GR L 12745; (June, 1959) (Digest)
G.R. No. L-12745; June 29, 1959
LEONARDO V. FIGUEROA, petitioner-appellant, vs. ELISEO SAULOG, MANAGER and OPERATOR of SAULOG TRANSPORTATION, INC., respondent-appellee.
FACTS
Petitioner Leonardo V. Figueroa, a former bus inspector for Saulog Transportation, Inc., filed a claim with the Wage Administration Service (WAS) for unpaid overtime compensation. The WAS notified the respondent company of the claim and scheduled a hearing. The respondent did not appear at the hearing. The WAS, after allowing Figueroa to present evidence, issued a “decision” awarding him P11,618.96 and requested the company to pay within five days. More than a year after this WAS decision, Figueroa filed a petition with the Court of First Instance of Rizal for a writ of execution to enforce the WAS award. The trial court denied the petition, ruling it had no power to execute the WAS decision.
ISSUE
Whether a court of justice can order the execution of a “decision” rendered by the Wage Administration Service (WAS) without the court itself conducting an ordinary action and rendering its own judgment on the claim.
RULING
No. The order of the trial court denying the petition for execution is affirmed. The Supreme Court, citing its recent decision in Potente vs. Saulog Transit, Inc. (G.R. No. L-12300, April 24, 1959), held that the WAS does not have the authority to render a final and executory “decision” in the legal sense on a money claim for wages. The function of the WAS is limited to mediation, arbitration, or the institution of a court action. A claimant must file an ordinary action in a competent court to recover the sum. Only a final and executory judgment rendered by such a court after due notice and hearing can be the subject of a writ of execution. The case of Brillantes vs. Castro is distinguished because there the parties had entered into a formal arbitration agreement binding themselves to the finality of the WAS decision, which was absent in the present case where the respondent never appeared or participated in the WAS proceedings.