G.R. No. 189255 - Reyes vs. Glaucoma Research Foundation, Inc.

On August 1, 2003, petitioner was hired by Glaucoma Research Foundation, Inc. as Administrator of its Eye Referral Center (ERC) with a monthly salary of ₱20,000.00.
From February 2005, respondents withheld his salary and 14th-month pay without notice. Despite this, he continued reporting to work.
On April 11, 2005, petitioner wrote to Executive Director Manuel Agulto informing him of unpaid salaries; no response was received.
On April 21, 2005, petitioner was informed he was no longer ERC Administrator, and his office was padlocked. On April 29, 2005, he was barred entry to the premises.

Petitioner was engaged as a consultant/adviser in corporate organizational structure and later self-designated as ERC Administrator on a trial basis.
No employer-employee relationship existed: petitioner set his own hours, was unsupervised in method, and received consultancy allowances. Respondents allege voluntary severance, not dismissal.

Labor Arbiter (LA) Decision (Jan. 20, 2006): dismissed petitioner’s complaint for failure to prove employer-employee relationship.
NLRC Decision and Resolution (May 2008): reversed LA, found illegal dismissal, ordered reinstatement with full backwages; motion for reconsideration denied.
Court of Appeals (CA) Decision (Apr. 20, 2009) and Resolution (Aug. 25, 2009): annulled NLRC, reinstated LA; denied petitioner’s motion for reconsideration.
Petition for Review on Certiorari filed with the Supreme Court, raising two principal grounds.

Whether the CA erred in not dismissing respondents’ petition for certiorari due to improper verification under the 2004 Rules on Notarial Practice.
Whether the CA erred in ruling that no employer-employee relationship existed between petitioner and respondents.