6/30/2021
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3, 2018[21] within which to file the petition. Instead, petitioner filed the same only on
December 4, 2018 and through a private courier, in violation of Section 4, Rule 43 of
the Rules of Court.[22]
Petitioner's motion for reconsideration was denied in a Resolution[23] dated May 9,
2019; hence, this petition.
The Issue Before the Court
For the purpose of resolving this petition, the Court will limit the issue to whether or
not the CA correctly dismissed the petition for having been filed out of time.
The Court's Ruling
The petition is meritorious.
In the 2018 case of Guagua National Colleges vs. CA[24] (Guagua), the Court
acknowledged the variance in its rulings and categorically declared that the correct
period to appeal the decision or award of the Voluntary Arbitrator or Panel of Arbitrators
to the CA via a petition for review under Rule 43 of the Rules of Court is the fifteen
(15)-day period set forth in Section 4[25] thereof reckoned from notice or receipt of the
VA's resolution on the motion for reconsideration, and that the ten (10)-day period
provided in Article 276[26] of the Labor Code refers to the period within which an
aggrieved party may file said motion for reconsideration, to wit:
Given the variable rulings of the Court, what should now be the period to be
followed in appealing the decisions or awards of the Voluntary Arbitrators or
Panel of Arbitrators?
In the 2010 ruling in Teng v. Pagahac, the Court clarified that the 10-day
period set in Article 276 of the Labor Code gave the aggrieved parties the
opportunity to file their motion for reconsideration, which was more in
keeping with the principle of exhaustion of administrative remedies, holding
thusly:
In the exercise of its power to promulgate implementing rules
and regulations, an implementing agency, such as the
Department of Labor, is restricted from going beyond the terms
of the law it seeks to implement; it should neither modify nor
improve the law. The agency formulating the rules and guidelines
cannot exceed the statutory authority granted to it by the
legislature.
By allowing a 10-day period, the obvious intent of
Congress in amending Article 263 to Article 262-A is to
provide an opportunity for the party adversely affected by
the VA's decision to seek recourse via a motion for
reconsideration or a petition for review under Rule 43 of
the Rules of Court filed with the CA. Indeed, a motion for
reconsideration is the more appropriate remedy in line
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