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BENJAMIN C. JUCO v. NLRC

FACTS:

Petitioner Benjamin C. Juco was hired as a project engineer of respondent National Housing Corporation (NHC) from November 16, 1970, to May 14, 1975. He was separated from the service on May 14, 1975, for being implicated in a crime of theft and/or malversation of public funds. On March 25, 1977, he filed a complaint for illegal dismissal against the NHC with the Department of Labor. The Labor Arbiter dismissed the complaint on September 17, 1977, stating that the NLRC had no jurisdiction over the case. Petitioner appealed to the NLRC, which reversed the decision of the Labor Arbiter on December 28, 1982. Respondent NHC then appealed the case to the Supreme Court, which on January 17, 1985, set aside the decision of the NLRC and reinstated the decision of the Labor Arbiter. On January 6, 1989, petitioner filed a complaint for illegal dismissal with the Civil Service Commission, which dismissed the complaint on April 11, 1989, for lack of jurisdiction. On April 28, 1989, petitioner filed a complaint for illegal dismissal with the NLRC. On May 21, 1990, the Labor Arbiter ruled that petitioner was illegally dismissed by respondent NHC and that the complaint is not barred by prescription.

ISSUES:

  1. Whether or not petitioner Benjamin C. Juco, as an employee of the National Housing Corporation (NHC), is governed by the Civil Service Law or the Labor Code.

  2. Whether or not the NLRC committed grave abuse of discretion in holding that it had no jurisdiction over the case.

RULING:

  1. Employees of government-owned and/or controlled corporations without original charters, such as the NHC, are not governed by the Civil Service Law but by the Labor Code.

  2. Yes. The NLRC committed grave abuse of discretion in holding that petitioner Juco is not governed by the Labor Code.

PRINCIPLES:

  1. Civil Service Law vs. Labor Code:

    • Under the 1973 Constitution and Article 277 of the Labor Code (PD 442), employees of all government-owned and controlled corporations, including those created under the general Corporation Law, were governed by the Civil Service Law.

    • The 1987 Constitution changed this framework, clarifying that only government-owned and controlled corporations with original charters fall under the Civil Service. Thus, government-owned and controlled corporations without an original charter fall under the jurisdiction of the Labor Code.

  2. Jurisdiction:

    • The Labor Arbiter and the NLRC have jurisdiction over employees of government-owned and controlled corporations without original charters, under the Labor Code.