Republic of the Philippines

Court of Appeals
3rd Division
Manila
VCO Hotel & Resorts Corp
Petitioner,
-versusNATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS
COMMISSION, Public Respondent,
VCO HRC EMPLOYEES UNION,
LANZ AIDAN OLIVES as Private
Respondents.
PETITION
PETITIONER, by counsel respectfully submits that:
1. Petitioner is a domestic corporation organized under the laws of the
Philippines, with principal address at 1 Aseana Avenue, Paranaque,
Metro Manila. The private respondents, on the other hand, are VCO
HRC Employees Union, the certified collective bargaining unit of the
petitioner-company, and Lanz Aidan Olives, an employee of the
company.
2. This is a Petition for Certiorari under Rule 65 of the Rules of Court
assailing the Decision of the National Labor Relations Commission
(NLRC) dated March 31, 2016 affirming the Decision of the Labor
Arbiter dated September 30, 2015 which ruled that petitioner is guilty
of unfair labor practice for violation of the collective bargaining
agreement.
3. The present petition stemmed as follows: The petitioner company and
the respondent union entered into a Collective Bargaining Agreement
(CBA). Section 16 of the said CBA provides that, the relatives of the
employees shall be entitled to a 10% discount on rooms and restaurant
of the company upon presentation of the employees identification
card and the employees relatives identification card. Pursuant to the
said provision of the CBA, Lanz Aidan L. Olives, an employee of the
company and a member of the union, availed of this benefit on
February 14, 2015 and invited his aunt and uncle to check in at VCO
Hotel and Resort for them to celebrate their 25th anniversary there.
When Olives presented his identification card and his aunt and

uncles, the company refused to grant them the 10% discount. Since
the aunt and uncle of Olives only brought exact amount of money,
they were forced to leave the hotel premises humiliated. The next day,
Olives and the company union filed an unfair labor practice complaint
against the company for violation of the CBA. The primary defense of
the company was that the relative contemplated in the CBA includes
immediate family members only and hence, shall only be applicable
to father, mother, brother, and sister of the employee. Secondly, such
issue shall first be referred to the grievance machinery and thereafter,
to the Voluntary Arbitrators. Both the Labor Arbiter and the National
Labor Relations Commission (NLRC) found that the petitioner
company is guilty of unfair labor practice.
4. The petitioner company consistently contends that pursuant to Art.
273 of the Labor Code and their CBA, all issues arising from the CBA
shall be referred to first before the grievance machinery and after
such, may be elevated to the Voluntary Arbitrators. It is further
provided by the Article 274 of the Labor Code that, The Voluntary
Arbitrator or panel of Voluntary Arbitrators shall have original
and exclusive jurisdiction to hear and decide all unresolved
grievances arising from the interpretation or implementation of
the Collective Bargaining Agreement and those arising from the
interpretation or enforcement of company personnel policies referred
to in the immediately preceding article. Accordingly, violations of a
Collective Bargaining Agreement, except those which are gross in
character, shall no longer be treated as unfair labor practice and shall
be resolved as grievances under the Collective Bargaining
Agreement. Hence, the Labor Arbiter and NLRC acted without
jurisdiction when it took cognizance of the unfair labor practice
complaint filed by Olives and VCO HRC Employees Union.
5. There is no appeal from such decision or any plain or speedy remedy
in the ordinary course of law, except this petition.
6. A certified true copy of the Decision of the NLRC under review is
attached.

Paranaque City, April 21, 2016.

ATTY. MICHELLE A. VALE CRUZ
Counsel for Petitioner
Vale Cruz & Associates Law Firm
117 Gamboa St., San Lorenzo, Paranaque

VERIFICATION AND CERTIFICATION OF NON-FORUM

SHOPPING
Republic of the Philippines
(City of Paranaque
) S.S.
I, NESTOR LEYNES III, of legal age, the incumbent President of
VCO Hotel and Resort Corporation, after having been duly sworn in
accordance with law, depose and state that:
1. I am the authorized representative of the complainant in the above-stated
case;
2. I caused the preparation of the foregoing complaint;
3. I have received a copy of the Decision of the NLRC on April 1, 2016.
4. I have read the contents thereof and the facts stated therein are true and
correct of my personal knowledge and/or on the basis of copies of
documents and records in my possession;
5. I have not commenced any other action or proceeding involving the same
issues in the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeals, or any other tribunal or
agency;
6. To the best of my knowledge and belief, no such action or proceeding is
pending in the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeals, or any other tribunal or
agency;
7. If I should thereafter learn that a similar action or proceeding has been
filed or is pending before the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeals, or any
other tribunal or agency, I undertake to report that fact within five (5) days
therefrom to this Honorable Court.
Paranaque City, Philippines, April 21, 2016
__________________
NESTOR LEYNESS III