574 Phil. 368
AUSTRIA-MARTINEZ, J.:
WHEREFORE, premises considered, herein petition is granted. Likewise, Charter Certificate [of] NAMAWU-Local 188 is hereby delisted from the roster of legitimate labor organization[s] in this jurisdiction.Respondent union appealed to the Bureau of Labor Relations (BLR) on March 27, 2001.[8] Petitioner filed a Motion to Dismiss[9] the appeal on the ground that, as respondent union received copy of the December 1, 2000 DOLE Region IV Order on December 8, 2000, its appeal, filed only on March 27, 2001, was already beyond the appeal period.
SO ORDERED.[7]
WHEREFORE, premises considered, the appeal is hereby GRANTED. The Order of the Regional Director, DOLE-Region IV dated 01 December 2000 is hereby REVERSED AND SET ASIDE. The NAMAWU LOCAL 188 - DONG SEUNG WORKERS' UNION, shall remain in the roster of legitimate labor organizations. NAMAWU Local 188 - Dong Seung Workers' Union, however, is required to submit its constitution and by-laws, updated list of officers and members, their addresses and the principal office of the local/chapter as certified under oath by the Secretary or the Treasurer and attested to by the President, within thirty (30) days from finality of this decision.After its motion for reconsideration[11] was denied by the BLR,[12] petitioner filed with the CA a Petition for Certiorari,[13] insisting that the BLR acted with grave abuse of discretion in giving due course to respondent union's appeal despite its having been filed out of time. To prove its claim, petitioner attached a Certification dated February 8, 2001 issued by Acting Postmaster Edwin O. Mendoza, stating that "registered letter x x x no. 1062 addressed to Jeorge [sic] Villamarin was received on December 8, 2000 and delivered on December 8, 2000 and received by Evelyn Villamarin;"[14] showing that the latter had only until December 18, 2000 to appeal.
SO RESOLVED.[10]
The Court finds no such reversible error in the CA Decision and Resolution.
I. The CA erred in affirming the BLR when it gave due course to respondent's belated appeal;[15]II. The CA erred in not finding that the BLR acted with bias;[16] andIII. The CA erred in sustaining the BLR when it declared respondent's union registration valid.[17]
Art. 235. Action on application. The Bureau shall act on all applications for registration within thirty (30) days from filing.DOLE Region IV cancelled the registration of respondent union on the ground that the secretary's certification of the correctness of the List of Officers and the Constitution and By-laws attached to the application is not under oath, viz:
All requisite documents and papers shall be certified under oath by the secretary or the treasurer of the organization, as the case may be, and attested to by its president.
Considering that the respondent union failed to submit its answer or comment to the petition to controvert the allegations that although it submitted the list of union officers and Constitution and By laws which was attested to by the president but not duly sworn and subscribed under oath by the Secretary or Treasurer is a fatal defect that would warrant the withholding of status of legitimacy to the local union or chapter as held by the Supreme Court in the case of Progressive Development Corp. vs. Honorable Secretary of Labor and Employment.[26] (Emphasis supplied)In reversing DOLE Region IV, the BLR cited its Advisory,[27] dated October 14, 1998, which interprets the requirement under Article 235, to wit:
Pursuant to Rule XVII, Section 1 of Department Order No. 09, Series of 1997 x x x. [T]he Bureau of Labor Relations is empowered, consistent with the State policy to promote unionism, to "devise or prescribe such forms as are necessary to facilitate the process of registration of labor organizations x x x," including the chartering of locals or chapters. Accordingly, the Bureau has devised and transmitted to the Regional Offices the appropriate official registration forms, particularly the following:The BLR explained that under the foregoing Advisory, the certification issued by respondent union's secretary may be notarized either separately or along with the main application. The BLR noted that respondent union correctly availed of the second option:
x x x x
5. BLR Reg. Form No. 5-LOC-LO. S. 1998 For Chartering Locals/ Chapters
x x x x
Part I of each of the first seven forms is a space provided for the notarization of the application x x x. However, considering that applicants are not yet fully familiar with the forms in spite of orientation and seminar conducted, some applications have been submitted without using the forms prescribed by the Bureau. In lieu of submitting a notarized application using the official forms, some applicants comply with the requirements by having their supporting documents separately notarized.
To prevent inconvenience to the public, particularly to the applicants, the Regional Offices are hereby advised that applications submitted with supporting documents which are separately notarized need not comply with the notarization requirement under Part I or Part II, as the case may be, of the prescribed forms. x x x
Accordingly, the absence of notarization under Part I or Part II of the appropriate forms shall not be a basis for denying applications where it appears that all the required supporting documents have already been notarized or attested. (Emphasis supplied)
A perusal of the registration records of the [respondent] revealed that respondent's registration application was sufficient in form and substance, having been notarized as provided in the BLR official forms. (Atty. Manuel E. Robles notarized such application on 8 February 1999 at Cavite City.) All the other supporting documents to the charter certificate issued by the National Mines and Allied Workers Union were certified true and correct by the secretary and attested to by the president.Indeed, all that Article 235 requires is that the secretary's certification be under oath. It does not prescribe a specific manner of its notarization. Based on its interpretation of Article 235, the BLR, in its October 14, 1998 Advisory, allows for the wholesale notarization of a union's application for registration and recognizes the effects thereof even on the attachments, including the secretary's certification. This is a reasonable interpretation considering that the form of notarization contemplated in said Advisory adequately serves the purpose of Article 235, which is to forestall fraud and misrepresentation. More importantly, such interpretation of the BLR is accorded great weight by the Court for it is said agency which is vested with authority and endowed with expertise to implement the law in question.[29]
Thus, from the standpoint of compliance, [respondent] x x x submitted all the documentary requirements for the creation of a local/chapter in accordance with Section 1, Rule VI, D.O. 9 series of 1997.[28] (Emphasis supplied)
Considering further that the respondent failed to refute the "Sinumpaang Petisyon" executed by 148 out of 200 employees of the petitioner company that they were made to sign a blank sheet of paper purportedly to be used to request a dialogue with the president of the company which turned out later the signatures were misused and misrepresented to form a local union under NAMAWU constitute grave misrepresentation in violation of par. (A) of Article 239 of the Labor Code as amended, a valid ground for cancellation of union registration.[31]The CA and BLR, on the other hand, assign no credence to the Sinumpaang Petisyon for it is a mere photocopy,[32] the genuineness and due execution of which cannot be reasonably ascertained. Moreover, citing Oriental Tin Can Labor Union v. Secretary of Labor,[33] the BLR held that it has reason to be wary of the Sinumpaang Petisyon for the withdrawal of support by the alleged signatories to the petition may have been "procured through duress, coercion, or for a valuable consideration."