On 1 September 1997, petitioner filed a Complaint against respondent Skills
International before the NLRC claiming that he was illegally dismissed from
service by his foreign employer, Wallan Al Wallan. In his Complaint,[4] petitioner
sought the payment of the following: unpaid salaries for one and one-half months;
refund of his plane fare; illegal deductions; attorney’s fees and litigation expenses;
and moral and exemplary damages. The complaint was amended on 2 October
1997[5] to impleadrespondents
Maher Daas, Marivic Daas,
and Wallan Al Wallan. Petitioner likewise sought the payment of these items: the
six and one-half months unexpired portion of his contract; refund of the amount of
5,000.00 Saudi Riyals allegedly deducted from his salary; unpaid overtime pay and
medical care.
In his Position Paper,[6] petitioner alleged that his employment was illegally
terminated on 14 April 1997 in gross violation of the Constitution and of the Labor
Code. Because of this, he claimed that he was entitled to receive payment for the
unexpired portion of his employment agreement as well as moral, exemplary, and
nominal damages, and attorney’s fees.
For its part, respondent Skills International alleged that it previously
deployed petitioner for work abroad in April 1995 until he came home in July
1996. Later on, petitioner met his new employer at respondent Skills
International’s office in Malate,Manila. Respondent Skills International, however,
clarified that petitioner’s new employer, Wallan Al Wallan, was not its accredited
principal. This being the case, it argued that petitioner did not have any cause of
action against it because as a recruitment agency, it could only be
held solidarily liable with the employer if the latter is an accredited principal of the
agency. Respondent Skills International also averred that petitioner’s deployment
was processed under the Balik Manggagawa program of the government so that he
could immediately return to work abroad.[7]
On 31 July 1998, Labor Arbiter Felipe Pati rendered a Decision[8] dismissing
the case for lack of merit stating that if there was anyone liable for petitioner’s
illegal dismissal, it was none other than his foreign employer, Wallan Al Wallan.
Petitioner then filed an appeal with the NLRC but the same was resolved
against him[9] prompting petitioner to elevate his case to the Court of Appeals. In