Professional Documents
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1) Whether the rules and regulations promulgated by the Social justice must be founded on the recognition of the
respondents pursuant to the provisions of Commonwealth Act necessity of interdependence among divers and diverse units
NO. 548 constitute an unlawful inference with legitimate of a society and of the protection that should be equally and
business or trade and abridged the right to personal liberty and evenly extended to all groups as a combined force in our social
freedom of locomotion? and economic life, consistent with the fundamental and
paramount objective of the state of promoting health, comfort
Held: Issue:
No. I is to be admitted of course that property rights find shelter Whether or not petitioners were illegally dismissed.
in specific constitutional provisions, one of which is the due
process clause. It is equally certain that our fundamental law Held:
framed at a time of “surging unrest and dissatisfaction”,26
when there was the fear expressed in many quarters that a Accordingly, petitioners’ dismissal was for a just cause. They
constitutional democracy, in view of its commitment to the had abandoned their employment and were already working
claims of property, would not be able to cope effectively with for another employer.
the problems of poverty and misery that unfortunately afflict so
many of our people, is not susceptible to the indictment that To dismiss an employee, the law requires not only the
the government therein established is impotent to take the existence of a just and valid cause but also enjoins the
necessary remedial measures. employer to give the employee the opportunity to be heard and
It is to be remembered that the liberty relied upon is not to defend himself.
freedom of the mind, which occupies a preferred position, nor
freedom of the person, but the liberty to contract, associated Abandonment is the deliberate and unjustified refusal of an
with business activities, which, as has been so repeatedly employee to resume his employment. It is a form of neglect of
announced, may be subjected, in the interest of the general duty, hence, a just cause for termination of employment by the
welfare under the police power, to restrictions varied in employer.
In case of termination, the foregoing notices shall be served on On August 20, 1985, the Philippine Airlines Employees
the employee’s last known address. Association (PALEA) filed a complaint before the National
Labor Relations Commission (NLRC) for unfair labor practice
Procedurally, (1) if the dismissal is based on a just cause under with the following remarks: “ULP with arbitrary implementation
Article 282, the employer must give the employee two written of PAL’s Code of Discipline without notice and prior discussion
notices and a hearing or opportunity to be heard if requested with Union by Management”. In its position paper, PALEA
by the employee before terminating the employment: a notice contended that PAL, by its unilateral implementation of the
specifying the grounds for which dismissal is sought a hearing Code, was guilty of unfair labor practice, specifically
or an opportunity to be heard and after hearing or opportunity Paragraphs E and G of Article 249 and Article 253 of the Labor
to be heard, a notice of the decision to dismiss; and (2) if the Code. PALEA alleged that copies of the Code had been
dismissal is based on authorized causes under Articles 283 circulated in limited numbers; that being penal in nature the
and 284, the employer must give the employee and the Code must conform with the requirements of sufficient
Department of Labor and Employment written notices 30 days publication, and that the Code was arbitrary, oppressive, and
prior to the effectivity of his separation. prejudicial to the rights of the employees. It prayed that
implementation of the Code be held in abeyance; that PAL
From the foregoing rules four possible situations may be should discuss the substance of the Code with PALEA; that
derived: (1) the dismissal is for a just cause under Article 282 employees dismissed under the Code be reinstated and their
of the Labor Code, for an authorized cause under Article 283, cases subjected to further hearing; and that PAL be declared
or for health reasons under Article 284, and due process was guilty of unfair labor practice and be ordered to pay damages.
observed; (2) the dismissal is without just or authorized cause
but due process was observed; (3) the dismissal is without just PAL filed a motion to dismiss the complaint, asserting its
or authorized cause and there was no due process; and (4) the prerogative as an employer to prescibe rules and regulations
Issues
The court held that this provision is null because it violates the
provision of section 1 (12), Article III, of the Constitution, which
provides that no person shall be imprisoned for debt.
Another doctrine: