Procedural lapse

Certiorari is a special remedy to annul or modify the proceedings of a tribunal, board or officer exercising judicial or quasi-judicial functions that has acted without or in excess of its or his jurisdiction, or with grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction. It is available only when there is no appeal or any plain, speedy and adequate remedy in the ordinary course of law. What is involved here therefore is error of jurisdiction not error of judgment. For if there is error of judgment, there is the remedy of appeal, hence certiorari cannot be availed of as a substitute if that remedy of appeal is lost. This is illustrated in this case of a workers union (the Union) in a tobacco corporation (AAATC).

The dispute here arose when AAATC closed or ceased its business operation after the Union staged a strike due to the breakdown in the discussion for wage increases. After both parties agreed to refer the matter to an accredited Voluntary Arbitrator (VA), a decision was issued by the VA finding the closure legal and awarding financial assistance to the workers. To implement compliance of said decision, the parties executed a document entitled Mechanics of Releasing Goods/Manner of Payment”. Immediately thereafter, the strike was lifted and the striking employees except 44 members of the Union executed an Affidavit of Quitclaim and Release in favor of AAATC.

The 44 members on the other hand questioned the award of the VA before the Court of Appeals (CA). Their petition was however dismissed both by the CA and subsequently by the Supreme Court.

Even while the said case questioning the award of the VA was pending before the CA, the 44 members also filed several complaints before the NLRC Labor Arbiter (LA). On May 9, 2000 the LA also dismissed their petition for lack of merit. This was affirmed by the NLRC so they filed a petition for certiorari before the CA. But on June 5, 2002 the CA dismissed their petition on the ground that only one of the 44 union members signed the Verification/Certification of Non-Forum Shopping without submitting proof that she is authorized to represent the others.

Instead of appealing the said decision of the CA to the SC by filing a petition for review under Rule 45 of the Rules of Court within the 15-day period, the 44 members filed a petition for certiorari under Rule 65, alleging grave abuse of discretion on the part of the CA in dismissing their petition simply because only one of them signed the verification of non-forum shopping. Were they correct?

No. While the rule requiring all petitioners to affix their signatures to the certification of non-forum shopping has been relaxed under justifiable circumstance, as in this case where all the members share a common interest and invoke a common cause of action, the petition for certiorari of the 44 union members should still be dismissed.

A petition for certiorari under Rule 65 of the Rules of Court may be resorted to only if there is no appeal or any plain, speedy and adequate remedy in the ordinary course of law. The existence and availability of the right to appeal are antithetical to the availment of the special civil action for certiorari. These two remedies are mutually exclusive.

In the present case, the 44 union members could have appealed to the SC by filing a petition for review under Rule 45. No such petition was filed within the reglementary period, thus, the CA decision became final and executory. When a decision becomes final and executory, the court loses jurisdiction over the case and not even an appellate court would have the power to review a judgment that has acquired finality. Otherwise there would be no end to litigation and would set to naught the main role of the courts of justice which is to assist in the enforcement of the rule of law and the maintenance of peace and order by settling justiciable controversies with finality (Malayang Kapisanan etc. vs. Associated Anglo American Tobacco Corp. et. al. G.R. 156613, February 18, 2008).

Note: Books containing compilation of my articles on Labor Law and Criminal Law (Vols. I and II) are now available. Call tel. 7249445.

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