Case Digest (G.R. No. L-6409)
Facts:
Leopoldo Gonzales v. Honorable Secretary of Labor, et al., G.R. No. L-6409, February 05, 1954, the Supreme Court En Banc, Reyes, J., writing for the Court.On June 23, 1952, petitioner Leopoldo Gonzales filed with the Wage Administration Service (WAS) a claim for overtime pay totaling P13,212.59 against his employer, Sy Kot. The WAS submitted the matter for investigation and arbitration. During the investigation the claimant put Sy Kot on the witness stand and had him sworn. Before the investigator could propound any question, Sy Kot invoked his constitutional privilege against self-incrimination, calling attention to the fact that the statutory overtime-pay provision carried penal sanctions.
The investigator sustained the privilege claim as a basis to remove Sy Kot from the witness stand and ordered his withdrawal. On appeal the Secretary of Labor affirmed the investigator’s ruling in a decision dated November 17, 1952. Petitioner then sought relief by filing a petition for a writ of certiorari in this Court, asserting that the ruling was illegal, arbitrary and constituted grave abuse of discretion. The Solicitor General argued tha...(Pro-only)
Issues:
- Does the Supreme Court have jurisdiction to review an order of the Secretary of Labor under Rep. Act No. 602, or is the petitioner’s remedy an appeal to the President?
- Was the investigator’s order (affirmed by the Secretary) excluding the adverse party-witness from testifying, before any question was propounded, proper under the constitutional privilege against self-incrim...(Pro-only)
Ruling:
- (Pro-only)
Ratio:
- (Pro-only)
Doctrine:
- (Pro-only)