UNIVERSAL ROBINA SUGAR MILLING CORPORATION and RENE CABATI v.

FERDINAND ACIBO, et al.

G.R. No. 186439, 15 January 2014, SECOND DIVISION (Brion, J.)
The period denominated in the contract of employment is not the basis in determining whether
an employee is seasonal or regular.

FERDINAND ACIBO, et al. were employees of UNIVERSAL ROBINA SUGAR

MILLING CORPORATION (URSUMCO). Acibo, et al. signed contracts of employment for a
given period and after its expiration, URSUMCO repeatedly hired these employees to perform
the same duties and obligations.

Acibo, et al. filed a complaint before the Labor Arbiter for regularization however it was denied
because the LA argued that they were seasonal employees. Seven of the 22 complainants filed an
appeal to the NLRC. The latter reversed the LAs ruling claiming that they were regular
employees. The CA affirmed NLRCs decision but excluded the Acibo, et al. from monetary
benefits under the CBA.

ISSUE:

Whether or not Acibo, et al. are regular employees of URSUMCO.

HELD:

Plantation workers or mill employees only work on seasonal basis. This, however, does not
exclude them from the benefits of regularization. Being in such nature, Acibo, et al. are
considered to be regular employees.

Regular employment means that there was an arrangement between the employee and the
employer that the former will be engaged to perform activities which are necessary or desirable
to the usual business or trade of the latter. On the other hand, a project employment is an
arrangement for a specific project or undertaking whose termination is determined by the
completion of the project.

The nature of the employment does not depend solely on the will or word of the employer
or on the procedure for hiring and the manner of designating the employee. Rather, the nature of
the employment depends on the nature of the activities to be performed by the employee,
considering the nature of the employers business, the duration and scope to be done.
Accordingly, Acibo, et al. are neither project nor seasonal employees.

Acibo, et al. were made to perform tasks that does not pertain to milling operations of
URSUMCO. However, their duties are regularly and habitually needed in URSUMCOs
operation. Moreover, they were regularly and repeatedly hired to perform the same tasks. Being
repeatedly hired for the same purpose makes them regularized employees.

The plantation workers or the mill employees do not work continuously for 1 whole year
but only for the duration of the growing or the sugarcane or the milling season. Their seasonal
work, however, does not detract from considering them in regular employment.