GR 46295; (December, 1938) (Digest)
G.R. No. 46295. December 16, 1938.
BARDWILL BROS., petitioner, vs. JOSE G. GENEROSO, Judge of the Court of Industrial Relations, and THE PHILIPPINE LABOR UNION, respondents.
FACTS
Petitioner Bardwill Bros. filed a petition for certiorari to annul an order of the respondent Judge of the Court of Industrial Relations (CIR) in Case No. 23, entitled “Philippine Labor Union vs. Bardwill Brothers.” The CIR order, dated August 19, 1938, directed the petitioner to immediately reinstate sixteen named laborers pending final resolution of the industrial dispute. The dispute arose when thirty women employees, twelve of whom were union members, demanded a wage increase on April 6, 1938. Before acting on the demand, petitioner dismissed the twelve union members on April 18, 1938, prompting a strike. The Secretary of Labor certified the industrial conflict to the CIR. After trial, the respondent Judge issued the reinstatement order. Petitioner was notified of the order on August 24, 1938, filed a motion for reconsideration on September 1, 1938, but commenced the certiorari proceeding without waiting for the CIR’s resolution on its motion.
ISSUE
Whether the petition for certiorari was prematurely filed and procedurally defective.
RULING
Yes. The Supreme Court dismissed the petition. First, the petition failed to comply with the fundamental rule that pleadings must contain a clear and concise statement of facts constituting the cause of action, as it merely presented conclusions of law. Second, a writ of certiorari is only available to correct acts of a court done without or in excess of jurisdiction, not to review conclusions of fact. Third, and decisively, the petition was prematurely filed because petitioner did not wait for the resolution of its pending motion for reconsideration filed with the CIR. While Section 14 of Commonwealth Act No. 103 provides a ten-day period to appeal by certiorari, this period must be harmonized with Section 1 of Commonwealth Act No. 254, which allows motions for reconsideration of CIR orders. The ten-day period begins to run only from the time the CIR, sitting en banc, resolves the motion for reconsideration. By filing the certiorari action before such resolution, petitioner acted too hastily. The case was therefore untimely commenced. No costs.
AI Generated by Armztrong.