Facts:

• The case Aguda v. Vallejos, G.R. No. 58133, was decided on March 26, 1982.
• Petitioners: Mercedes Aguda, Aurea Pedrozo, Josephine Caraang, Lilia Durwin, Lourdes Larin, Lerna Villablanca, and Bernabe Llarenas, Jr.
• All petitioners were employees at Adamson Ozanam Educational Institution, Inc., working in the canteen from 1974 until their dismissal on June 2, 1980.
• On June 27, 1980, they filed a complaint with the Ministry of Labor, alleging illegal dismissal and seeking compensation for:
  • Underpayment
  • Overtime pay
  • Legal holiday pay
  • Premium pay for holidays
  • Violations of various presidential decrees
• On July 2, 1980, they filed a separate complaint in the Court of First Instance of Manila for damages totaling P300,000.
• The trial court dismissed the damages complaint on July 22, 1980, due to lack of jurisdiction.
• A motion for reconsideration was filed but was ineffective due to the absence of a notice of hearing.
• The case was dismissed without prejudice on July 24, 1981, for failure to prosecute.
• The petitioners then sought a certiorari petition from the Supreme Court to reverse the lower court's dismissal orders.

Issue:

• (Unlock)

Ruling:

• The Supreme Court dismissed the petition, upholding the lower court's decision.
• The Court determined that the petitioners' claims for damages were under the exclusive jurisdiction of the Labor Arbiter ...(Unlock)

Ratio:

• The ruling was based on the interpretation of Presidential Decree No. 1691, which restored the jurisdiction of Labor Arbiters and the NLRC over all claims related to employer-employee relations, including moral and exemplary damages.
• The Court noted that this decree nullified a previous decree (Presidential Decree No. 1367) that had removed such jur...continue reading