G.R. No. L-50874 October 23, 1981
SAMAHAN NG MANGGAGAWA SA UNION INDUSTRIES, INC., JOSE VALENZUELA, and TOMAS SENA, petitioners, vs. DIRECTOR CARMELO NORIEL, BUREAU OF LABOR RELATIONS, PHILIPPINE TRANSPORT AND GENERAL WORKERS ORGANIZATION, FEDERATION OF FREE WORKERS, and UNION INDUSTRIES, INC., respondents.

FACTS

Petitioner Samahan ng Manggagawa sa Union Industries, Inc. filed an application for registration on October 12, 1978, composed of rank-and-file employees of respondent Union Industries, Inc. Despite an opposition from respondent Philippine Transport and General Workers Organization (PTGWO), the Ministry of Labor approved the certificate of registration on December 22, 1978. However, respondent Director Carmelo Noriel of the Bureau of Labor Relations withheld its issuance. On January 25, 1979, Director Noriel issued an order for a referendum through secret balloting to ascertain the alleged disaffiliation of workers from existing unions to join the petitioner union. Petitioner’s motion for reconsideration was denied. A complicating factor was a notice of strike filed by the Federation of Free Workers (FFW) for a separate bargaining unit at the company’s glass division.

ISSUE

Whether the respondent Director committed grave abuse of discretion in ordering a referendum and withholding the certificate of registration from the petitioner union, thereby infringing upon the constitutional rights to freedom of association and protection to labor.

RULING

The Supreme Court ruled in favor of the petitioners, setting aside the challenged order and granting mandamus for the immediate issuance of the certificate of registration and the conduct of a certification election. The Court prioritized the constitutional inquiry into the rights to freedom of association and protection to labor, specifically the assurance of unionization and collective bargaining. It held that the withholding of the certificate of registration, after its approval and in the absence of any fatal defect in the application, constituted a violation of these fundamental rights. Citing U.E. Automotive Employees and Workers Union-Trade Unions of the Philippines v. Noriel, the Court emphasized that the right to association must be accorded full respect, and mandamus lies to compel registration when an application suffers no infirmity. The Court found the order for a referendum to be an unwarranted impediment, as the most efficacious method to ascertain the true representation of workers is a certification election, not a referendum initiated by the Bureau. The prolonged delay and the existing labor controversy necessitated not only the release of the certificate but also the immediate holding of a certification election to resolve the representation issue democratically. The decision was made immediately executory.