GR 164940; (November, 2007) (Digest)
G.R. No. 164940; November 28, 2007
VARORIENT SHIPPING CO., INC., Petitioner, vs. NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS COMMISSION (SECOND DIVISION) and ROLANDO M. PEREZ, Respondents.
FACTS
Petitioner Varorient Shipping Co., Inc., acting as local manning agent for its foreign principal Lagoa Shipping Corporation, employed private respondent Rolando Perez as a fitter. After suffering persistent back pains onboard, Perez was repatriated. In the Philippines, company-designated physicians diagnosed him with lumbosacral instability and placed him under a physical therapy program. After completing 10 sessions, Perez discontinued treatment and filed a complaint with the NLRC for disability benefits. The Labor Arbiter dismissed the case, but the NLRC reversed, awarding Perez compensation.
Varorient, along with Margarita Colarina and Lagoa, filed a Petition for Certiorari with the Court of Appeals. The CA dismissed the petition because the verification and certification against forum shopping were signed by Ma. Luisa C. Isuga, Varorient’s Managing Director and Corporate Secretary, without proof of authority to represent all three petitioners. Varorient filed a motion for reconsideration, attaching a Secretary’s Certificate dated May 7, 2004, evidencing Isuga’s authority. The CA denied the motion, holding the authorization was an afterthought and insufficient for the other petitioners.
ISSUE
Whether the Court of Appeals erred in dismissing the petition for certiorari based on a defective verification and certification against forum shopping.
RULING
Yes, the Supreme Court reversed the CA. The Court held that the dismissal was too harsh a penalty for a procedural lapse. The subsequent submission of the Secretary’s Certificate constituted substantial compliance. The authority granted to Isuga by Varorient’s Board was sufficient, as she was expressly empowered to act in the case “against it, its President, Margarita Colarina, and its foreign principal, Lagoa Shipping Corporation.” This authority encompassed representing all parties-defendant in that specific case.
The legal logic is rooted in the principle that procedural rules are tools to facilitate justice, not hinder it. The Court distinguished this from cases where no authority was ever shown. Here, the belated submission cured the initial defect. Furthermore, the nature of the liability in overseas employment involves solidary obligation between the local agent and the foreign principal. Consequently, Varorient, as the duly authorized local agent, had the legal standing to file the petition for certiorari for itself and on behalf of its solidary co-obligors to challenge the NLRC’s monetary award. The case was remanded to the CA for resolution on the merits.