one (1) whole year.In sum, under Article 283 of the Labor Code, three requirements are necessary for a valid cessation of business operations: (a) service of a written notice to the employees and to the DOLE at least one month before the intended date thereof; (b) the cessation of business must be bona fide in character; and (c) payment to the employees of termination pay amounting to one month pay or at least one-half month pay for every year of service, whichever is higher.
Endnotes:
* Associate Justice Francis H. Jardeleza, no part; Associate Justice Mariano C. del Castillo designated Additional Member per Special Order No. 2416-J, dated January 4, 2017.
1Rollo, pp. 10-33.
2 Penned by Associate Justice Garcia, R.R., with Associate Justices Carandang, R.D., and Barrios, M.M, concurring; rollo, pp. 40-52.
3Id. at 54-55.
4Id. at 57-79.
5Id. at 81-91.
6Id. at 135-149.
7Supra note 2.
8Supra note 4.
9 613 Phil. 696 (2009).
10Montoya v. Transmed Manila Corporation, supra, at 707.
11Galaxie Steel Workers Union v. NLRC, 535 Phil. 675, 685 (2006).
12Mobilia Products, Inc. v. Demecillo, et al., 597 Phil. 621, 631 (2009).
13Id.
14 516 Phil. 351,359 (2006).
15 494 Phil. 115, 122 (2005).
16 520 Phil. 522, 527-528 (2006).
17 CA rollo, p. 32.