JMM Promotions and Management, Inc., Vs. National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC) and Ulpiano L. Delos Santos

JMM Promotions and Management, Inc., Petitioner

Vs.

National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC) and Ulpiano L. Delos Santos, Respondents.



G.R. No. 109835, November 22, 1993


Facts:

Petitioner JMM Promotions and Management Inc. appealed to the respondent NLRC with regard to the decision of the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) on the ground of failure to post the required appeal bond.

NLRC, in support of the decision, cited Article 223 of the Labor Code, as provided and amended:

Article 223 - In a case of judgment involving 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 Commission in an amount equivalent to the monetary award in the judgment appealed from.

Rule VI, Section 6 of the New Rules of Procedure of the NLRC as amended reads as follows:

Section 6 - Bond - In case the decision of the Labor Arbiter involves a monetary award, an appeal by the employer shall be perfected only upon the posting of a cash or surety bond issued by a reputable bonding company duly accredited by the Commission or the Supreme Court in an amount equivalent to the award.

The Petitioner contended that the NLRC committed grave abuse of discretion in applying these rules to decisions rendered by POEA. It insists that the appeal bond is not necessary in the case of licensed recruiters for overseas employment because they are already required under Section 4, Rule II, Book II of the POEA Rules not only to pay a license fee of P30,000.00 but also a cash bond of P100,000.00 and a surety bond of P50,000.00.

Petitioner also claimed it has placed in escrow the sum of P200,000.00 with PNB in compliance of Section 17, Rule II, Book II to primarily answer for valid and legal claims of recruited workers as a result of recruitment violations or money claims.

The office of the Solicitor General sustained the appeal bond requirement but suggested that the rules cited by NLRC are applicable only to decisions of the Labor Arbiter and not of POEA.

Issue:

Whether or Not petitioner is still required to post an appeal bond even after posting a cash and surety bond of P150,000.00 and placing an escrow money of P200,000.00 as required by POEA rules to perfect the appeal from a decision of POEA to NLRC?

Held:

Yes. POEA rules are clear. In addition to the cash and surety bond, and the escrow money fund, there should be also an amount equivalent to the monetary award to perfect the appeal.

An appeal bond is intended to further insure payment of the monetary award in favor of the employee if it is eventually affirmed on appeal to the NLRC.

In legal hermeneutics, caution should be taken that every part thereof be given effect on the theory that it was enacted as an integrated measure. and not as a hodge-podge of conflicting provisions. Ut res magis valeat quam pereat. Under the petitioner's interpretation, the appeal bond required by Section 6 of the POEA rule should be disregarded because of the earlier bonds and escrow fund. The Court ruled that it is not a redundancy, but rather a complement between Section 6, Section 4 and Section 17.

The rule is that a construction that would render a provision inoperative should be avoided; instead, apparently inconsistent provisions should be reconciled whenever possible as parts of a coordinated and harmonious whole.

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