GR L 16856; (April, 1962) (Digest)
G.R. No. L-16856; April 25, 1962
OLIVO G. RUIZ, petitioner-appellant, vs. CEDAR V. PASTOR, respondent-appellee.
FACTS
Vicente Carin and twenty-five others filed a complaint with the Department of Labor, Regional Office No. VI in Cebu, to recover unpaid shares and back wages from several corporations and individuals, including Olivo Ruiz as President of the Nasipit Stevedoring Corporation. After hearings, Hearing Officer Cedar V. Pastor rendered a judgment on February 24, 1958, ordering Ruiz to pay the claimants the total sum of P23,781.00. Ruiz’s motion for reconsideration was denied.
Ruiz subsequently filed a petition for Certiorari and Prohibition with the Court of First Instance (CFI) of Cebu, challenging the jurisdiction of the Regional Office. He assailed the validity of Reorganization Plan No. 20-A, specifically Section 25, which granted regional offices original and exclusive jurisdiction over money claims of laborers. The CFI, after submission on a stipulation of facts, upheld the constitutionality of the Reorganization Plan and denied the writs prayed for. Ruiz appealed this decision directly to the Supreme Court.
ISSUE
The sole issue presented is the validity of Reorganization Plan No. 20-A, particularly Section 25, insofar as it grants original and exclusive jurisdiction to the regional offices of the Department of Labor over money claims of laborers.
RULING
The Supreme Court reversed the decision of the CFI and declared Section 25 of Reorganization Plan No. 20-A null and void. The Court anchored its ruling on the principle of non-delegation of legislative powers and the nature of judicial authority. The Court held that Republic Act No. 997 , which created the Reorganization Commission, did not authorize the transfer of judicial powers from the courts to executive officials or offices created by the Plan.
The legislative power to create courts of justice and confer jurisdiction cannot be delegated to an executive body like the Reorganization Commission. The grant of original and exclusive jurisdiction to regional offices over money claims effectively created a judicial function within an executive agency, which Congress itself could not have intended to delegate. The Court cited its prior and definitive rulings in cases such as Cagalawan v. Customs Canteen and Corominas, Jr. v. Labor Standards Commission, where the same provision was already declared unconstitutional. Consequently, the Regional Office acted without jurisdiction. The Supreme Court set aside the CFI judgment and ordered the dismissal of the case before the Regional Office, without prejudice to the claimants filing their action in the proper court of justice.