GR 239622; (June, 2021) (Digest)
G.R. No. 239622 , June 21, 2021
RUBEN CARPIO, PETITIONER, VS. MODAIR MANILA CO. LTD., INC., RESPONDENT.
FACTS
Petitioner Ruben Carpio was employed by respondent Modair Manila Co. Ltd., Inc. as a “contractor’s employee (per project basis)” designated as “Electrician 3” from October 27, 1998 to April 10, 2013. His engagements were covered by successive project employment contracts for specific construction projects: the IBIDEN BACK END EXPANSION Project (terminated August 15, 2008), PIL GREEN CONSTRUCTION Project (terminated December 15, 2009), FAC D. UTIL. WORKS Project (terminated October 9, 2010), IBIDEN CPU S3 Project (terminated August 10, 2012), and NYK TECH PARK project (terminated April 10, 2013). For the Ibiden CPU and NYK Projects, Carpio executed Affidavits of Release and Quitclaim acknowledging project completion and releasing Modair from claims. Modair also submitted Establishment Employment Reports to the DOLE upon completion of these projects. Despite this, Carpio filed a Complaint for illegal dismissal and regularization. During the pendency of the case, Modair re-hired Carpio for the FUNAI Project under a new Project Employment Agreement dated December 11, 2013, and Carpio executed an Affidavit of Desistance and a Quitclaim and Release withdrawing his complaint. He nevertheless proceeded with his case. The Labor Arbiter dismissed the complaint, finding Carpio a project employee not illegally dismissed. The NLRC reversed, declaring Carpio a regular employee but finding no illegal dismissal. The Court of Appeals reinstated the Labor Arbiter’s decision, ruling Carpio was a project employee.
ISSUE
1. Whether Carpio is a project-based or regular employee of Modair.
2. Whether Carpio was illegally dismissed.
RULING
1. Carpio is a project employee. The Court ruled that the repeated re-hiring of Carpio for separate, distinct, and identifiable construction projects did not convert his employment into regular status. The projects were not part of Modair’s regular business but were undertaken on a “per project basis.” The existence of project employment contracts, the submission of Establishment Employment Reports to the DOLE, and the execution of quitclaims upon each project’s completion are indicative of project employment. Length of service, by itself, does not determine regular employment for project employees.
2. Carpio was not illegally dismissed. His employment was co-terminous with the completion of each specific project for which he was hired. The termination of his services upon the completion of the NYK Project was lawful. The notices of project completion and the reports to DOLE complied with procedural due process for project employees.
The Petition for Review on Certiorari was PARTIALLY GRANTED. The Court of Appeals Decision was AFFIRMED with the MODIFICATION that Carpio is declared a project employee, and his dismissal was not illegal.