G.R. No. 168382; June 6, 2011
AIRLINE PILOTS ASSOCIATION OF THE PHILIPPINES, Petitioner, vs. PHILIPPINE AIRLINES, INC., Respondent.

FACTS

The petitioner Airline Pilots Association of the Philippines (ALPAP), the exclusive bargaining agent for PAL’s commercial pilots, filed a notice of strike against respondent Philippine Airlines, Inc. (PAL) in December 1997 for unfair labor practice. The DOLE Secretary assumed jurisdiction over the dispute and prohibited any strike. Despite this, ALPAP went on strike on June 5, 1998. The DOLE Secretary issued a return-to-work order on June 7, 1998, but ALPAP members only reported back on June 26, 1998. PAL refused to accept them. ALPAP filed a complaint for illegal lockout. The DOLE Secretary, in a Resolution dated June 1, 1999, declared the strike illegal and pronounced the loss of employment status of the participating officers and members, and dismissed the illegal lockout complaint. This Resolution was affirmed by the Court of Appeals and subsequently by the Supreme Court in G.R. No. 152306, which became final and executory on August 29, 2002. Subsequently, on January 13, 2003, ALPAP filed a motion before the DOLE Secretary requesting a proceeding to determine which of its officers and members should be reinstated or deemed to have lost employment, arguing that not all participated in the illegal strike. The Acting DOLE Secretary, in a letter dated July 4, 2003, denied the motion, stating the case had been resolved with finality by the Supreme Court and that the proper remedy for individual pilots was with the NLRC where some had already filed illegal dismissal cases. The DOLE Secretary, in a letter dated July 30, 2003, affirmed this denial. ALPAP assailed these letters via certiorari in the CA, which found no grave abuse of discretion. ALPAP then elevated the case to the Supreme Court.

ISSUE

Whether the Court of Appeals erred in finding no grave abuse of discretion on the part of the DOLE Secretary in issuing the letters dated July 4, 2003 and July 30, 2003, which denied ALPAP’s motion for a proceeding to determine individual liability for the illegal strike.

RULING

The Supreme Court denied the petition and affirmed the Court of Appeals’ Decision. The Court held that the doctrine of immutability of final judgments applies. The June 1, 1999 DOLE Resolution, which declared the strike illegal and the strikers to have lost their employment status, had already been affirmed with finality by the Supreme Court. A final judgment can no longer be altered, modified, or reopened. The DOLE Secretary correctly refused to conduct the requested proceeding, as it would effectively modify or reopen the final judgment. The Court noted that the proper remedy for individual pilots who claimed they did not participate in the strike was to file separate illegal dismissal cases before the Labor Arbiters, which some had already done. The requested proceeding before the DOLE Secretary was not the appropriate forum, as it would constitute a collateral attack on a final judgment. The letters issued by the DOLE Secretaries were merely reiterations of the final and executory judgment and did not constitute grave abuse of discretion.