GR L 6409; (February, 1954) (Digest)
G.R. No. L-6409; February 5, 1954
LEOPOLDO GONZALES, petitioner, vs. HONORABLE SECRETARY OF LABOR, ATTY. CECILIO I. LIM, as WAS Assistant, ATTY. ROGELIO L. CRUZ, as Chief Claims and Investigation section, WAS, and SY KOT, respondents.
FACTS
On June 23, 1952, petitioner Leopoldo Gonzales filed a claim for overtime pay totaling P13,212.59 against his employer, respondent Sy Kot, with the Wage Administration Service (WAS). During the investigation and arbitration before the WAS, the claimant summoned Sy Kot to the witness stand and placed him under oath. However, before any question could be asked, Sy Kot invoked his constitutional right against self-incrimination, noting that the law on overtime pay provides a penalty for its violation. The investigator considered the invocation valid and ordered Sy Kot’s withdrawal from the witness stand. This ruling was upheld on appeal by the Secretary of Labor in a decision dated November 17, 1952. Petitioner then filed for a writ of certiorari, seeking to annul the ruling as illegal, arbitrary, and made with grave abuse of discretion.
ISSUE
Whether the respondent Sy Kot properly invoked his constitutional privilege against self-incrimination before any question was propounded to him during the WAS investigation.
RULING
The Supreme Court granted the petition and annulled the ruling of the Secretary of Labor. The Court held that the privilege against self-incrimination must be invoked at the proper time, which is when a question calling for a criminating answer is actually asked. A witness cannot decline to appear or be sworn, and no claim of privilege can be made until such a question is posed, as there is no way to determine in advance whether the information sought would be self-incriminating. The Court also rejected the Solicitor General’s argument that petitioner’s remedy was an appeal to the President, noting that Section 7 of Republic Act No. 602 (the law creating the WAS) expressly authorizes any person aggrieved by an order of the Secretary of Labor to obtain a review in the Supreme Court. The order complained of was set aside without costs.