Case Digest (G.R. No. L-15751)
Facts:
Bureau of Printing, Serafin Salvador and Mariano Ledesma v. The Bureau of Printing Employees Association (NLU), Pacifico Advincula, Roberto Mendoza, Ponciano Arganda and Teodulo Toleran, G.R. No. L-15751, January 28, 1961, Supreme Court En Banc, Gutierrez David, J., writing for the Court.This is a petition for certiorari and prohibition with preliminary injunction filed by petitioners the Bureau of Printing, Serafin Salvador (Acting Secretary of the Department of General Services) and Mariano Ledesma (Director of the Bureau of Printing) to annul orders of the Court of Industrial Relations (Industrial Court) and to restrain it from proceeding with an unfair labor practice complaint for lack of jurisdiction. The Supreme Court gave due course to the petition and ordered issuance of the writ of preliminary injunction without bond.
The unfair labor practice complaint before the Industrial Court was filed by the Bureau of Printing Employees Association (NLU) and individual respondents Pacifico Advincula, Roberto Mendoza, Ponciano Arganda and Teodulo Toleran through an acting prosecutor of the Industrial Court. It alleged that Salvador and Ledesma interfered with employees’ right of self-organization and discriminated in hire and tenure to discourage union activity. Petitioners denied the charges and pleaded, among other defenses, that the employees named were suspended pending administrative investigation for Civil Service violations; that the Bureau of Printing had no juridical personality and therefore could not be sued; and that the Bureau was an agency performing governmental, not industrial, functions.
Petitioners moved for a preliminary hearing on jurisdiction and for suspension of trial on the merits pending resolution of the jurisdictional question. The trial judge of the Industrial Court, in an order dated January 27, 1959, sustained the court’s jurisdiction on the theory that the Bure...(Pro-only)
Issues:
- Did the Court of Industrial Relations have jurisdiction to entertain the unfair labor practice complaint against the Bureau of Printing and the named officials?
- Can the Bureau of Printing, an office of the Government created by the Administrative Code, be sued as an employer under the Industrial Peace Act (i.e., does it possess juridical personality or qualify as an industrial concern engaged for gain)?
- Would the Industrial Court’s taking cognizance of the complaint improperly interfere with executive ...(Pro-only)
Ruling:
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Ratio:
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Doctrine:
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