331 Phil. 134
DAVIDE, JR., J.:
Private respondent Eulalio Pondoc is the owner-proprietor of Melleonor General Merchandise and hardware Supply located at Poblacion, Sindangan, Zamboanga del Norte. Respondent is engaged, among others, in the business of buying and selling copra, rice, corn, "binangkol," junk iron and empty bottles. He has in his employ more than twenty (20) regular workers (Records, pp. 9-11).Her motion for reconsideration of the judgment having been denied by the NLRC, the petitioner instituted this special civil action for certiorari under Rule 65 of the Rules of Court wherein she prays this Court annul the challenged decision of the NLRC, Fifth Division (Cagayan de Oro City), in NLRC Case No. IC No. M-000065, and direct the enforcement of the writ of execution in NLRC Case No. SRAB-09-05-10102-92, on the ground that the NLRC, Fifth Division, acted without or in excess of jurisdiction or with grave abuse of discretion when it proceeded to determine the alleged indebtedness of the petitioner and set-off the same against the liabilities of the private respondent. The petitioner asserts that the decision of the labor Arbiter in NLRC Case No. SRAB-09-05-10102-92 was already final and executory when the private respondent tried to defeat the judgment by asserting an alleged indebtedness of Andres Pondoc as a set-off, a claim not pleaded before the Labor Arbiter at any time before judgment, hence deemed waived. Moreover, the indebtedness "did not evolve out [sic] employer-employee relationship, hence, purely civil in aspect."
Records disclose that Andres Pondoc was employed by Eulalio Pondoc as a laborer from October 1990 up to December 1991, receiving a wage rate of P20.00 per day. He was required to work twelve (12) hours a day from 7:00 AM to 8:00 PM, Monday to Sunday. Despite working on his rest days and holidays, he was not paid his premium pay as required by law (Ibid).
Consequently, on May 14, 1992, Natividad Pondoc, on behalf of her husband, filed a complaint for salary differential, overtime pay, 13th month pay, holiday pay and other money claims before the Sub-Regional Arbitration Branch No. 9 of the NLRC, docketed as Sub-RAB Case No. 09-05-10102-92 (Records, p. 1).
In his position paper, private respondent questioned, among others, the existence of [an] employer-employee relationship between them. He further averred that Melleonor General Merchandise and Hardware Supply is a fictitious establishment (Records, pp. 64-68).
On June 17, 1993, labor Arbiter Esteban Abecia rendered a Decision finding the existence of [an] employer-employee relationship between the parties. The dispositive portion of the Decision reads:WHEREFORE, judgment is hereby rendered: (a) ordering respondent Eulalio Pondoc to pay complainant the following claims:On his last day to perfect an appeal, private respondent filed a manifestation before the Labor Arbiter praying that his liabilities be set-off against petitioner’s alleged indebtedness to him (Records, pp. 325-327). The Labor Arbiter denied, however, the compensation, and instead, issued a writ of execution as prayed for by petitioner (Records, p. 328).
(1) Salary differential for
reason of underpayment P35,776.00;
(2) Regular holiday and
premiumpayforholidayservices 902.00;
(3)Premiumpayforrestdayservices 3,840.00;
(4) 13th month pay 3,600.00
or the total amount of FOURTY-FOUR [sic] THOUSAND AND ONE HUNDRED EIGHTEEN PESOS (P44,118.00).
Other claims are denied for lack of merit.
SO ORDERED (Records, pp. 323-324).
Before the execution order could be implemented, however, private respondent was able to obtain a restraining order from the NLRC, where he filed a Petition for "Injunction and Damages," docketed as NLRC Case No. ICM-000065.
On February 28, 1994, public respondent NLRC allowed compensation between petitioner’s monetary award and her alleged indebtedness to private respondent. It disposed:
WHEREFORE, the appealed order is hereby vacated and set aside. A new one is entered declaring the setting-off of complainant’s indebtedness which allegedly amounted to P41,051.35 against the complainant’s monetary award in the amount of P44,118.00. The additional amount of P5,000.00 which complainant allegedly got from respondent on 10 July 1993 could not be credited in view of appellant’s failure to submit evidence to prove that complainant was really paid P5,000.00.
Accordingly, respondent Eulalio Pondoc is hereby directed to pay complainant Natividad Pondoc the amount of P3,066.65.
The Temporary restraining order issued herein is hereby made permanent.
SO ORDERED (Annex "D" of Petition).[3]
Section 1. Injunction in Ordinary Labor Disputed. -- A preliminary injunction or a restraining order may be granted by the Commission through its divisions pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (e) of Article 218 of the Labor Code, as amended, when it is established on the bases of the sworn allegations in the petition that the acts complained of, involving or arising from any labor dispute before the Commission, which, if not restrained or performed forthwith, may cause grave or irreparable damage to any party or render ineffectual any decision in favor of such party.Hence, a petition or motion for preliminary injunction should have been filed in the appeal interposed by the private respondent, i.e., in NLRC Case No. SRAB-09-05-10102-92. This matter, however, became academic when the NLRC consolidated the two cases as shown by the captions in its challenged decision of 28 February 1994 and resolution of 6 May 1994.x x x
The foregoing ancillary power may be exercised by the Labor Arbiters only as an incident to the cases pending before them in order to preserve the rights of the parties during the pendency of the case, but excluding labor disputes involving strike or lockout. (emphasis supplied)
1. Unfair labor practice cases;On the other hand, under paragraph (b) thereof, the NLRC has exclusive appellate jurisdiction over all cases decided by the Labor Arbiters. This simply means that the NLRC does not have original jurisdiction over the cases enumerated in paragraph (a) and that if a claim does not fall within the exclusive original jurisdiction of the labor Arbiter, the NLRC cannot have appellate jurisdiction thereon.
2. Termination disputes;
3. If accompanied with a claim for reinstatement, those cases that
workers may file involving wages, rates of pay, hours of work and other terms
and conditions of employment;
4. Claim for actual, moral, exemplary and other forms of damages arising
from employer-employee relations;
5. Cases arising from any violation of Article 264 of this Code,
including questions involving the legality of strikes and lockouts; and
6. Except claims for Employees Compensation, Social Security, Medicare
and maternity benefits, all other claims, arising from employer-employee
relations, including those of persons in domestic or household service, involving
an amount exceeding five thousand pesos (P5,000.00) regardless of whether
accompanies with a claim for reinstatement.