568 Phil. 243
AUSTRIA-MARTINEZ, J.:
and directing her to correct the same, thus:
- Underpayment of salaries and wages (workers being paid a daily rate of Ninety Pesos [P90.00] since 1997 and Seventy Five Pesos [P75.00] prior to such year);
- Non-payment of 13th month pay for two (2) years;
- Non-payment of Social Amelioration Bonus (SAB) for two (2) years;
- Non-payment of employer’s 1/3 carabao share.[5]
You are required to affect [sic] restitution and/or correction of the foregoing at the company or plant level within ten (10) calendar days from notice hereof.In addition, DOLE Bacolod scheduled a summary investigation and issued, by registered mail, notices of hearing[7] as well as a subpoena duces tecum[8] to the parties. Petitioner did not appear in any of the scheduled hearings, or present any pleading or document.[9]
Any question of the above findings should be submitted to this Office within five (5) working days from notice hereof otherwise order of compliance shall be issued.
This notice shall be posted conspicuously in the premises of the workplace, removal of which shall subject the establishment to a fine and/ or contempt proceedings.
When there is a certified union, a copy of the notice shall be furnished said union.[6]
NOW, THEREFORE, you are hereby commanded to proceed to the premises of HAD. VALENTIN/BALABAG, MS. ALBERTA YANSON located at Brgy. Graneda or at Burgos St., Bacolod City and require the respondent to comply with the Order and pay the amount of THREE HUNDRED SEVENTY-TWO THOUSAND FOUR HUNDRED FORTY-FOUR (P372,444.00).On February 17, 1999, petitioner filed with DOLE Bacolod a Double Verified Special Appearance to Oppose “Writ of Execution” For Being a Blatant and Dangerous Violation of Due Process,[13] claiming that she did not receive any form of communication, or participate in any proceeding relative to the subject matter of the writ of execution. Petitioner also impugned the validity of the August 12, 1998 Compliance Order subject of the writ of execution on the ground of lack of employment relationship between her and private respondents. DOLE Bacolod denied said motion in an Order[14] dated March 11, 1999.
You are to collect the above-stated amount from the respondent and deposit the same to the Cashier of this Office for appropriate disposition to herein workers and/;or the supervision of the Office of the Regional Director. Otherwise, you are to execute this Writ by attaching the goods and chattel of the respondent not exempt from execution or in case of insufficiency thereof, against the real or immovable property.
You are further ordered to collect the Execution and/or Sheriff Fee in the amount of TWO THOUSAND ONE HUNDRED TWENTY-SEVEN (P2,127.00) PESOS.
Return this Writ to this Office within sixty (60) days from receipt hereof together with your statement in writing of the proceeding that you shall have conducted by virtue hereof.[12]
I. The Honorable Court of Appeals and the Honorable Secretary of Labor, with all due respect, deprived the herein petitioner-appellant of her constitutional right not to be deprived of property without due process of law, and of free access to courts and quasi-judicial bodies by reason of poverty;The petition lacks merit.
II. The Honorable Labor Secretary in his assailed Decision, with all due respect, for some rather mysterious reason or the other, dismissed the appeal with utter disregard of the fact that her Regional Director, whose orders were appealed to her were never received by the Petitioner.
Said orders assessing payments against the petitioner were issued without notice received by petitioner, and enforced without giving the petitioner a chance to controvert the atrocious figures, and two years after the petitioner’s farm had ceased its operations;
III. The Honorable Labor Secretary denied the petitioner of her right to seasonably raise the issue of lack of jurisdiction and the right [to] appeal;
IV. There are very serious errors of fact and law in the assailed decision of the Honorable Labor Secretary, with all due respect; or that the assailed decision, with all due respect, is patently and blatantly contrary to law and jurisprudence.[20]
Art. 128. Visitorial and Enforcement Power. - x x x (b) Notwithstanding the provisions of Articles 129 and 217 of this Code to the contrary, and in cases where the relationship of employer-employee still exists, the Secretary of Labor and Employment or his duly authorized representatives shall have the power to issue compliance orders to give effect to the labor standards provisions of this Code and other labor legislation based on the findings of labor employment and enforcement officers or industrial safety engineers made in the course of inspection. The Secretary or his duly authorized representatives shall issue writs of execution to the appropriate authority for the enforcement of their orders, except in cases where the employer contests the findings of the labor employment and enforcement officer and raises issues supported by documentary proofs which were not considered in the course of inspection.When petitioner filed her Verified Appeal and Supplement to the Verified Appeal, she posted a mere P1,000.00-appeal bond and attached a Motion to be Allowed to Post Minimal Bond with Motion for Reduction of Bond. Public respondent rejected said appeal for insufficiency of the appeal bond, viz.:
An order issued by the duly authorized representative of the Secretary of Labor and Employment under this article may be appealed to the latter. In case said order involves a monetary award, an appeal by the employer may be perfected only upon the posting of a cash or surety bond issued by a reputable bonding company duly accredited by the Secretary of Labor and Employment in the amount equivalent to the monetary award in the order appealed from. (Emphasis ours)
We note and stress that there is no analogous application in the Office of the Secretary of the practice in the NLRC of reducing the appeal bond; the law applicable to the Office of the Secretary of Labor and Employment does not allow this practice. In other words, the respondent’s request for the reduction of the required bond cannot be allowed for lack of legal basis. Hence, for lack of the required bond, the respondent’s appeal was never duly perfected and must therefore be dismissed.[23] (Emphasis ours)Citing Allied Investigation Bureau, Inc. v. Secretary of Labor and Employment,[24] the CA held that public respondent did not commit grave abuse of discretion in holding that petitioner failed to perfect her appeal due to the insufficiency of her bond.[25]
The next issue is whether petitioner was able to perfect his appeal to the Secretary of Labor and Employment. Article 128 (b) of the Labor Code clearly provides that the appeal bond must be "in the amount equivalent to the monetary award in the order appealed from." The records show that petitioner failed to post the required amount of the appeal bond. His appeal was therefore not perfected.[28]Just like the petitioner in the present case, the employer in Guico v. Secretary of Labor had also sought a reduction of the appeal bond due to financial losses arising from the shutdown of his business; yet, we did not temper the strict requirement of Article 128 (b) for him. The rationale behind the stringency of such requirement is that the employer-appellant may choose between a cash bond and a surety bond. Hence, limitations in his liquidity should pose no obstacle to his perfecting an appeal by posting a mere surety bond.
No similar authority is given the DOLE Secretary in Department Order No. 18-02 (Implementing Rules), Series of 2002, amending Department Order No. 7-A, Series of 1995, implementing Article 128(b), thus:RULE VI. APPEALS
Section 6. Bond. – In case the decision of the Labor Arbiter, the Regional Director or his duly authorized Hearing Officer involves a monetary award, an appeal by the employer shall be perfected only upon the posting of a cash or surety bond, which shall be in effect until final disposition of the case, issued by a reputable bonding company duly accredited by the Commission or the Supreme Court in an amount equivalent to the monetary award, exclusive of damages and attorney’s fees.
The employer, his counsel, as well as the bonding company, shall submit a joint declaration under oath attesting that the surety bond posted is genuine.
The Commission may, in justifiable cases and upon Motion of the Appellant, reduce the amount of the bond. The filing of the motion to reduce bond shall not stop the running of the period to perfect appeal. (Emphasis supplied.)
Under the foregoing Implementing Rules, it is plain that public respondent has no authority to accept an appeal under a reduced bond.Rule X-A
Section 8. Appeal. - (a) The Order of the Regional Director shall be final and executory unless appealed to the Secretary within ten (10) calendar days from receipt thereof.
(b) The appeal shall be filed with the Regional Office where the case originated together with the memorandum of the appealing party. The appellee may file his answer within ten (10) calendar days from receipt of the appellants memorandum.
Section 9. Cash or surety bond; when required. - In case the order involves a monetary award, an appeal by the employer may be perfected only upon the posting of a cash or surety bond issued by a duly accredited bonding company. The bond should be in the amount equivalent to the monetary award indicated in the order.
Section 10. Writ of execution. - (a) If no appeal is perfected within the reglementary period, the Regional Director shall, motu propio or upon motion of any interested party, issue a writ of execution to enforce the order. In the enforcement of the writ, the assistance of the law enforcement authorities may be sought.
(b) A writ of execution may be recalled subsequent to its issuance, if it is shown that an appeal has been perfected in accordance with this rule. (Emphasis ours)