Case Digest (G.R. No. 142399)
Case Digest (G.R. No. 142399)
Facts:
Philippine Airlines, Incorporated, G.R. No. 142399, March 12, 2008, Supreme Court Third Division, Chico‑Nazario, J., writing for the Court. The petition seeks review under Rule 45 of the Court of Appeals’ 30 April 1999 Decision and 10 March 2000 Resolution in CA‑G.R. SP No. 50161, which affirmed the National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC) order directing Philippine Airlines Employees Association (PALEA)’s bargaining‑unit members to be paid their 13th month (mid‑year) pay.On 6 February 1987 PAL and PALEA executed a 1986–1989 collective bargaining agreement (CBA). Article I, Section 3 extended the CBA’s terms to “employees within the bargaining unit” and incorporated benefits in the PAL Personnel Policies and Procedures Manual. Article V separately provided (1) a 13th month pay (mid‑year bonus) "equivalent to one month's current basic pay" to be paid in May, and (2) a Christmas bonus equivalent to one month's pay to be paid in December.
On 22 April 1988 PAL issued an implementing memorandum that made eligibility for the May mid‑year payment dependent on regular status as of 30 April 1988 (category 1(a)); employees not meeting that cutoff were to receive payment on or before 24 December, computed pro rata (categories 1(b) and 1(c)). PALEA protested, claiming entitlement of all employees — regular or not — to the 13th month pay and sent a December 16, 1988 letter identifying particular employees who had not received the May payment.
PALEA filed a labor complaint for unfair labor practice against PAL and Mary Anne del Rosario on 1 March 1989, contending the cutoff discriminated and that the law covers all employees regardless of status. PAL replied that non‑regular employees were not entitled to the May mid‑year payment because they were not regular as of April 30 and that the December Christmas bonus previously paid satisfied PD No. 851’s 13th month requirement for those employees.
The Labor Arbiter dismissed PALEA’s complaint on 12 March 1990. On appeal the NLRC First Division reversed on 28 January 1998, ordering PAL to pay the 13th month pay to the affected employees; a reconsideration was denied on 23 June 1998. PAL filed a Rule 45 petition to the Supreme Court which was, under St. Martin Funeral Homes v. NLRC, referred to the Court of Appeals and docketed as CA‑G.R. SP No. 50161. The Court of Appeals dismissed PAL’s petition on 30 April 1999 and denied reconsideration on 10 March 2000. PAL again sought review before this Court under Rule 45. Proceedings were temporarily suspended in 2007 due to PAL’s SEC‑mandated rehabilitation but resumed after PAL exited rehabilitation; the Court resolved the petition on March 12, 2008. The facts were undisputed throughout.
Issues:
- Is PAL barred from asserting, for the first time on appeal, that the CBA was modified or that its coverage was altered to exclude non‑regular employees?
- Are employees who were regularized after April 30, 1988 — but who are members of the bargaining unit — entitled to the CBA’s 13th month (mid‑year) pay separately from the Christmas bonus, notwithstanding PAL’s claim that the Christmas bonus constituted the equivalent of the statutory 13th month pay under Presidential Decree No. 851?
Ruling:
- (Subscriber-Only)
Ratio:
- (Subscriber-Only)
Doctrine:
- (Subscriber-Only)