Case Digest (CA-G.R. No. 156)
Facts:
In Manila Golf & Country Club, Inc. vs. Intermediate Appellate Court and Fermin Llamar (G.R. No. 64948, September 27, 1994), the petitioner, Manila Golf & Country Club, Inc., a domestic corporation operating a private golf course in Manila, was challenged before the Social Security Commission (SSC) by seventeen caddies claiming coverage under the Social Security Act. The caddies, through the Philippine Technical, Clerical, Commercial Employees Association (PTCCEA), alleged they were employees of the Club but had not been registered with the Social Security System (SSS). Simultaneously, PTCCEA filed (a) a certification election case with the Ministry of Labor’s Labor Relations Division, which initially found in favor of the caddies, and (b) a compulsory arbitration case before the Ministry’s Arbitration Branch, which dismissed the same caddies for lack of employer-employee relationship—a dismissal later affirmed by the National Labor Relations Commission. The SSC, after most petiCase Digest (CA-G.R. No. 156)
Facts:
- Parties and Nature of Dispute
- Petitioner: Manila Golf & Country Club, Inc. (“the Club”).
- Private Respondents: Caddies (initially 17, later 2—Fermin Llamar and Raymundo Jomok) seeking Social Security System (SSS) coverage.
- Parallel Proceedings
- Certification Election Case (Ministry of Labor R4-LRD-M-10-504-78) filed by PTCCEA for the same group of caddies; Med-Arbiter and Director Noriel ruled in favor of the caddies, ordering a certification election.
- Compulsory Arbitration Case (Ministry of Labor AB-4-1771-79) filed by PTCCEA, Llamar and Jomok vs. the Club; Labor Arbiter Linsangan and the NLRC ruled no employer-employee relationship existed.
- SSC Coverage Petition (SSC Case No. 5443) by “Caddies of Manila Golf and Country Club-PTCCEA” before the Social Security Commission (SSC), alleging they were unregistered employees of the Club.
- Proceedings Before the SSC
- Club’s Answer: Caddies are independent service providers; fees paid by players, not by the Club; no direction or control by Club over performance.
- Withdrawal: Fifteen petitioners withdrew, conceding no employment relationship; only Llamar and Jomok remained.
- SSC Resolution (May 20, 1981): Dismissed petition for lack of merit, applying the “control test,” noting absence of (a) wage payment by Club and (b) Club’s control over work methods.
- Intermediate Appellate Court (IAC)
- Appeal: Llamar alone; Jomok’s appeal voluntarily dismissed.
- IAC Decision (June 20, 1983): Reversed SSC, held that Club’s extensive rules, rotation system, and rate “suggestions” evidenced control, thus establishing an employer-employee relationship for SSS coverage.
Issues:
- Whether caddies rendering services for Club members and guests are employees of Manila Golf & Country Club and therefore compulsorily covered by the SSS.
- Whether the SSC should have suspended or been barred from ruling by (a) the pending certification election case or (b) the doctrine of res adjudicata arising from the certification or arbitration proceedings.
Ruling:
- (Subscriber-Only)
Ratio:
- (Subscriber-Only)
Doctrine:
- (Subscriber-Only)