G.R. No. L-14956 - Arcel vs. Osmena, Jr.

Petitioner: Atlas Free Workers Union (AFWU) – PSSLU Local, representing the rank-and-file workers of Atlas Consolidated Mining and Development Corporation.
Respondents:

Hon. Carmelo C. Noriel, in his capacity as Director of Labor Relations, Ministry of Labor.
Associated Labor Unions (ALU), the existing union allegedly representing the workers.

On December 14, 1978, the petitioner filed a petition for a certification election to determine the exclusive bargaining representative of approximately 7,000 workers.
The petition asserted that:

It had obtained the written consent of at least 30% of the workers, as mandated by the Labor Code.
No petition for a certification election had been filed in the past 12 months within the bargaining unit.
There was no legally certified or exclusive labor organization representing the workers because the ALU’s existing agreement was either unauthorized or had lost the confidence of the workers.

On January 18, 1979, ALU intervened by moving to dismiss the petition on two grounds:

There already existed a collective bargaining agreement between the company and ALU.
The petition was alleged not to have the requisite support as some of the 1,249 signatures were argued to be fraudulent, belonging to non-members, duplicated, or even those of deceased persons.

On March 23, 1979, the Med-Arbiter, relying on the evidence submitted by ALU, issued an order dismissing the petition based on a purported failure to meet the 30% support requirement.
The petitioner appealed the Med-Arbiter’s dismissal on March 30, 1979, and again on April 5, 1979, contending:

The allegations of forged or erroneous signatures were either unsubstantiated or could be resolved at the pre-election conference stage.
The technical issues should not impede the democratic process of determining representation.

On September 28, 1979, instead of ruling on the merits of the petition for holding a certification election, respondent Noriel issued an order remanding the petition back to the Med-Arbiter or the office of origin for further hearings.
The rationale given by Noriel included:

The Med-Arbiter's findings were based on evidence considered arbitrary and lacking reasonable support.
Discrepancies and mathematical errors were noted in the Med-Arbiter’s findings (e.g., issues with death certificates and lists of alleged fraudulent signatures).
Further hearings were deemed necessary to resolve these evidentiary issues.

The petition was grounded on Article 257 of the Labor Code (P.D. No. 442), which mandates that:

A certification election must be held once a petition duly supported by at least 30% of the employees is verified.
The election is central to determining the democratic choice of the workers regarding their exclusive collective bargaining representative.

The petition raised concerns that remanding the case for additional hearings, despite showing a prima facie compliance with the statutory requirement, would unduly delay the certification election and contravene the democratic process.

Whether respondent Noriel, as Director of Labor Relations, acted arbitrarily in remanding the petition for further evidentiary hearings instead of ordering the certification election.
Whether the decision to remand the petition, in light of alleged discrepancies in the supporting signatures, amounted to an abuse of discretion.
Whether the mere technical question about the adherence to the 30% subscription requirement should prevent the immediate ordering of a certification election.
How the procedural irregularities and evidentiary issues noted by the Med-Arbiter should be weighed against the statutory mandate to hold a certification election.