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INTEREST AND SUBJECT

TO THE POLICE POWER OF
THE STATE
Published by " Atty Elvin B. Villanueva at # August 3,
2017 The Author

Atty. Elvin B.
Villanueva is a
Employment contracts govern the relations of the employer litigation
and the employee. lawyer
specializing in
However, there are times that they are obliquely crafted to labor laws. He
avoid the findings of employer-employee relationship and graduated
contrary to the actual circumstances between the parties. from Arellano
University
HR Practitioner’s Labor/HR Mastery Toolkit: HR books
School of Law
Bundle by Atty. Villanueva
with honors.
Faced with the same He was a
issue, the Supreme recipient of
Court held in the the Supreme
following case that: Court award
for his essay
Nelson V. Begino, on the Role of
Gener Del Valle, the Rule of
Monina Avila-Llorin Law in
and Ma. Cristina National
Sumayao vs. ABS-CBN Development.
Corporation and
Amalia Villafuerte Learn More
G.R. No. 199166, April
20, 2015

Facts: Categories

Respondent ABS-CBN Corporation (formerly ABS-CBN

Broadcasting Corporation) employed, for its Regional Atty.
Network Group in Naga City, Begino, et al. Nelson Begino Elvin's
(Begino) and Gener Del Valle (Del Valle) sometime in 1996 as Books
Cameramen/Editors for TV Broadcasting. Begino, et al. Ma. Corporation
Cristina Sumayao (Sumayao) and Monina Avila-Llorin (Llorin) Law
were likewise similarly engaged as reporters sometime in
1996 and 2002, respectively. Criminal
Law
With their services engaged by ABS CBN, et al. thru Talent
Contracts which, though regularly renewed over the years, Events
provided terms ranging from three (3) months to one (1)
Forms
year, Begino, et al. were given Project Assignment Forms
and
which detailed, among other matters, the duration of a
Templates
particular project as well as the budget and the daily
technical requirements thereof. In the aforesaid capacities, Labor
Begino, et al. were tasked with coverage of news items for Law
subsequent daily airings in ABS CBN, et al.’ TV Patrol Bicol
Program. Rules of
Procedure
Claiming that they were regular employees of ABS-CBN,
Begino, et al. filed against ABS CBN, et al. before the NLRC. Tax Law
In support of their claims for regularization, monetary
TRAIN
benefits, damages and attorney’s fees, they alleged that they
Law
performed functions necessary and desirable in ABS-CBN’s
business. Uncategorized

Mandated to wear company IDs and provided all the

equipment they needed, Begino, et al. averred that they
worked under the direct control and supervision of Manager
Tags
Villafuerte and, at the end of each day, were informed about
the news to be covered the following day, the routes they 120-day
were to take and, whenever the subject of their news
rule 240 days
coverage is quite distant, even the start of their workday.
Due to the importance of the news items they covered and
240-day
the necessity of their completion for the success of the rule
abandonment
program, Begino, et al. claimed that, under pain of
immediate termination, they were bound by the company’s abandonmen
policy on, among others, attendance and punctuality. of work
appeal
ABS CBN, et al. insisted that, pursuant to their Talent
attorney's
Contracts and/or Project Assignment Forms, Begino, et al.
fees
were hired as talents, to act as reporters and/or cameramen
for TV Patrol Bicol for designated periods and rates. Fully
backwages
compensability
aware that they were not considered or to consider
themselves as employees of a particular production or film constructive
outfit, Begino, et al. were supposedly engaged on the basis dismissal
of the skills, knowledge or expertise they already possessed Death benefit
disability
and, for said reason, required no further training from ABS-
CBN. Disability
claim
Although Begino, et al. were inevitably subjected to some dismissal
degree of control, the same was allegedly limited to the employer-
imposition of general guidelines on conduct and employee
performance, simply for the purpose of upholding the relationship
standards of the company and the strictures of the industry. immutability of
Never subjected to any control or restrictions over the judgment job
means and methods by which they performed or discharged
contracting
the tasks for which their services were engaged, Begino, et
jurisdiction
al. were, at most, briefed whenever necessary regarding the
general requirements of the project to be executed. labor-only
contracting
LA Ruling: loss of
The Labor Arbiter disposed of the case holding that Begino,
trust and
et al. were regular employees. confidence
PEME
Aggrieved by the foregoing decision, ABS CBN, et al. elevated Permanent
the case on appeal before the NLRC,
and
NLRC Ruling: Total
The NLRC rendered a Decision affirming said Labor Arbiter’s
Disability
petition for
appealed decision.
certiorari
Undeterred by the NLRC’s denial of their motion for piercing the
reconsideration, ABS CBN, et al. filed the Rule 65 petition for veil Post
certiorari docketed before the CA. employment
medical
CA Ruling:
examination

The CA rendered the herein assailed decision, reversing the project

findings of the Labor Arbiter and the NLRC. Ruling out the employment
existence of forum shopping on the ground that Begino, et quitclaim
al.’ second and third complaints were primarily anchored on reinstatement
their termination from employment after the filing of their release

first complaint, the CA nevertheless discounted the existence resignation

of an employer-employee relation between the parties upon retirement
the following findings and conclusions: retrenchment
second motion
(a) Begino, et al., were engaged by ABS CBN, et al. as talents
for
for periods, work and the program specified in the Talent
reconsideration
Contracts and/or Project Assignment Forms concluded
separation
between them;
pay
(b) instead of fixed salaries, Begino, et al. were paid talent serious
fees depending on the budget allocated for the program to misconduct
which they were assigned; strained
relations
(c) being mainly concerned with the result, ABS CBN, et al.
did not exercise control over the manner and method by termination
which petitioner accomplished their work and, at most, theftthird
ensured that they complied with the standards of the doctor TRAIN
company, the KBP and the industry; and, law valid
dismissal
(d) the existence of an employer-employee relationship is waiver willful
not necessarily established by the exclusivity clause and breach willful
prohibitions which are but terms and conditions on which disobedience
the parties are allowed to freely stipulate. work-relatedness

Begino, et al.’ motion for reconsideration of the foregoing

decision was denied. Hence, the petition before the SC.

Issue/s:

Whether or not individuals in broadcasting company

engaged as talents can be deemed as having employer-
employee relationship.

Whether or not repeated engagement and directly related

activities can result in regular employment

SC Ruling:

The SC found the petition meritorious.

The SC held that to determine the existence of said relation,

case law has consistently applied the four-fold test, to wit:
(a) the selection and engagement of the employee; (b) the
payment of wages; (c) the power of dismissal; and (d) the
employer’s power to control the employee on the means and
methods by which the work is accomplished.

Of these criteria, the so-called “control test” is generally

regarded as the most crucial and determinative indicator of
the presence or absence of an employer-employee
relationship. Under this test, an employer-employee
relationship is said to exist where the person for whom the
services are performed reserves the right to control not only
the end result but also the manner and means utilized to
achieve the same.

Because they are imbued with public interest, it cannot be

gainsaid, however, that labor contracts are subject to the
police power of the state and are placed on a higher plane
than ordinary contracts. The recognized supremacy of the
law over the nomenclature of the contract and the
stipulations contained therein is aimed at bringing life to the
policy enshrined in the Constitution to afford protection to
labor.

Insofar as the nature of one’s employment is concerned,

Article 280 of the Labor Code of the Philippines provides the
rules. This provision contemplates four kinds of employees,
namely:

(a) regular employees or those who have been engaged to

perform activities which are usually necessary or desirable
in the usual business or trade of the employer;

(b) project employees or those whose employment has been

fixed for a specific project or undertaking, the completion or
termination of which has been determined at the time of the
engagement of the employee;

(c) seasonal employees or those who work or perform

services which are seasonal in nature, and the employment
is for the duration of the season; and

(d) casual employees or those who are not regular, project,

or seasonal employees.

To the foregoing classification of employee, jurisprudence

has added that of contractual or fixed term employee which,
if not for the fixed term, would fall under the category of
regular employment in view of the nature of the employee’s
engagement, which is to perform activity usually necessary
or desirable in the employer’s business.

The SC found that notwithstanding the nomenclature of their

Talent Contracts and/or Project Assignment Forms and the
terms and condition embodied therein, Begino, et al. are
regular employees of ABS-CBN. Time and again, it has been
ruled that the test to determine whether employment is
regular or not is the reasonable connection between the
activity performed by the employee in relation to the
business or trade of the employer.

As cameramen/editors and reporters, Begino, et al. were

undoubtedly performing functions necessary and essential
to ABS-CBN’s business of broadcasting television and radio
content. It matters little that Begino, et al.’ services were
engaged for specified periods for TV Patrol Bicol and that
they were paid according to the budget allocated therefor.
Aside from the fact that said program is a regular weekday
fare of the ABS-CBN’s Regional Network Group in Naga City,
the record shows that, from their initial engagement in the
aforesaid capacities, Begino, et al. were continuously re-
hired by ABS CBN, et al. over the years. To the mind of the
Court, ABS CBN, et al.’ repeated hiring of Begino, et al. for its
long-running news program positively indicates that the
latter were ABS-CBN’s regular employees.

Learn how to validly craft Employment Contracts in a book

by Atty. Villanueva entitled Human Resource Forms, Notices
& Contracts (with Sample Templates)

If the employee has been performing

the job for at least one year, even if
the performance is not continuous or
merely intermittent, the law deems
the repeated or continuing
performance as sufficient evidence of
the necessity, if not indispensability Privacy - Terms

of that activity in the business.

Indeed, an employment stops being
co-terminous with specific projects
where the employee is continuously
re-hired due to the demands of the
employer’s business. When
circumstances show, moreover, that
contractually stipulated periods of employment have been
imposed to preclude the acquisition of tenurial security by
the employee, this Court has not hesitated in striking down
such arrangements as contrary to public policy, morals, good
customs or public order.

The nature of the employment depends, after all, on the

nature of the activities to be performed by the employee,
considering the nature of the employer’s business, the
duration and scope to be done, and, in some cases, even the
length of time of the performance and its continued
existence. In the same manner that the practice of having
fixed-term contracts in the industry does not automatically
make all talent contracts valid and compliant with labor law,
it has, consequently, been ruled that the assertion that a
talent contract exists does not necessarily prevent a regular
employment status.

As cameramen/editors and reporters, it also appears that

Begino, et al. were subject to the control and supervision of
ABS CBN, et al. which, first and foremost, provided them with
the equipments essential for the discharge of their
functions. Prepared at the instance of ABS CBN, et al.,
Begino, et al.’ Talent Contracts tellingly provided that ABS-
CBN retained “all creative, administrative, financial and legal
control” of the program to which they were assigned. Aside
from having the right to require Begino, et al. “to attend and
participate in all promotional or merchandising campaigns,
activities or events for the Program,” ABS-CBN required the
former to perform their functions “at such locations and
Performance/Exhibition Schedules” it provided or, subject to
prior notice, as it chose determine, modify or change. Even if
they were unable to comply with said schedule, Begino, et al.
were required to give advance notice, subject to ABS CBN, et
al.’ approval.

However obliquely worded, the Court finds the foregoing

terms and conditions demonstrative of the control ABS CBN,
et al. exercised not only over the results of Begino, et al.’
work but also the means employed to achieve the same.

Rather than the project and/or independent contractors ABS

CBN, et al. claim them to be, it is evident from the foregoing
disquisition that Begino, et al. are regular employees of ABS-
CBN. This conclusion is borne out by the ineluctable showing
that Begino, et al. perform functions necessary and essential
to the business of ABS-CBN which repeatedly employed them
for a long-running news program of its Regional Network
Group in Naga City. In the course of said employment,
Begino, et al. were provided the equipments they needed,
were required to comply with the Company’s policies which
entailed prior approval and evaluation of their performance.

Viewed from the prism of said considerations, the SC found

that the CA reversibly erred when it overturned the NLRC’s
affirmance of the Labor Arbiter’s finding that an employer-
employee relationship existed between the parties.

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