4/9/2020 E-Library - Information At Your Fingertips: Printer Friendly The contract of employment entered into by the plaintiffs and the defendant C.F. Sharp is an actionable document, the same contract having the essential requisites for its validity. It is worthy to note that there are three stages of a contract: (1) preparation, conception, or generation which is the period of negotiation and bargaining ending at the moment of agreement of the parties. (2) Perfection or birth of the contract, which is the moment when the parties come to agree on the terms of the contract. (3) Consummation or death, which is the fulfillment or performance of the terms agreed upon in the contract. Hence, it is imperative to know the stage reached by the contract entered into by the plaintiffs and C.F. sharp. Based on the testimonies of the witnesses presented in this Court, there was already a perfected contract between plaintiffs and defendant C.F. Sharp. Under Article 1315 of the New Civil Code of the Philippines, it states that: xxxx Thus, when plaintiffs signed the contract of employment with C.F. Sharp (as agent of the principal WB Slough) consequently, the latter is under obligation to deploy the plaintiffs, which is the natural effect and consequence of the contract agreed by them.[8] We agree. As correctly ruled at the trial, contracts undergo three distinct stages, to wit: negotiation; perfection or birth; and consummation. Negotiation begins from the time the prospective contracting parties manifest their interest in the contract and ends at the moment of agreement of the parties. Perfection or birth of the contract takes place when the parties agree upon the essential elements of the contract. Consummation occurs when the parties fulfill or perform the terms agreed upon in the contract, culminating in the extinguishment thereof.[9] Under Article 1315 of the Civil Code, a contract is perfected by mere consent and from that moment the parties are bound not only to the fulfillment of what has been expressly stipulated but also to all the consequences which, according to their nature, may be in keeping with good faith, usage and law.[10] An employment contract, like any other contract, is perfected at the moment (1) the parties come to agree upon its terms; and (2) concur in the essential elements thereof: (a) consent of the contracting parties, (b) object certain which is the subject matter of the contract and (c) cause of the obligation.[11] We have scoured through the Contract of Employment and we hold that it is a perfected contract of employment. We reproduce below the terms of the Contract of Employment for easy reference: elibrary.judiciary.gov.ph/thebookshelf/showdocsfriendly/1/21758 5/11