G.R. No. 176249 - FVC Labor Union-PTGWO vs. Sama-samang Nagkakaisang Manggagawa sa FVC-SIGLO

The petitioner, FVC Labor Union-Philippine Transport and General Workers Organization (FVCLU-PTGWO), was the recognized bargaining agent of the rank-and-file employees of FVC Philippines, Inc. (the company).
On December 22, 1997, FVCLU-PTGWO and the company signed a five-year Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) covering the period from February 1, 1998 to January 30, 2003.

At the end of the third year of the five-year CBA, FVCLU-PTGWO and the company entered into renegotiations.
Article XXV, Section 2 of the renegotiated CBA extended the original term of the agreement by four months, amending the expiry date to May 31, 2003.

On January 21, 2003, nine days before the original CBA expiry (January 30, 2003) and more than four months before the amended expiry (May 31, 2003), respondent Sama-Samang Nagkakaisang Manggagawa sa FVC-Solidarity of Independent and General Labor Organizations (SANAMA-SIGLO) filed a petition for certification election before the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) for the same bargaining unit.
FVCLU-PTGWO moved to dismiss the petition, arguing that the petition was filed outside the sixty-day freedom period counted from the amended CBA expiration date of May 31, 2003.

On June 17, 2003, Med-Arbiter Arturo V. Cosuco dismissed the petition, ruling it was filed before the freedom period (sixty days before May 31, 2003).
SANAMA-SIGLO appealed to DOLE Secretary Patricia A. Sto. Tomas, who reversed the dismissal on August 6, 2003, ruling the petition was timely filed within sixty days before the original expiration date, January 30, 2003.
FVCLU-PTGWO moved for reconsideration. DOLE Acting Secretary Manuel G. Imson granted the motion on November 6, 2003, reinstating dismissal and holding that since SANAMA-SIGLO members ratified the amendments (including the extension), they could not challenge the extended term.
SANAMA-SIGLO’s motion for reconsideration of this reversal was denied by Secretary Sto. Tomas on January 30, 2004.

SANAMA-SIGLO filed a certiorari petition before the CA alleging grave abuse of discretion by the Labor Secretary in reversing the order for a certification election.
The CA ruled in favor of SANAMA-SIGLO on July 25, 2006, setting aside the Labor Secretary’s decisions and reinstating the order to conduct certification election. The CA held that while parties may renegotiate economic and non-economic provisions and extend the CBA, the exclusive bargaining representation status lasts only for the original five-year term.
FVCLU-PTGWO’s motion for reconsideration was denied on January 15, 2007.

FVCLU-PTGWO filed a petition for review under Rule 45 challenging the CA ruling, arguing that the exclusive bargaining representation should correspond with the amended term of the CBA and that SANAMA-SIGLO is estopped from filing a petition based on the original expiration date since it had ratified and benefited from the amendments.
SANAMA-SIGLO manifested abandonment of the case, citing lack of interest and a new CBA signed by FVCLU-PTGWO and the company covering June 1, 2003 to May 31, 2008.
The Court resolved to address the legal issue on the representation period despite SANAMA-SIGLO’s apparent desistance.

Whether the sixty-day freedom period for filing a certification election petition should be computed from the expiration of the original five-year term of the CBA or from the expiration of the extended term under the renegotiated CBA.

Whether ratification and acceptance of the amendments, including the extension of the CBA term by SANAMA-SIGLO members, estops SANAMA-SIGLO from challenging the exclusive bargaining representation status based on the original expiration date.