FACTS:

The case involves a jurisdictional dispute between the NLRC and the CSC. The Department of Health filed a petition to review the NLRC's resolution dismissing their appeal from the Labor Arbiter's decision in favor of the private respondent, Ceferino Laur. Laur was a former patient of the DJRMH and was later employed as a patient-assistant. He was found guilty of several offenses in 1989 and was suspended. In 1990, he was involved in the mauling of a young boy and was subsequently dismissed. Laur filed a complaint for illegal dismissal and other claims with the NLRC. The Labor Arbiter rendered a decision in favor of Laur, ordering the respondent hospital to reinstate him or pay him separation pay, as well as various amounts for underpaid wages and damages.

ISSUES:

1. Which government agency, the National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC) or the Civil Service Commission (CSC), has jurisdiction over contests relating to the civil service?

RULING:

1. The Supreme Court ruled that the Civil Service Commission (CSC) has jurisdiction over contests relating to the civil service. The NLRC has jurisdiction over labor disputes, while the CSC has jurisdiction over cases involving employment in the civil service. In this case, since the private respondent is an employee of the DJRMH, which is a government hospital, the dispute falls within the jurisdiction of the CSC, not the NLRC.

PRINCIPLES:

• The NLRC has jurisdiction over labor disputes, while the CSC has jurisdiction over cases involving employment in the civil service.

• Employees of government agencies fall within the jurisdiction of the CSC, not the NLRC.