LABOREV (CHAN)

CHAPTER 1:
A.

Constitutional Provision

I.Article II of the Constitution

1.Two Divisions of Article II
a. Principles
b.State Policies
Article II Declaration of Principles and State Policies
Section 9. The State shall promote a just and dynamic social order that will ensure the prosperity and independence of the nation and
free the people from poverty through policies that provide adequate social services, promote full employment, a rising standard of living,
and an improved quality of life for all.
Section 10. The State shall promote social justice in all phases of national development.
Section 11. The State values the dignity of every human person and guarantees full respect for human rights.
Section 13. The State recognizes the vital role of the youth in nation-building and shall promote and protect their physical, moral,
spiritual, intellectual, and social well-being. It shall inculcate in the youth patriotism and nationalism, and encourage their involvement in
public and civic affairs.
Section 14. The State recognizes the role of women in nation-building, and shall ensure the fundamental equality before the law of
women and men.
Section 18. The State affirms labor as a primary social economic force. It shall protect the rights of workers and promote their welfare.
Section 20. The State recognizes the indispensable role of the private sector, encourages private enterprise, and provides incentives to
needed investments.
2.Article II, not a self-executing provision
-by its very title, declaration of principles and state policies
-used by the judiciary as aids or as guides in the exercise of its power of judicial review and by the legislature in its enactment of laws
-disregard? Cannot give rise to a cause of action in the courts
-not embody judicially enforceable constitutional rights but guidelines for legislation
-NEED legislative enactments to implement them
-Reason for denying cause of action: due process and lack of judicial authority to wade into the unchartered ocean of social and
economic policy making
3. Discussion of Selected Significant Provisions of Article II
a. Section 10 (Social Justice)
-equality
-social justice in Article II Section 10 in all phases of national development
-Article XIII are clear commands to the State to take affirmative action in the direction of greater equality
-guaranteeing vital social and economic rights to marginalized groups of society, including labor
-under the policy of social justice, it accommodates the interest of the working class on the humane justification that those with less
privilege in life should have more in the law
-the obligation to afford protection to labor is incumbent on the legislative, executive and judiciary
b.Section 18 (Protection-to-Labor-Clause)
-often cited in labor cases
-often invoked in resolving doubts or ambiguities in the interpretation of the law, employment contracts, collective bargaining
agreements and appreciation of evidence
-Basis?
1.Article 1702 of the Civil Code which provides that all labor legislation and labor contracts should be construed in favor of the safety
and decent living for the laborer
2.Article 4 of the Labor Code which states that all doubts should be resolved in favor of labor

-when conflicting interests of labor and capital are weighed? Must accord the underprivileged worker
-liberal approach which favors the exercise of labor rights should always be adopted
-States disregard of its avowed duty of protecting and promoting the exercise of all rights granted to workers
c.Section 18, not meant to oppress employers
-not prevent it from sustaining the employer when it is in the right
-the law protecting the rights of the laborer authorizes neither oppression nor self-destruction of the employer
II. Article III of the Constitution
1.Seven Relevant Sections
Article III Bill of Rights
Section 1. No person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law, nor shall any person be denied the equal
protection of the laws.
Section 4. No law shall be passed abridging the freedom of speech, of expression, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably
to assemble and petition the government for redress of grievances.
Section 7. The right of the people to information on matters of public concern shall be recognized. Access to official records, and to
documents and papers pertaining to official acts, transactions, or decisions, as well as to government research data used as basis for
policy development, shall be afforded the citizen, subject to such limitations as may be provided by law.
Section 8. The right of the people, including those employed in the public and private sectors, to form unions, associations, or societies
for purposes not contrary to law shall not be abridged.
Section 10. No law impairing the obligation of contracts shall be passed.
Section 16. All persons shall have the right to a speedy disposition of their cases before all judicial, quasi-judicial, or administrative
bodies.
Section 18. (2) No involuntary servitude in any form shall exist except as a punishment for a crime whereof the party shall have been
duly convicted.
*except for Sec 1, all the others have relevance and applicability to labor law
2.Discussion of Selected Significant Provisions of Article III.
a.Section 4 (Freedom of Speech, of Expression and of the Press and Peaceably to Assemble and Petition the Government for
Redress of Grievances)
-constitutional basis for the exercise of the right to picket as distinguished from the right to strike in Section 3 of Article XIII
-right to picket is part of the right guaranteed under the law to engage in concerted activities for purposes of collective bargaining for
their mutual benefit and protection but it is principally guaranteed under the freedom of speech principle in the Constitution.
-to strike is to withhold or to stop work by the concerted action of employees as a result of an industrial or labor dispute
-work stoppage may be accompanied by picketing by the striking employees outside the company compound
-to strike focuses on stoppage of work
-picketing focuses on publicizing the labor dispute and its incidents to inform the public of what is happening in the company struck
against
-picket means the marching to and fro in front of the employers premises, usually accompanied by the display of placards and other
signs making known the facts involved in a labor dispute, it is a strike activity separate and different from the actual stoppage of work
-by no means absolute
-not extend to blocking ingress to (entrance) and egress from (exit) the company premises
b. Section 8 (Right to Organize Unions)
-both public and private sectors
-the Labor Code:
1.protects the rights form, join, or assist labor organizations of workers to self-organization and to of their own choosing
2.declares as a policy of the State the fostering of a free and voluntary organization of a strong and united labor movement
3.declares that is shall be unlawful for any person to restrain, coerce, discriminate against or unduly interfere with employees and
workers in their exercise of the right to self-organization, which includes the right to form, join or assists labor organizations for the
purpose of collective bargaining through representatives of their own choosing and to engage in lawful concerted activities for the same
purpose or for their mutual aid and protection.

c.Section 10 (Non-Impairment of Obligations and Contracts)

-purpose: to safeguard the integrity of contracts against unwarranted interference by the State
-contacts should not be tampered with by subsequent laws
-impairment is anything that diminishes the efficacy of the contract, if a subsequent law changes the terms of a contract between the
parties, imposes new conditions, dispenses with those agreed upon or withdraws remedies for the enforcement of the rights of the
parties
-limited to laws that derogate from prior acts or contracts by enlarging, abridging or in any manner changing the intention of the parties
-Not apply: laws already in effect at the time of contract execution
-RA 3350 exempts members of any religious sects, which prohibits affiliation of their members in any labor organization from being
covered by a union security clause: cannot be denied that there was indeed an impairment of said union security clause
-prohibition to impair the obligations and contracts is not absolute and unqualified
-the State continues to possess authority to safeguard the vital interests of its people
-legislation appropriate to safeguard said interest may modify or abrogate contracts already in effect
-not all legislations which have the effect of impairing a contract are obnoxious to the constitutional prohibition as to impairment and a
statute passed in the legitimate exercise of police power, although is incidentally destroys contractual rights must be upheld by the
courts
-Purpose of RA 3350? To insure freedom of belief and religion and to promote the general welfare by preventing discrimination against
those members of religious sects which prohibit their members from joining labor unions, confirming thereby their natural, statutory and
constitutional right to work
-free exercise of religious profession or belief is superior to contract rights
-that contract cannot have the effect of annulling subsequent legislation designed to protect the interest of the working class
-prohibition against impairment of obligations and contracts is aligned with the general principle that laws newly enacted have only a
prospective operation and cannot affect acts or contract already perfected, however, as to laws already in existence, their provisions
are read into contracts and deemed a part thereof
-non impairment clause under Section 10 Article III of the Constitution is limited in application to laws about to be enacted that
would in any way derogate from existing acts or contracts by enlarging, abridging or in any manner changing the intention of the parties
thereto
Police Power v. Non-Impairment Clause
-police power is superior to non-impairment clause
-constitutional guarantee of non-impairment clause is limited by the exercise of the police power of the State, in the interest of public
health, safety, morals and general welfare of the community
-police power legislations adopted by the State to promote the health, morals, peace, education, good order, safety and general welfare
of the people are generally applicable not only to future contracts but even to those already in existence, for all private contracts must
yield to the superior and legitimate measures taken by the State to promote public welfare
-constitutional prohibition against impairing contractual obligations is not absolute, it is restricted to contracts with respect to property or
some object of value and which confer rights that may be asserted in a court of justice
-has no application to statutes relating to public subjects within the domain of the general legislative powers of the State and involving
the public rights and public welfare of the entire community affected by it
-it does not prevent the proper exercise of the State of its police power by enacting regulations reasonably necessary to secure the
health, safety, morals, comfort or general welfare of the community, even though contracts may thereby be affected, for such matters
cannot be placed by contract beyond the power of the State to regulate and control
-freedom of contract is not absolute
-all contracts and all rights are subject to the police power of the State
-all such regulations must be subject to change from time to time as the general, well-being of the community may require or as the
circumstances may change or as experience may demonstrate the necessity
-under the Civil Code, contracts of labor are explicitly subject to the police power of the State because they are not ordinary contracts
by are impressed with public interest
The stipulations in the contract must be valid
-should not be contrary to law, morals, good customs, public order or public policy
-agreement or contract between the parties is the formal expression of the parties rights, duties and obligations; it is the best
evidence of the intention of the parties; reduced to writing? Considered as containing all the terms agreed upon and there can be no
evidence of such terms other than the contents of the written agreement between the parties and their successors in interest
-courts have no choice but to enforce such contract so long as it is not contrary to law, morals, good customs or public policy.
Otherwise, courts would be interfering with the freedom of contract of the parties
d.Section 16 (Speedy Labor Justice)
-speedy disposition of cases or speedy labor justice
-consistent with delays and depends upon circumstances of the each case
-what the Constitution prohibits are unreasonable, arbitrary and oppressive delays which render rights nugatory
-Art 227 (i) of the Labor Code:
To ensure speedy labor justice, the periods provided in this Code within which decisions or resolutions of labor relations cases or
matters should be rendered shall be mandatory. For this purpose, a case or matter shall be deemed submitted for decision or resolution
upon the filing of the last pleading or memorandum required by the rules of the Commission or by the Commission itself, or the Labor
Arbiter, or the Director of the Bureau of Labor Relations or Med-Arbiter, or the Regional Director.
-in the determination WON the right to speedy trial has been violated, certain factors may be considered and balanced against each
other: length of delay, reason for the delay, assertion of the right or failure to assert it, prejudice caused by the delay, WOW a person
officially charged with the administration of justice has violated the speedy disposition of cases

-speed alone is not the chief objective of a trial

e.Section 18(2) (Involuntary Servitude)
- is every condition of enforced or compulsory service of one to another, no matter under what form such servitude may be disguised
-prohibited by the constitution
-basis: employees are granted the right to terminate their employment relationship with their employers
-an employee may resign from employment at any time he wishes and with or without just cause, subject only to certain minimum
conditions imposed by law
-employees retained the prerogative to allow themselves to be absorbed or not
Compulsory fulfillment of military or civic duty
-Article 286 of the Labor Code is an exception to this constitutional proscription
-survival of the state is the paramount justification for such involuntary servitude
III. Article XIII of the Constitution
1.Five Sections of Article XIII
Article XIII
SOCIAL JUSTICE AND HUMAN RIGHTS
Section 1. The Congress shall give highest priority to the enactment of measures that protect and enhance the right of all the people to
human dignity, reduce social, economic, and political inequalities, and remove cultural inequities by equitably diffusing wealth and
political power for the common good.
To this end, the State shall regulate the acquisition, ownership, use, and disposition of property and its increments.

Section 2. The promotion of social justice shall include the commitment to create economic opportunities based on freedom of initiative
and self-reliance.

LABOR
Section 3. The State shall afford full protection to labor, local and overseas, organized and unorganized, and promote full employment
and equality of employment opportunities for all.
It shall guarantee the rights of all workers to self-organization, collective bargaining and negotiations, and peaceful concerted activities,
including the right to strike in accordance with law. They shall be entitled to security of tenure, humane conditions of work, and a living
wage. They shall also participate in policy and decision-making processes affecting their rights and benefits as may be provided by law.
The State shall promote the principle of shared responsibility between workers and employers and the preferential use of voluntary
modes in settling disputes, including conciliation, and shall enforce their mutual compliance therewith to foster industrial peace.
The State shall regulate the relations between workers and employers, recognizing the right of labor to its just share in the fruits of
production and the right of enterprises to reasonable returns to investments, and to expansion and growth.

WOMEN
Section 14. The State shall protect working women by providing safe and healthful working conditions, taking into account their
maternal functions, and such facilities and opportunities that will enhance their welfare and enable them to realize their full potential in
the service of the nation.

2.Discussion of Selected Significant Provisions of Article XIII

a.Section 1 (Human Dignity, Inequality and Discrimination)

-abhorrence to inequality and discrimination
-Congress is mandated to enact laws that enhance the right of all people to human dignity, reduce social, economic and political
inequalities
-point of hire classification, distinction of salary rates of foreign hires and local hires is an invalid classification
b.Section 3 (Protection to Labor Clause)
-reflect the rights and principles that encompass almost all of the provisions of the Labor Code and other related laws
-Section 3 Article XIII, not self - executing/actuating or judicially enforceable
-subsequent legislation is still needed to define the parameters of theses guaranteed rights to ensure the protection and promotion of
rights of the labor sector and employers
-cannot on its own be a source of positive enforceable right to stave off the dismissal of an employee for just cause owing to the failure
to serve proper notice or hearing
-cannot be treated as a principal source of direct enforceable rights
-labor is entitled to humane conditions of work (physical workplace and the manner by which employers treat their employees)
-directs the State to promote equality of employment opportunities for all
-provides that the State shall ensure equal work opportunities regardless of sex, race or creed
-discrimination is frowned upon by the labor code
-gravely abused its discretion when she relied on unaudited financial statements in determining the wage award, unduly deprive labor
of its rights to a just share in the fruits of production and provide employers with a means to understate their profitability in order to
defeat the right to a just wage
c.Section 14 (Protection of Women)
-non self-executory
-mere statement of principles and policies
-mere directive addressed to the executive and the legislative departments
IV.Example of a Law which violates several Constitutional Priniciples
1.The Serrano Case where the Provision of the 5th par, Section 10 of RA 8042 was declared violative of several constitutional
mandates
-discriminatory intent
-suspect classification in that, in the computation of the monetary benefits of fixed term employees who are illegally discharged
-declaration of the unconstitutionality of the subject clause cannot be approached from the lone perspective that the clause directly
violates state policy on labor under Section 3 Article XIII of the Constitution
-the subject clause does not state or imply any definite governmental purpose and violates right to equal protection and right to
substantive due process
V.Constitutional Provisions not applicable to Labor Cases
1.Inapplicability per Jurisprudence
-company level administrative investigations leading to termination of employment because they can only be asserted against the
government or the state but not against a private party like an employer
-the following rights find no application in company-level administrative proceedings by the employer against an erring employee:
a.right to due process
b.right to equal protection of the laws
c.right against self-incrimination
d.right ot counsel and to remain silent
e.right against unreasonable searches and seizures and to privacy of communication and correspondence
2.Constitutional Due Process
a.The Serrano Case
-distinguished denial of due process by the State and denial of due process by the employer
-violation by the employer of the notice requirement cannot be considered a denial of due process as would result in the nullity of the
employees dismissal or layoff
-Reasons:
1.Due process clause of the Constitution is a limitation on governmental powers; not apply to the exercise of private power
2.Notice and hearing required under due process clause applies before the powers of organized society are brought to bear upon the
individual
-not the case of termination of employment under Article 282 and 283 of the Labor Code because the employee is not faced with an
aspect of the adversary system
-notice and hearing as the essence of procedural due process
3.Notice requirement under Article 282 and 283 of the Labor Code cannot be considered a requirement of the Due Process Clause
since the employer cannot really be expected to be entirely an impartial judge of his own cause.
b.The Agabon Case
-Constitutional Due Process protects the individual from the government and assures him of his rights in criminal, civil or
administrative proceedings

-Statutory Due Process found in the Labor Code and IRR protects the employees from being unjustly terminated without just cause
after notice and hearing
-when there is a just cause for dismissal but due process has not been observed properly by the employer, it would not be right to order
either the reinstatement of the dismissed employee or the payment of backwages to him
-employer must be deemed to have opted or made liable for the payment of separation pay
c.The Abbott Laboratories Case
-when there is an existing company policy enunciating the procedural due process that must be observed in termination of employment,
compliance alone with the statutorily prescribed procedural due process would not suffice and there must be compliance too with the
company prescribed due process procedure or the so called contractual due process
-a company policy partakes of the nature of an implied contract between the employer and the employee; create an obligation on the
part of both the employee and the employer to abide by the same
d.The only relevant aspect of Section1, Article III to labor cases
-the doctrine that labor is considered a property within the constitutional guarantees remains constant to this day.
-property falling within the ambit and protection of the due process clause of the Constitution
-labor is a property and merits protection
e.Constitutional due process, when necessary
-in proceedings before labor arbiters, the commission (NLRC) and other labor tribunals (government is now involved)
3.Right to Equal Protection of the Laws
-addressed only to the state or those acting under the color of its authority
-no shield against merely private conduct, however, discriminatory or wrongful it may have been
-interests of the company
-equal protection clause erects no shield against private conduct, however discriminatory or wrongful it may be
-private actions no matter how egregious cannot violate the equal protection guarantee
4.Right against Self-Incrimination
-no person shall be compelled to be a witness against himself
-accorded to every person who gives evidence, whether voluntary or under compulsion of subpoena, in any civil, criminal or
administrative proceeding
a.The right gives option of refusal to answer questions but not a prohibition of inquiry
-may refuse to answer any particular incriminatory question
-can be claimed only when the specific question, incriminatory in character is actually put to the witness
b.Only an accused in a criminal cases and by way of xpn, a respondent in an administrative case that partakes of the nature
of, or analogous to, a criminal proceeding can refuse to testify.
c. No obligation on the part of the employer to advise respondent employee or a witness of his right against selfincrimination.
d. The right should be claimed; otherwise, it is deemed waived.
5.Rights to Counsel and to Remain Silent
a.Rights to Counsel and to Remain silent may be asserted only in custodial investigation; Distinguished from the right against
self-incrimination
Right to remain silent and to counsel : apply to persons under investigation for the commission of an offense
Right against self-incrimination : applies to any person testifying in any proceeding, civil, criminal or administrative
b.Invocation of right to counsel in an administrative proceeding
-cannot be invoked
-right to counsel under Section 12, Article III of the 1987 Constitution is meant to protect a suspect in a criminal case who is under
custodial investigation (police investigation is no longer an inquiry but has began to focus on a particular suspect taken by the police to
carry out the investigation)
-right of counsel attaches upon the start of such investigation
-exclusionary rule under the Bill of Rights applies only to admissions made in a criminal investigation but not to those in an
administrative investigation
c.Effect of Failure of Employer to inform Employee of his right to counsel
-deprivation of due process
-Art 277(b), the employer shall afford the worker whose employment is sought to be terminated ample opportunity to be heard and to
defend himself with the assistance of representatives
-amply opportunity connotes every kind of assistance that management must accord the employee to enable him to prepare
adequately for his defense, including legal representation.
-the right to counsel and the assistance of one in investigations involving termination cases is neither indispensable nor mandatory
except when the employee himself requests for one or that he manifests that he wants a formal hearing on the charges against him

6.Right against unreasonable searches and seizures and right to privacy of communication and correspondence
-bill of rights does not protect citizens from unreasonable searches and seizures perpetrated by private individuals
-in the absence of governmental interference, the liberties guaranteed by the Constitution cannot be invoked against the State
-can only be invoked against the State by an individual unjustly traduced by the exercise of sovereign authority
B.New Civil Code
1.On Article 19
Every person must, in the exercise of his rights and in the performance of his duties, act with justice, give everyone his due and
observe honesty and good faith.
-to live virtuously, not to injure others and to give everyone his due.
-contains the principle of abuse of rights
-to set certain standards which must be observed in the exercise of ones rights and also in the performance of ones duties.
-its antithesis is any act evincing bad faith or intent to injure.
-Article 21 refers to acts contra bonos mores and has the following elements:
1.an act which is legal
2.but which is contrary to morals, good custom, public order or public policy
3.is done with intent to injure
-common element of Art 19 and 21 is the act complained of must be intentional and attended with malice or bad faith
Application to Labor Cases:
-violated its duty to bargain collectively prescribed under the Labor Code and the mandate under Article 19 of the Civil Code
-compromise agreement with her employer under circumstances that the attorney has bewailed as having been designed to prevent the
recovery of his just professional fees
-recruiter never rendered immediate aid
2.On Article 1700
The relations between capital and labor are not merely contractual. They are so impressed with public interest that labor contracts must
yield to the common good. Therefore, such contracts are subject to the special laws on labor unions, collective bargaining, strikes and
lockouts, closed shop, wages, working conditions, hours of labor and similar subjects.
Application to Labor Cases:
-relations between capital and labor are so impressed with public interest, neither shall act oppressively against the other or impair the
interest or convenience of the public. In case of doubt, construed in favor of the safety of and decent living for the laborer
-obscure words and provisions shall not favor the party that caused the obscurity
-the terms of the contract of employment should be construed strictly against the petitioner who prepared it
-a contract of employment is impressed with public interest
-nature of employment is construed by law, regardless of any contract expressing otherwise
-project employment contracts remain valid under the law
-CBA in Article 252 of the Labor Code refers to a contract executed upon request of either the employer or the exclusive bargaining
representative incorporating the agreement reached after negotiations with respect to wages, hours of work and all other terms and
conditions of employment, including proposals for adjusting any grievances or questions arising under such agreement.