GR 43760; (August, 1976) (Digest)
G.R. No. L-43760 August 21, 1976
PHILIPPINE ASSOCIATION OF FREE LABOR UNIONS (PAFLU), petitioner, vs. BUREAU OF LABOR RELATIONS, HON. CARMELO C. NORIEL, NATIONAL FEDERATION OF FREE LABOR UNIONS (NAFLU), and PHILIPPINE BLOOMING MILLS CO., INC., respondents.
FACTS
A certification election was held among the employees of Philippine Blooming Mills Co., Inc. The results showed respondent NAFLU obtaining 429 votes, petitioner PAFLU obtaining 414 votes, and four votes cast for “no union.” There were also seventeen spoiled ballots. Respondent Director of Labor Relations Carmelo C. Noriel certified NAFLU as the exclusive bargaining agent, applying the implementing rule of the Labor Code which requires only a majority of the valid votes cast. PAFLU objected, arguing that the spoiled ballots should be counted in determining the total number of votes cast for the purpose of computing the required majority. PAFLU invoked the doctrine from Allied Workers Association v. Court of Industrial Relations, a case decided under the repealed Industrial Peace Act, which held that spoiled ballots should be included in the vote count.
ISSUE
Whether the respondent Director of Labor Relations committed grave abuse of discretion in certifying NAFLU as the exclusive bargaining agent based solely on a majority of the valid votes cast, excluding spoiled ballots from the computation.
RULING
The Supreme Court dismissed the petition, finding no grave abuse of discretion. The ruling is anchored on the primacy of the current Labor Code and its implementing rules over prior jurisprudence based on repealed legislation. The applicable rule under the new Labor Code explicitly states that a union obtaining a majority of the valid votes cast shall be certified. This rule is clear and was correctly applied by respondent Director. The Court emphasized that the Allied Workers doctrine was based on the rules implementing the old Industrial Peace Act ( Republic Act No. 875 ), which is no longer in force. The present Labor Code, which took effect in 1974, governs the certification election, and its implementing rules carry the force of law absent any showing of repugnancy to the Code itself. Petitioner failed to demonstrate any such conflict.
Furthermore, the Court upheld the policy rationale behind the rule. Counting only valid votes facilitates the swift determination of a bargaining representative, which is essential for industrial peace and stability—a cornerstone of national industrialization. To require an absolute majority of all eligible voters or to include spoiled ballots could unduly prolong the process and frustrate collective bargaining. The Court also noted that, even assuming the spoiled ballots were considered, PAFLU’s own admission that at most only ten were intended for it would still yield a total of 424 votes for PAFLU against NAFLU’s 429. Thus, NAFLU legitimately obtained a majority. Certiorari does not lie as the respondent Director acted in accordance with the law.