Maritima v. United Seamen'S Union Of The Philippines

ESGUERRA, J.:

Before Us are two petitions for review, docketed as (1) G.R. No. L-28399 entitled Compania Maritima and F. Garay, Petitioners, versus United Seamen's Union of the Philippines and the Court of Industrial Relations, Respondents; and (2) G.R. No. L-28420 entitled United Seamen's Union of the Philippines, Petitioner, versus Compania Maritima, F. Garay and the Court of Industrial Relations, Respondents. The parties in both cases being the same and the causes of action interrelated and arising out of the same incident, they are taken up jointly and disposed of in this single decision. Subject of these petitions is the resolution of the Court of Industrial Relations en banc of June 8, 1966, the dispositive portion of which reads as follows: FOREGOING PREMISES CONSIDERED, The Court a quo's order of March 6, 1964, awarding complainants the amount of P168,000.00 backwages as computed by the Court's examiner in its first report, with legal interest of 6% per annum, from May 30, 1960, should be, as it is hereby, set aside.

In lieu thereof, a new award of P36,188.99 should be paid to herein complainants, as shown in the detailed and individual computations shown above for each of them. And considering the length of time during which this case is pending, respondent Compania Maritima is hereby ordered to deposit with the Cashier of this Court the sum of P36,188.99 representing complainants' backwages, within ten days from receipt of a copy of this resolution. As regards the backwages corresponding to the overseas trips, including drydocking in Japan, the Parties are hereby directed to present evidence showing the identities of the individuals entitled to said backwages.

For a better understanding of the origin of these cases and to serve as factual background the following are undisputed.1 There were 22 seamen (claimants for backwages herein) who served in the Steward Department of the M/V Cebu, owned by the Compania Maritima (herein after referred to as the Company), during its trip from Manila to Jedda, Mecca, Saudi Arabia and return to this country. The voyage started on July 7 and the vessel returned on October 16, 1953. Instead of dropping anchor at the port of origin, Manila, it proceeded to San Fernando, La Union, where Compania Maritima discharged and dismissed without valid cause the 22 seamen.

When they reached Manila by land transportation and reported to Compania Maritima's Manila Office, they were given their pay. After the M/V Cebu arrived in Manila from San Fernando, La Union, it was sent to Japan for drydocking. In February of 1954, when the M/V Cebu returned to Manila from Japan, the personnel of said vessel who were dismissed at San Fernando, La Union, petitioned the General Manager, Don Jose Fernandez, that they be allowed to return to their former positions on the vessel.

They were made to understand, however, that they would only be reemployed if they joined the General Maritime Stevedores Union, which apparently enjoyed the goodwill of the Company. The group refused to join said Union and so were refused readmission and the Company in turn took in replacements.

The United Seamen's Union of the Philippines to whom the discharged employees belong took up the cudgels for them and brought the case to the Court of Industrial Relations (CIR) on charges of unfair labor practice (132-ULP).1äwphï1.ñët Hearing were conducted and on August 20, 1955, the CIR found the Company guilty of unfair labor practice and ordered the reinstatement of the 22 seamen with backwages from February 12, 1954. The CIR order was appealed and this Court in G. R. No. L-9923, decided June 20, 1958, affirmed the order. After the decision had become final, the United Seamen's Union, which will hereafter be referred to as the Union, filed a motion for Execution and Computation of backwages.

The CIR issued an Order dated July 22, 1958, directing the reinstatement of the workers involved within 15 days from receipt of the order including computation of their backwages. Pursuant to this order the Examiner of the CIR on September 11, 1958, submitted his report which will hereafter be referred to as the First Report. In this First Report, the examiners based their computation on the overseas rate of P109.50, the monthly wage allegedly received by the workers during their trip to Jedda, Mecca, plus P36.00 a month for subsistence.

The computation amounted to P168,891.80. The Union next filed a motion to have the said amount deposited, which was objected to by the Company. The objections were based on the following grounds: (1) That it included the period of time during which the M/V Cebu was not on the interisland passenger service; (2) that it included the periods of time during which the M/V Cebu was on drydock; (3) that it included the time during which the M/V Cebu was on cargo service; (4) that it included the time during which the workers involved were employed elsewhere; (5) that it included the workers who were re-embarked on the M/V Cebu as soon as they returned from the provinces and asked for their re-embarkation on the M/V Cebu; (6) that it included the workers who returned to their homes in the provinces and worked there; (7) that it is not based on the regular and ordinary wages that the workers were receiving before they were disembarked; (8) that it included periods of time during which the workers were confined in jail by judgment, or could not have returned to work because of physical incapacity; (9) that it included the workers whose whereabouts are unknown; and (10) that it is otherwise contrary to the proven and/or admitted facts of this case, not in accordance with the decision of this Court and is contrary to law and jurisprudence obtaining in this jurisdiction.

Likewise the Company on September 30,1958, filed a motion to direct the Examiner of the court to examine the files and records of North Camarines Lumber and other companies to determine the salaries which the employees involved might have received from said entities during the period of their dismissal. This was objected to by the Union and the Court on November 11, 1958, denied said motion but ordered the court examiner to determine in his report covering the period from February 12, 1954, to July 31, 1958, the periods when the M/V Cebu had been on: (a) the overseas service; (b) on interisland service; (c) on cargo service; and (d) on drydock. The Company moved to reconsider the denial of its motion to examine the books of other companies and the court en banc on February 13, 1959, allowed such examination "based on established precedents."

On the basis of the orders of the court dated November 11, 1958, and February 13, 1959, a Second Report was submitted on September 2, 1959. This Second Report had for its basis the interisland rate of P73.00 a month excluding the P36.00 as monthly subsistence allowance included in the computation under the First Report. Thus the examiner reported: (1) that the period covered in the report is for the month of February 12, 1954, to the date of the workers' actual reinstatement; (2) that the basis of the second report are the payrolls, schedule of trips, vouchers and other pertinent records of the Company; (3) that the records of the Company show that Ignacio Cordova was previously reinstated as Port Cook of the Compania Maritima effective March 1,1954; (4) that the records of the Company also show that all overseas trips of the M/V Cebu from February 12, 1954, to July 31, 1958, were cargo trips and the Company employed only a skeleton force aboard the ship; hence the report does not include the backwages of the workers herein concerned corresponding to the overseas trip of the ship.

In its Steward Department, only the chief steward, chief cook, second cook, storekeeper and six messmen were on board during overseas trips. There were four hundred and seventy-nine and twenty-eight days, respectively, covered by the overseas trips and local drydocking of the M/V Cebu from February 12, 1954 to July 31, 1958; (5) that the amount due each laborer was arrived at by multiplying the rate per month as actually appearing in the payroll by 12, divided by the number of days during the year, times the number of days covered by the backwages; (6) that the total amount due the laborers involved in this case after deducting their earnings elsewhere during the period of their layoff amounted to P42,127.99. The Union objected to the Second Report and, subject to such opposition, moved on October 27, 1959, that the Company be ordered to deposit the amount of P42,127.99 as computed.

The Company filed a motion objecting to the deposit and a counter motion was filed praying that the case be set for hearing as it would present evidence in support of the Company's contention that there are still amounts of earnings elsewhere which should be deducted from the second report of the examiner. Hearings were conducted in the course of which, upon the Union's request, subpoena duces tecum for the production of payrolls of the M/V Cebu covering the periods from June 1954, to September 1955, inclusive; and March 1957, to August 1958, inclusive, were issued. On April 28, 1960 the Company moved to quash the subpoena duces tecum but the motion was denied.

However, upon motion for reconsideration the CIR en banc denied the request of the Union for the issuance of subpoena duces tecum with the advertence that the same was premature as the Union had not as yet presented its evidence. On December 12, 1961, the Union renewed its request for the issuance of subpoena duces tecum. The Company opposed the same and the trial court as well as the CIR en banc denied the Company's opposition.

Appeal was taken to this Court but the same was dismissed in a resolution dated March 27, 1962, in G.R. No. L-19494 (Compania Maritima vs. United Seamen's Union of the Philippines). On January 15, 1963, the Union filed a supplementary motion for execution, praying that backwages be paid plus interest thereon at the legal rate for the period from September 11, 1958, when the First Report was submitted. On March 6, 1964, Judge Jose S. Bautista, then Presiding Judge of the CIR, approved the First Report dated September 11, 1958, awarding backwages in the amount of P168,891.80 and ordered the Company to pay legal interest from May 30, 1960, up to the time the said amount was actually deposited with the court.

On March 16, 1964, the Company moved to reconsider the decision and the court en banc on June 8, 1966, set aside the aforesaid decision and approved the Third Report made by the examiner. The Third and last Report (Appendix I p. 248, Record) fixed the amount of backwages at P42,127.99 which was later reduced to P36,188.99.

This report embraced not only the various aspects of M/V Cebu's trip during the period in dispute, but also the earnings of some of the claimants elsewhere and the total number of days (1,631) covered by the period of the award when the ship was on interisland trips (1,124 days),when on overseas-cargo trips (479 days), and on drydock (28 days). The Court examiner arrived at the following computation which was adopted by the court en banc in its resolution, viz : Inter-Island Trips Drydock Local Total Amount Earnings Elsewhere Amount Due P51,994.24 P1,382.08 P53,376.32 P15,669.64 P36,188.99 + 1,382.08