Trade Unions of the Philippines and Allied Services vs. National Housing Corporation

The Court held that employees of government-owned or controlled corporations without original charters, such as the NHC, are covered by the Labor Code and not by civil service laws. Therefore, they have the right to form unions and engage in collective bargaining, including the right to have a certification election to determine their exclusive bargaining representative.

The petitioner, Trade Unions of the Philippines and Allied Services (TUPAS), a legitimate labor organization with a chapter in the NHC, filed a petition for a certification election in 1977. The Med-Arbiter dismissed the petition, reasoning that NHC employees were prohibited from forming labor organizations for collective bargaining because NHC was a government-owned and controlled corporation. The Bureau of Labor Relations (BLR) initially reversed this dismissal but later, upon reconsideration, reinstated it. TUPAS then filed a special civil action for certiorari with the Supreme Court.

• The National Housing Corporation (NHC) was organized in 1959 under Executive Order No. 399 (Uniform Charter of Government Corporations). Its shares of stock were 100% owned by various government entities.
• TUPAS, a legitimate labor organization with a chapter in NHC, filed a petition for certification election on July 13, 1977, claiming its members comprised the majority of NHC's employees.
• The Med-Arbiter dismissed the petition based on the implementing rules of the Labor Code, which prohibited employees of government-owned or controlled corporations from forming unions for collective bargaining.
• The BLR first reversed the dismissal but later, on reconsideration, reinstated it.
• The Supreme Court, in a prior illegal dismissal case (National Housing Corporation vs. Juco), had ruled that NHC employees were governed by civil service laws under the 1973 Constitution.

• Petitioner TUPAS argued that the employees of NHC have the right to form a union and to a certification election to determine their exclusive bargaining representative.
• It contended that the BLR erred in reversing its earlier order that had granted the conduct of a certification election.

• Respondent NHC maintained that its employees were prohibited from forming labor organizations for purposes of collective bargaining because it was a government-owned and controlled corporation.
• It relied on the implementing rules of the Labor Code and the Court's prior ruling in NHC vs. Juco to support its position.

• Procedural Issues: Whether the petition for certiorari was the proper remedy to challenge the BLR resolution.
• Substantive Issues: Whether the employees of the NHC, a government-owned or controlled corporation, have the right to self-organization and collective bargaining, and whether a certification election may be conducted among them.

• Procedural: The Court treated the petition as a special civil action for certiorari. It found that the BLR acted with grave abuse of discretion in reversing its earlier order and dismissing the petition for certification election without sufficient legal basis, given the supervening change in the constitutional framework.
• Substantive: The Court ruled in favor of the petitioner. It held that the 1987 Constitution altered the coverage of the civil service. Under Section 2(1), Article IX-B, the civil service now covers only government-owned or controlled corporations "with original charters." The NHC, incorporated under a general law (the Corporation Code), does not have an original charter and is therefore not covered by civil service laws. Consequently, its employees fall under the Labor Code, which grants them the right to self-organization and collective bargaining pursuant to Article 244. The Court thus annulled the BLR resolution and granted the conduct of a certification election.

• Distinction Between Government-Owned or Controlled Corporations With and Without Original Charters — The 1987 Constitution limits the civil service to government-owned or controlled corporations with original charters (i.e., those created by a special legislative act). Corporations organized under the general Corporation Code are not covered by civil service laws and are instead governed by the Labor Code for purposes of labor relations.
• Right to Self-Organization of Government Employees — The Constitution explicitly guarantees the right to self-organization for government employees (Article IX-B, Section 2(5)). For employees of government corporations without original charters, this right is implemented through the Labor Code's provisions on collective bargaining and certification elections.

• "The civil service embraces all branches, subdivisions, instrumentalities and agencies of the government, including government-owned or controlled corporations with original charters." — This constitutional provision (Section 2(1), Article IX-B) was central to the Court's distinction between types of government corporations.
• "Employees of the government corporations established under the Corporation Code shall have the right to organize and to bargain collectively with their respective employers." — Article 244 of the Labor Code, as cited by the Court, explicitly grants the right to organize to employees of corporations like NHC.

• National Housing Corporation vs. Juco, et al., 134 SCRA 172 (1985) — Cited as prior jurisprudence where the Court had ruled NHC employees were under civil service laws under the 1973 Constitution. The Court in the present case distinguished this precedent based on the changed provision in the 1987 Constitution.
• National Service Corporation, et al. vs. The Hon. Third Division, National Labor Relations Commission, etc., et al., G.R. No. 69870, Nov. 29, 1988 — Cited to support the interpretation that the 1987 Constitution excludes government-owned or controlled corporations without original charters from civil service coverage.

• 1987 Constitution, Article IX-B, Section 2(1) — Defines the scope of the civil service, limiting it to government-owned or controlled corporations with original charters.
• 1987 Constitution, Article IX-B, Section 2(5) — Guarantees the right to self-organization for government employees.
• 1987 Constitution, Article III, Section 8 — Protects the right to form unions, associations, or societies for purposes not contrary to law.
• 1987 Constitution, Article XIII, Section 3 — Mandates the State to guarantee workers' rights to self-organization, collective bargaining, and peaceful concerted activities.
• Labor Code, Article 244 (as amended by E.O. No. 111) — Grants employees of government corporations established under the Corporation Code the right to organize and bargain collectively.
• Executive Order No. 180, Chapter IV — Provides guidelines for the determination of the exclusive representative for employees in the civil service (noted as applicable to employees of corporations with original charters).