Sinuman sa partido sa kaso ng namatay, maaaring palitan ng tagapagmana

ni Atty. Persida Rueda-Acosta @Magtanong Kay Attorney | August 12, 2025

Dear Chief Acosta,

Naghain ng reklamo ang tatay ko laban sa kumpanya na kanyang pinagtatrabahuhan ng halos dalawang dekada dahil sa ilegal na pagtatanggal sa kanya. Subalit, habang nakabinbin ito sa opisina ng Labor Arbiter, namatay ang tatay ko. Ano ang mangyayari sa kanyang kaso? -- Chi

---

Dear Chi,

Matutugunan ang iyong katanungan sa ilalim ng probisyon ng 2011 NLRC Rules of Procedure, na sinusugan ng En Banc Resolution No. 14-17, Series of 2017:

“RULE VPROCEEDINGS BEFORE LABOR ARBITERS

Section 20. Death of Parties. – In case any of the parties dies during the pendency of the proceedings, he/she may be substituted by his/her heirs. In the event a favorable judgment is obtained by the complainants, the same shall be enforced in accordance with Section 11, Rule XI of this Rules.” (As amended by En Banc Resolution No. 14-17, Series of 2017)

Malinaw na nakasaad dito na kung sakaling mamatay ang alinman sa mga partido sa panahon ng paglilitis, maaari siyang palitan ng kanyang tagapagmana.

Kaugnay nito, tinalakay ng ating Korte Suprema ang katwiran sa patakarang ito sa kasong Florencio B. Nedira, substituted by his wife Emma G. Nedira vs. NJ World Corporation, represented by Michelle Y. Bualat, G.R. No. 240005, 06 Disyembre 2022, sa panulat ni Honorable Chief Justice Alexander G. Gesmundo:

“First, an employment contract is one imbued with public interest.

The Civil Code is firm in its declaration that the relations between capital and labor are not merely contractual. It is, in fact, one impressed with public interest. Art. 1700 of the Civil Code expressly provides:

Article 1700. The relations between capital and labor are not merely contractual. They are so impressed with public interest that labor contracts must yield to the common good. Therefore, such contracts are subject to the special laws on labor unions, collective bargaining, strikes and lockouts, closed shop, wages, working conditions, hours of labor and similar subjects.

Accordingly, the interest involved in an employment contract is not merely private and individual, but also public.

Considering that such contractual relations are imbued with public interest, the enforcement of rights and obligations under such employment contract is also of public interest. Concomitantly, any violation of the employment contract would necessarily be of public interest.

Second, an illegal dismissal is a violation of the Labor Code and its implementing rules and regulations. xxx

The Labor Code expressly upholds the constitutionally guaranteed right to security of tenure by ordaining that a regular employee may not be terminated from service except for just or authorized cause: xxx

Thus, an illegal dismissal – a dismissal without just or authorized cause – is not only a violation of the contractual relations between the employer and the employee but is, in fact, a violation of the Labor Code and its implementing rules and regulations. In short, when an employer illegally dismisses an employee, said employer is essentially violating a statute.

These two important considerations, which affect the very nature of a complaint for illegal dismissal, separate and distinguish it from the realm of mere contractual obligations normally implicated in a civil complaint. These considerations are of such character and weight that a complaint for illegal dismissal should not and cannot be classified in the same manner as ordinary civil actions.

While it is easy to pare down an ordinary civil action into either an action that involves injury to the person or one that involves property or property rights, a complaint for illegal dismissal cannot be treated in the same manner due to the public policy concerns involved. Further, aside from the public interest in the contractual relations of an employer and an employee, the State itself has an interest in ensuring that employers do not illegally dismiss their employees owing to the fact that such illegal dismissal constitutes a violation of labor laws. xxx

This analysis reveals the dual character of a complaint for illegal dismissal. It is an action predicated upon an injury to the rights of the plaintiff, the purportedly illegally dismissed employee. As the Court previously noted, one's employment is a right and its violation is an injury. At the same time, the award arising from the finding of illegal dismissal – the payment of backwages – is not merely for redress of a private right, but a command for the employer to make public reparation for his or her violation of the Labor Code.

Couple this dual character with the public interest imbued in labor contractual relations and it is evident that complaints for illegal dismissal cannot be classified as to cause or foundation in the same manner as ordinary civil actions insofar as the death of any of the parties and its effects are concerned.

Substitution by the heirs of the deceased complainant in a pending complaint for illegal dismissal should be allowed. This approach respects and breathes life to the public interest imbued in contractual relations between the employer and the employee. Further, it allows for public reparation by the employer in case he or she is found to have violated the Labor Code.”

Ipinaliwanag dito na ang kontrata sa pagtatrabaho ay may pampublikong interes, at ang ilegal na pagtatanggal sa empleyado ay paglabag sa batas sa paggawa at mga naaangkop na tuntunin at regulasyon. Kung kaya, ang pagpalit ng tagapagmana ng namatay na nagrereklamo sa isang nakabinbing reklamo para sa ilegal na pagtanggal sa trabaho ay dapat pahintulutan. Iginagalang at binibigyang-buhay ng pamamaraang ito ang interes ng publiko na dulot ng mga kontraktwal na relasyon sa pagitan ng employer at ng empleyado. Dagdag pa, pinapayagan nito ang pampublikong bayad-pinsala ng employer kung sakaling mapatunayang siya ay lumabag sa batas.

Sana ay nabigyan namin ng linaw ang iyong katanungan. Ang payong aming ibinigay ay base lamang sa mga impormasyon na iyong inilahad at maaring magbago kung mababawasan o madaragdagan ang mga detalye ng iyong salaysay. 

Maraming salamat sa iyong patuloy na pagtitiwala.