Republ

i
cofthePhi
l
ippi
nes
SUPREMECOURT
Manil
a

THI
RDDI
VISI
ON

G.
R.No.172642       June13,
2012

ESTATEOFNELSONR.DULAY,r
epr
esent
edbyhi
swif
eMERRI DYJANEP.DULAY, 
Pet
it
ioner
,
vs.
ABOITI
ZJEBSENMARI
TIME,I
NC.andGENERALCHARTERERS,I
NC.,
 
Respondent
s.

DECISION

J.
PERALTA,
  :

Beforet
heCourtisapeti
ti
onforr
evi
ewon cert
ior
ari
 
underRule45oftheRul
esofCour
tseeki
ngto
rev
erseandsetasidet
heDecisi
onandResol
1 
ut
iondatedJul
2 
y11,2005andApri
l18,
2006ofthe
CourtofAppeal
s(CA)inCA-G.
R.SPNo.76489.

Thef
act
ual
andpr
ocedur
alant
ecedent
soft
hecase,
assummar
izedbyt
heCA,
areasf
oll
ows:

NelsonR.Dulay(Nel
son,f
orbrevi
ty)wasempl oyedby[herei
nrespondent]GeneralChar t
erersInc.
(GCI),
asubsidi
aryofco-
peti
ti
oner[her
einco-r
espondent]Aboit
izJebsenMar iti
meI nc.since1986.
Heiniti
all
yworkedasanordi
naryseamanandl at
erasbosunonacont ractualbasis.From
September3,1999uptoJuly19,2000,Nelsonwasdetailedinpeti
ti
oners’vessel,
theMVKi ckapoo
Bell
e.

OnAugust13, 2000, or25day safterthecompl etionofhisempl oymentcont r

act,Nelsondiedduet
o
acuterenalf
ailuresecondarytosept i
cemi a.Atthetimeofhi sdeat h,Nelsonwasabonaf ide
memberoft heAssoci atedMar i
neOf ficersandSeaman’ sUni onoft hePhi l
i
ppines(AMOSUP) ,
GCI’
s
col
lect
ivebargainingagent.Nelson’swi dow,Mer ri
dyJane, t
hereafterclaimedf ordeathbenefi
ts
thr
ought hegrievanceprocedureoft heCol l
ecti
veBar gai
ningAgr eement( CBA)bet weenAMOSUP
andGCI .Howev er,onJanuary29,2001, t
hegrievanceprocedurewas" declareddeadlocked"as
peti
ti
onersrefusedt ograntt
hebenef i
tssoughtbyt hewidow.

OnMarch5,2001,
Merri
dyJanef
il
edacompl
aintwi
ththeNLRCSub-Regi
onal
Arbi
tr
ati
onBoar
din
Gener
alSant
osCit
yagai
nstGCIf
ordeat
handmedical
benefi
tsanddamages.

OnMar ch8,2001,JovenMar,Nelson’
sbr ot
her,r
eceived₱20,000.00from [respondents]pur
suantto
art
icl
e20(A)2oftheCBAandsi gneda" Cert
if
icat
ion"acknowledgingreceiptoftheamountand
rel
easi
ngAMOSUPf rom f
urt
herli
abili
ty.Merr
idyJanecontendedt hatshei sentit
ledtotheaggregat
e
sum ofNinet
yThousandDollar
s( $90,
000.00)pursuantto[A]
rti
cle20( A)1oft heCBAxxx

xxxx

Merr
idyJaneav
err
edthatt
heP20,000.
00alr
eadyrecei
vedbyJov
enMarshoul
dbeconsi
der
ed
adv
ancepaymentoft
hetotal
clai
m ofUS$90,
000.
[00].

[
Her
einr
espondent
s],
ont
heot
herhand,
asser
tedt
hatt
heNLRChadnoj
uri
sdi
cti
onov
ert
heact
ion
onaccountoft heabsenceofempl oyer-
employeerelat
ionshipbetweenGCIandNel sonattheti
me
ofthelatt
er’sdeath.Nel sonal sohadnocl ai
msagai nstpet i
ti
onersf orsickleaveallowance/medical
benefi
tbyr easonoft hecompl eti
onofhi scontr
actwi t
hGCI .Theyf urtherall
egedt hatpri
vate
respondentisnotent i
tledtodeat hbenef i
tsbecausepet it
ioner
sar eonl yli
ableforsuch" i
ncaseof
deathoftheseaf arerdur i
ngt heterm ofhiscontr
actpur suanttothePOEAcont ract"andthecause
ofhisdeathi snotwor k-rel
ated.Pet i
ti
onersadmitt
edl i
abili
tyonlywi threspecttoar t
icl
e20(A)2[of
theCBA].xxx

xxxx

Howev
er,
aspet
it
ioner
sst
ressed,
thesamewasal
readydi
schar
ged.

TheLaborAr bi
terruledinfavorofpri
vaterespondent
.Itt
ookcognizanceoft hecasebyv ir
tueof
Art
icl
e217( a),
par agraph6oft heLaborCodeandt heexi
stenceofar easonablecausalconnecti
on
bet
weent heempl oyer-employeerel
ati
onshipandtheclai
m assert
ed.Itorderedthepeti
tionert
opay
₱4,621,
300.00,theequi v
alentofUS$90,000.
00less₱20,000.00,
atthet i
meofj udgmentxxx

xxxx

TheLaborAr
bit
eral
sor
uledt
hatt
hepr
oxi
mat
ecauseofNel
son’
sdeat
hwasnotwor
k-r
elat
ed.

Onappeal
,[
theNLRC]aff
ir
medt heLaborArbi
ter
’sdeci
si
onastothegrantofdeat
hbenef
it
sunder
t
heCBAbutr ev
ersedt
helatt
er’
srul
ingastotheproxi
matecauseofNelson’
sdeat
h. 3

Hereinrespondent sthenfi
ledaspecialciv
ilacti
onf orcer t
ior ari wi
ththeCAcont endingthatthe
NLRCcommi tt
edgr aveabuseofdiscret
ioninaf f
ir
mi ngt hej urisdict
ionoft heNLRCov erthecase;i
n
rul
ingthatadi ff
erentprovi
sionoftheCBAcov ersthedeat hcl aim; i
nreversingthefindi
ngsoft he
LaborAr bi
terthatthecauseofdeat hisnotwor k-r
elated;and, insetti
ngasi dethereleaseand
qui
t cl
aim executedbyt heattor
ney-
in-
factandnotconsi deringt heP20,000.00alreadyreceivedby
Mer ri
dyJanet hroughherattorney
-i
n-f
act.

OnJul
y11,
2005,
theCApr
omul
gat
edi
tsassai
l
edDeci
si
on,
thedi
sposi
ti
vepor
ti
onofwhi
chr
eadsas
fol
l
ows:

WHEREFORE, i
nvi
ewoftheforegoing,thepet
iti
oni
sherebyGRANTEDandt hecaseisREFERREDto
theNational
Conci
li
ati
onandMedi ationBoardfort
hedesignat
ionoftheVolunt
aryArbi
tr
atorort
he
consti
tuti
onofapanelofVol
untaryAr bi
tr
ator
sfortheappropr
iat
eresol
uti
onoftheissueonthe
matteroftheappl
i
cableCBAprovision.

SOORDERED. 4

TheCAr uledthatwhi
lethesui
tfil
edbyMer ri
dyJaneisamoneyclai
m,thesamebasical
l
yinvolv
es
theint
erpret
ati
onandapplicat
ionoftheprovi
sionsint
hesubj
ectCBA.Assuch,
jur
isdi
cti
onbelongs
tothevolunt
aryarbi
tr
atorandnotthelaborarbi
ter
.

Pet
it
ionerf
il
edaMot
ionf
orReconsi
der
ati
onbutt
heCAdeni
edi
tini
tsResol
uti
onofApr
il18,
2006.

Hence,t
heinst
antpeti
ti
onrai
singthesol
eissueofwhetherornott
heCAcommi
tt
eder
rori
nrul
i
ng
t
hattheLaborArbi
terhasnoj
ur i
sdi
cti
onoverthecase.
Peti
tionercontendst hatSecti
on10ofRepubl i
cAct( R.A.)8042, otherwiseknownast heMigrant
Worker sandOv erseasFili
pinosActof1995,vestsjurisdi
ctionont heappr opri
atebranchesofthe
NLRCt oenter
taindisputesregar
dingtheint
erpret
ationofacol l
ectivebargainingagreement
i
nvolvingmi gr
antorov er
seasFil
ipi
noworkers.Peti
tionerar guesthatt heabovement i
onedSect i
on
amendedAr ti
cle217( c)oftheLaborCodewhi ch,i
nt urn,confersjurisdi
cti
onuponv oluntar
y
ar
bitratorsoverinter
pretati
onorimplementati
onofcol l
ecti
v ebargainingagreementsand
i
nterpretati
onorenf orcementofcompanyper sonnel poli
cies.

Theper
ti
nentpr
ovi
si
onsofSect
ion10ofR.
A.8042pr
ovi
deasf
oll
ows:

SEC.10.MoneyCl
  ai
ms.-Not wit
hstandinganyprovi
sionoflawt ot
hecontrary,t
heLaborAr bitersof
theNati
onalLaborRelati
onsCommi ssi
on(NLRC)shal l
havetheori
ginalandexclusivejur
isdi
ct i
onto
hearanddecide,wit
hinninety(90)calendardaysaft
erfil
ingofthecomplaint,
theclaimsar i
si
ngout
ofanemployer-employeer el
ati
onshiporbyv i
rt
ueofanyl aworcontracti
nv ol
vi
ngFili
pinowor kers
forover
seasdeploymenti ncl
udingclaimsforactual
,mor al
,exempl
aryandot herformsofdamages.

Ar
ti
cle217(
c)oft
heLaborCode,
ont
heot
herhand,
stat
est
hat
:

xxxx

(c)Casesari
singf
rom theinterpret
ati
onorimplementati
onofcoll
ecti
vebargaining
agreementsandthosearisi
ngf rom t
heint
erpret
ati
onorenforcementofcompanyper sonnel
poli
ciesshal
lbedisposedbyt heLaborArbi
terbyrefer
ri
ngthesamet othegrievance
machi ner
yandvol
untaryarbi
trationasmaybepr ovi
dedinsai
dagr eement
s.

Ontheirpar
t,r
espondentsinsi
stthatinthepr
esentcase,Art
icl
e217,paragraph( c)aswel
l asArt
icl
e
261oftheLaborCoder emaintobet hegoverni
ngprovi
si
onsofl awwithrespectt ounr
esolved
gri
evancesari
singfr
om theint
erpret
ationandimplementat
ionofcoll
ecti
v ebargaini
ngagreements.
Undertheseprovi
si
onsoflaw, j
uri
sdicti
onremainswit
hv ol
untar
yarbit
rators.

Ar
ti
cle261oft
heLaborCoder
eads,
thus:

ARTI CLE261.  Jurisdict

ionofVol untar yAr bit
ratorsorpanelofVol untaryAr bitr
ators. 
–TheVol untary
Arbitratororpanel ofVol untaryArbitratorsshall hav eori
ginal andexclusivejurisdicti
ontohearand
decideal l
unresol vedgr i
evancesar isingf rom thei nterpr
etationorimpl ement ationoft heColl
ecti
ve
Bargai ningAgr eementandt hosearisingf rom thei nterpret
at i
onorenf orcementofcompany
personnel pol
iciesr efer
redt ointhei mmedi atelypr ecedi
ngar ti
cl
e.Accor dingly,vi
olati
onsofa
CollectiveBargai ningAgr eement ,exceptt hosewhi char egr ossincharact er,shallnolongerbe
tr
eat edasunf airlaborpr acti
ceandshal lberesol v
edasgr ievancesundert heCol l
ectiveBargai
ning
Agreement .Forpur posesoft hisarticle,grossv iol
at i
onsofCol l
ecti
veBar gainingAgr eementshal l
meanf lagrantand/ ormal i
ci
ousr efusal tocompl ywi ththeeconomi cprov i
sionsofsuchagr eement.

TheCommi ssion,i
tsRegionalOffi
cesandt heRegionalDi
rectorsoftheDepart
mentofLaborand
Employmentshallnotentert
aindisputes,gr
iev
ancesormat tersundertheexcl
usi
veandorigi
nal
j
uri
sdict
ionoftheVoluntaryArbit
ratororpanelofVolunt
aryArbitr
atorsandshal
li
mmedi at
ely
di
sposeandr efert
hesamet otheGr i
evanceMachineryorVoluntaryArbi
tr
ati
onprov
idedinthe
Col
lecti
veBargaini
ngAgreement .

Thepet
it
ioni
swi
thoutmer
it
.

I
tist
ruet
hatR.
A.8042i
saspeci
all
awgov
erni
ngov
erseasFi
l
ipi
nowor
ker
s.Howev
er,
acar
eful
readingoft hisspeci al l
awwoul dr eadilyshowt hatt her eisnospeci fi
cpr ovisi
ont hereunderwhi ch
providesf orj uri
sdictionov erdisput esorunr esolv edgr ievancesr egar dingt heint erpretati
onor
i
mpl ement ationofaCBA.Sect ion10ofR. A.8042, whi chi sci tedbypet iti
oner, simpl yspeaks, i
n
gener al,of"claimsar i
singoutofanempl oy er-empl oy eer elationshi porbyv irt
ueofanyl awor
contracti nvolvingFilipinowor kersf orov erseasdepl oy menti ncl udingcl ai msf oract ual,mor al,
exempl aryandot herf ormsofdamages. "Ont heot herhand, Ar t
icles217( c)and261oft heLabor
Codear ev eryspeci fi
ci nst atingthatv olunt aryar bitr
at orshav ej urisdictionov ercasesar i
singfrom
theint erpretati
onori mpl ement ationofcol l
ect ivebar gai ningagr eement s.St ateddi f
ferently
,the
i
nstantcasei nvolvesasi tuationwher et hespeci al statut e( R.A.8042)r eferstoasubj ectingeneral,
whicht hegener alst
at ute( LaborCode)t reat si npar t
icul ar
5 
.Int hepr esentcase, thebasi cissue
rai
sedbyMer ri
dyJanei nhercompl aintf il
edwi tht heNLRCi s:whi chpr ov i
sionoft hesubj ectCBA
appli
esi nsofarasdeat hbenef i
tsduet ot hehei rsofNel sonar econcer ned.TheCour tagreeswi th
theCAi nhol dingt hatt hi
si ssuecl ear l
yi nvol vest hei nterpr etationori mpl ement ationoft hesaidCBA.
Thus, thespeci fi
corspeci al provisionsoft heLaborCodegov er n.

I
nanycase,theCourtagreeswi t
hpetit
ioner
'scontent
iont
hatt
heCBAi sthelaworcont
ractbet
ween
thepar
ti
es.Art
icl
e13.1oft heCBAent eredi
ntobyandbetweenrespondentGCIandAMOSUP, t
he
uniont
owhichpetit
ionerbelongs,pr
ovidesasfol
lows:

TheCompanyandt heUni onagr eethatincaseofdi sputeorconf l

icti
nt heinter
pretati
onor
applicati
onofanyoft hepr ovi
sionsoft hisAgreement ,orenf or
cementofCompanypol i
cies,the
sameshal lbeset t
ledthroughnegot iati
on,concil
iati
onorv ol
untaryarbitrat
ion. 
TheCompanyand
theUni onfurtheragreethattheywi l
luset hei
rbestendeav ort oensurethatanydi sputewil
l be
discussed,resolvedandset tl
edami cablybythepar ti
esher eofwi t
hinninety(90)daysf r
om t hedate
off i
l
ingoft hedisputeorconf l
ictandi ncaseoffailur
et oset t
lethereofanyoft heparti
esretainthei
r
freedom tot akeappropri
at eacti
on.(Emphasi
6 
ssupplied)

From thefor
egoing,i
tiscl
earthattheparti
es,
inthefi
rstpl
ace,r
eal lyintendedtobringto
concil
iat
ionorvolunt
aryar
bit
rati
onanydi sput
eorconfli
cti
ntheint erpretati
onorapplicat
ionofthe
provi
sionsofthei
rCBA.Iti
sset t
ledthatwhenthepart
ieshavevalidlyagr eedonapr ocedurefor
resolv
inggri
evancesandtosubmi tadisputet
ovolunt
aryarbi
tr
ationt hent hatprocedureshouldbe
stri
ctl
yobserved. 7

I
tmaynotbeami sstopointoutthatt heabovequotedprovi
sionsoftheCBAar einconsonancewi t
h
RuleVII,
Sect i
on7oft hepresentOmni busRul
esandRegul ati
onsImplement i
ngt heMi gr
antWor kers
andOv erseasFil
ipi
nosActof1995, asamendedbyRepubl icActNo.10022, whichstatesthat"[f
]or
OFWswi thcoll
ecti
vebargaini
ngagr eements,thecaseshallbesubmi t
tedforvoluntaryarbi
trati
onin
accordancewi t
hAr t
icl
es261and262oft heLaborCode."TheCour tnotesthatthesaidOmni bus
RulesandRegul ati
onswerepr omulgat edbytheDepartmentofLaborandEmpl oy ment(DOLE)and
theDepar tmentofForei
gnAf fai
rs(DFA)andt hatthesedepartmentswer emandat edtoconsul twit
h
theSenat eCommi tt
eeonLaborandEmpl oymentandt heHouseofRepr esentativesCommi tteeon
OverseasWor kersAffai
rs.

I
nthesamemanner,
Secti
on29oftheprevai
l
ingStandardTermsandCondi
ti
onsGover
ningthe
Employ
mentofFi
l
ipi
noSeafar
ersonBoardOceanGoi ngVessel
s,pr
omul
gat
edbythePhili
ppi
ne
Over
seasEmpl
oymentAdmini
str
ati
on(POEA),pr
ovidesasfoll
ows:

Section29.
 DisputeSet t
lementProcedures.− Incasesofclai
msanddi sputesari
singfrom t
his
empl oyment,thepartiescoveredbyacol lect
ivebargai
ningagreementshallsubmittheclai
m or
disputetotheor i
ginalandexclusi
vej ur
isdict
ionofthevolunt
aryarbi
trat
ororpanelofar bi
tr
ators.
 I
f
theparti
esarenotcov er
edbyacol lecti
vebargaini
ngagreement,thepart
iesmayatt hei
ropti
on
submi tthecl
aim ordisputetoeit
hertheor i
ginal
andex clusivej ur
isdicti
onoft heNat ionalLabor
Relati
onsCommi ssion(NLRC),pursuanttoRepublicAct(RA)8042, otherwiseknownast heMi gr
ant
Wor kersandOv erseasFil
i
pinosActof1995ort otheoriginal andexcl usiv
ej uri
sdicti
onoft he
voluntaryar
bit
ratororpanelofarbitr
ators.I
fther
ei snopr ovisionast ot hev ol
untaryarbit
ratorst
obe
appointedbythepar ti
es,t
hesameshal lbeappointedfr
om t heaccr edi t
edv oluntaryarbi
tr
at or
sof
theNat i
onalConci l
i
ati
onandMedi ationBoardoft heDepar tmentofLaborandEmpl oyment .

ThePhil
ippineOv er
seasEmploymentAdmi ni
str
ati
on( POEA)shallexerciseori
ginalandexcl
usi
v e
j
uri
sdict
iont ohearanddecidedisci
pli
naryacti
ononcases, whichar eadmi ni
str
ativ
ei nchar
act
er,
i
nvolv
ingorar i
singoutofviol
ati
onsofr ecr
uit
mentlaws, r
ulesandr egulati
onsinvolvi
ngemployers,
pri
nci
pals,contr
acti
ngpartnersandFil
ipinoseafar
ers.(Emphasissupplied)

Iti
scl earf r
om t heabov et hatthei nterpretationoftheDOLE, inconsul tati
onwi ththeircounterpart
s
i
nt her espect ivecommi tteesoft heSenat eandt heHouseofRepr esent ati
ves,aswel lastheDFA
andt hePOEAi st hatwit
hr espectt odi sput esinvolvi
ngclaimsofFi l
ipinoseaf arerswher ei
nthe
partiesar ecov eredbyacol lecti
vebar gai ningagreement ,t
hedi sput eorcl ai
m shoul dbesubmi t
ted
tothej urisdicti
onofav oluntaryarbi t
ratororpanel ofarbit
rators.Itisonl yintheabsenceofa
collectivebar gainingagreementt hatpar tiesmayoptt osubmi tt hedi sput etoeithertheNLRCort o
voluntaryar bitr
at i
on.Iti
sel ement arythatr ul
esandr egulati
onsi ssuedbyadmi nistr
ativ
ebodi esto
i
nter pretthel awwhi cht
heyar eent r
ust edt oenforce,havet hefor ceofl aw,andar eentitl
edtogr eat
respect .Suchr
8 
ulesandr egul ati
onspar takeoft henat ur
eofast at uteandar ejustasbi ndi
ngasi f
theyhav ebeenwr i
tteni
nt hest at
ut eitself
9 
.Intheinstantcase, theCour tf i
ndsnocogentr easont o
depar tfrom t hi
sr ule.
1âwphi
1

Theaboveint
erpr
etati
onoftheDOLE,DFAandPOEAisalsoinconsonancewi
tht
hepol
i
cyoft
he
st
atetopromotevolunt
aryarbi
tr
ati
onasamodeofsett
li
nglabordisput
es. 10

NolessthanthePhili
ppineConst i
tut
ionprovides,
underthethi
rdparagr
aph, Secti
on3,Ar t
icl
eXIII
,
ther
eofthat"[
t]
heStateshallpromotethepr i
ncipl
eofsharedresponsi
bil
itybetweenwor kersand
employersandthepreferent
ialuseofvoluntarymodesinsettl
i
ngdisputes,incl
udingconcili
ati
on,
andshallenf
orcethei
rmut ualcompliancetherewit
htofosteri
ndustr
ialpeace."

Consist
entwit
ht hi
sconst i
tut
ional
provision,
Arti
cle211oftheLaborCodepr ov
idesthedeclar
ed
poli
cyoftheState"[
t]opromoteandemphasi zet
hepr i
macyoffreecoll
ect
ivebargai
ningand
negoti
ati
ons,i
ncludi
ngv olunt
aryarbi
tr
ation,mediati
onandconcil
iat
ion,
asmodesofset t
li
nglaboror
i
ndustri
aldi
sputes."

Onthebasi
softheforegoi
ng,t
heCourtf
indsnoer
rori
nther
uli
ngoft
heCAt
hatt
hev
olunt
ary
ar
bit
rat
orhasj
urisdi
cti
onoverthei
nst
antcase.

WHEREFORE,thepeti
ti
onis 
DENIED.TheDeci
sionandResol
utionoftheCour
tofAppeal
sinCA-
G.R.
SPNo.76489datedJuly11,
2005andApril
18,2006,r
espect
ively
,ar
e AFFI
RMED.

SOORDERED.