Legally Yours

Lady Justice (Dublin) Source:Wikimedia Commons, original by Lucy Skywalker
(photo with License CC Share a Like 3.0)

I found an article in Philippine Daily Inquirer written by Chief Justice Artemio Panganiban about the Bar Exams and legal education in the country and I thought it would be good to share here because the subject concerns law students or future lawyers.

Last weekend,  I was able to talk with some friends who are now based in Dublin and I realized that Philippine law students are lucky to be pursuing law education here.  I found out that in Ireland,  a law student needs to undergo a series of exams,  not just one.   Mind you, each exam is quiet expensive and I can only imagine how crazy it is to review for a battery of exams.

This reminds me of the steps a medical professional has to go through before he or she can become a specialist.  It would be utterly difficult if lawyers will undergo that kind of process.  It would definitely double or triple the cost of legal service to the woe of the clients!

By the way,  here is the link to the Inquirer article "Bar Exams and Legal Education (3)."


The Blogger

Hi! I'm a law student from Manila, Philippines.  I did Political Science, then Industrial Relations major in H.R. (postgrad) studies from UP.  I vlog, weightlift, experiment with new makeup looks, try Bollywood and bellydance steps, and rant about my cray life in my YouTube channel.  Once in a blue moon, I create content for another YT channel,  10+ blogs,  20+ FB pages and in HubPages.  Check out my official site.  

National Association of Trade Unions (NATU) v. Republic Planters Bank Digest, G. R. No. 93468

NATU v Republic
G. R. No. 93468, December 29, 1994


Facts of the Case:

Petitioner NATU filed a petition for certification election to determine the exclusive bargaining agent of its supervisory employees.  The bank (Private respondent) moved to dismiss the petition alleging that the supervisory employees are actually managerial employees hence prohibited from joining unions.  The Med Arbiter granted the petition but the decision was modified by the Sec. of Labor on the ground that the ff employees are deemed as managerial and/or confidential employees and are therefore ineligible to join or form labor unions (Dept. Managers,  Asst. Managers,  branch Cashiers and Controllers).

ISSUE :  W/N the Department Managers, Assistant Managers, Branch Managers/OICs, Cashiers and Controllers of respondent Bank are managerial and/or confidential employees hence ineligible to join or assist the union of petitioner.


RULING:
The subject employees are supervisory and not managerial.  As provided under 212 of the Philippine Labor Code,  a Managerial employee is;

a)   One vested with power to lay down and execute management policies,  or to hire,                   transfer,  suspend, lay off, recall, discharge,  assign or discipline employees, and 

b)  One vested with both the power or prerogative.

Like Branch Managers, Cashiers and Controllers, Department Managers do not possess the power to lay down policies nor to hire, transfer, suspend, lay off, recall, discharge, assign or discipline employees. They occupy supervisory positions, charged with the duty among others to "recommend proposals to improve and streamline operations.

On one hand, a confidential employee is one entrusted with confidence on delicate matters, or with the custody, handling, or care and protection of the employer's property.

Therefore only the Branch Managers/OICs, Cashiers and Controllers of respondent bank who are deemed as confidential employees are ineligible to join or assist petitioner NATU-Republic Planters Bank Supervisors Chapter, or join, assist or form any other labor organization

Doctrine of Necessary Implication
The disqualification of managerial employees from joining a union is due to the evident conflict of interest as they are supposed to be on the side of the management.  As to confidential employees,  their disqualification is due to the undue advantage they possess.
Branch managers/Cashiers/Controllers are all considered confidential employees and hence disqualified from joining a labor organization.  Do note that this is not applicable to all banks in general.

* The blogger is also graduate of Industrial Relations major in Human Resource Management hence Labor Relations is a topic within her sphere of interest.


  

Looking for a Travelling Lawyer Job

Travel bug.

One of my simplest wish is to find a job that would make me hop on a plane at least once a month.  No,  not domestic,  but international!  Don't get me wrong because I don't want to live in a suitcase,   I simply want to breathe different air and culture regularly.  (My ultimate dream job is one that allows me to jump off a plane in a sleek skydiving suit, but since there is no such thing as a Skydiving Lawyer,  I better stick to my front -- the Travelling Lawyer part.lol)  

They often say that if you want to live a happy life,  you have to find your passion.  After finding that passion,  find a way to make a living out of it, that is the only way to have a wonderful existence.   So all I could think about is to find a job that will allow me to travel.

I used to think that becoming a lawyer will bring me closer to that dream, oh-oh! Maybe... maybe not,  depending on how I look at it.   Is there even a Travelling Lawyer job?  What are the options?   How about being a lawyer for an airline, hmmn  maybe.   Perhaps a lawyer for a world wide hotel chain with presence in all continents?  How about being a Cyber Security Attorney (is there even one?). Yeah, I am making that last one up.

A few weeks back, I read about this woman who is a notorious plane stow away.  She manages to sneak on a plane without tickets,  can you imagine?!  She would sometimes get away with it but last time she was arrested however, this did not stop her from doing it over and over again.  I thought, cool that must have been her dream activity,  illegal, aye!

Someone said that your thoughts often become your reality...
My thoughts must have pissed off the universe and the heavens (btw, are they 2 different things?) because I have a feeling that my 'hopping on planes' dream job could happen sooner,  law degree or not!   I'll just keep my fingers crossed.

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Am I Going to South Africa?

The Blogger

Hi! I'm a law student from Manila, Philippines.  I did Political Science, then Industrial Relations major in H.R. (postgrad) studies from UP.  I vlog, weightlift, experiment with new makeup looks, try Bollywood and bellydance steps, and rant about my cray life in my YouTube channel.  Once in a blue moon, I create content for another YT channel,  10+ blogs,  20+ FB pages and in HubPages.  Check out my official site.  

Villuga v. NLRC Digest

Villuga v. National Labor Relations Commission

Petitioner Villuga was employed by Private Respondent Zapanta (of Broad St. Tailoring) as a cutter.  He was also tasked to distribute work to other tailors and sewers when the shop manager or assistant is not around and makes sure that the work conform to the pattern given. The other petitioners  were ironers,  repairmen and sewers who were paid on piecerate basis.  The petitioners did not fill in any time record since they did not work on fixed hours,  they also work at home when job orders increased.  Villuga got ill and was not able to report to work for a few days but has notified the employer.  Subsequently,  he was considered to have abandoned his job.  This prompted Villuga to file a complaint on the ground that he was refused back to work due to an alleged participation to a union organized by the tailors.  The other petitioners claimed that they were dismissed due to union participation.  The Labor Arbiter dismissed their complaint,  the NLRC affirmed the dismissal.

Issue:   W/N petitioner Villuga is a managerial employee

RULING:   No.  Villuga's  primary work is to cut or prepare patterns and not to lay down management policies since there is already a manager/assistant in-charge of this exact responsibility.   Note that he only distributes or assigns work occasionally and does not take part in policy-making activities.
The test of 'supervisory' or managerial status depends on whether a person possesses the authority that is not merely routinary/clerical in nature but one that requires the use of independent judgement.  Note that your functions are not managerial if you only execute approved and established policies.

Requirements to be considered one to be part of the managerial staff is laid down in Rule 1,  Sec. 2(c)  Book III),  as follows:
1) Performance of work directly related to management policies.
2)  Customarily/regularly exercise discretion and independent judgement in the performance of his functions.
3)  Regularly/directly assists in managing the establishment.
4)  Does not devote 20% of his time to work other than those described above.

Finally,  there was no abandonment of work by Villuga,  1) to be considered as such, his act must be deliberate and an unjustified refusal and accompanied by overt acts,  mere absence is not a sufficient ground.

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Labor Law Digests

About the Blogger
*She holds a postgraduate in Industrial Relations major in Human Resource Management from University of the Philippines (UP) School of Labor and Industrial Relations (SOLAIR) and is currently on-leave from her law studies.

My MacBook Air Booboo

MacBook Air (right).  Just ignore the food, I cannot work without food. :)

My company was kind enough to provide me with a MacBook Air to be used for work-related things so I was able to get it a few weeks ago.  I was asked to chose a laptop and my main consideration is one with a long battery life.  After doing some research I found out that the MacBook Air (13inch) has 12 hours of battery life,  so why not,  coconut?  I was actually thinking that this same feature will be helpful when I'm in the school library which has limited plugging sockets.  So off I went and got the Macbook!

I admit I am really a Windows OS person so using the Mac is quite a challenge function-wise.  No, honestly,  it is a pain (to my bangs) to use it for encoding and creating documents.  Moreover,  I use a lot of programs in design, transcription, etc. and until today,  I still could not figure out how to put them all in the Mac!

Since my old laptop has been acting strange lately and my being Mac-challenged all the more added to my hair-pulling episodes whenever I am unable to do my planned tasks for the day, so I was forced to make an unplanned purchase of another laptop.  Oh dear, that cost me 3-days worth of hotel stay in Boracay!  I hate spending unnecessarily.

And the Macbook?  Well,  it is pretty with its elegant silver finish and slim design body makes it easy for me to slip it in my purse.  And yeah,  I still have to spend a lot of time with it to really maximize its functions -- time that I don't have much any way so the Macbook is now mainly for internet and blogging and backup.  I am not complaining but...

Busy Bee Forgetting My Law?

I have been busy these past couple of weeks and I admit my unofficial reading and review is badly affected.  My study coach is truly mad at me for not doing any reading.  I mean,  I feel bad and I am guilty.  This is something I have to do for myself and here I am not holding up my end.

Work has been crazy and I have other commitments to myself that I have to fulfill.  One is that I should lose some weight,  not much weight,  just the right amount.  Then I have to do different jobs and as you can imagine there are only 24 hours in a day.  I really cannot waste time with task that are not important so I feel that sometimes I would cheat myself on sleeping time.

Despite all these,  I miss blogging,  law books,  my codals,  reading and studying.  I miss spending overnight in a coffee shop just reading all those cases.  I hope my work and schedule will allow me to go back to law school and finish my unfinished business.   I have spent a great deal of sacrifice and it will all go to waste if I don't finish my law.

Anyways,  right now, I am busy planning my activities and sked for this week.  I have deadlines to meet, results to deliver,  books to finish (hopefully), and a million other things but I really really hope to do more reading,  so good luck to me!  I hope you are also moving along with your reviews.

Ciao!

The Blogger

Hi! I'm a law student from Manila, Philippines.  I did Political Science, then Industrial Relations major in H.R. (postgrad) studies from UP.  I vlog, weightlift, experiment with new makeup looks, try Bollywood and bellydance steps, and rant about my cray life in my YouTube channel.  Once in a blue moon, I create content for another YT channel,  10+ blogs,  20+ FB pages and in HubPages.  Check out my official site.