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against the employer or agency that has failed to deploy him.[20]
Considering that it was petitioner who entered into the contract of employment with
respondent for and on behalf of the foreign principal, it has the primary obligation to
ensure the implementation of that contract. Furthermore, in line with the policy of
the state to protect and alleviate the plight of the working class, Section 1,
paragraph f (3) of Rule II of the POEA Rules and Regulations,[21] clearly provides
that the private employment agency shall assume joint and solidary liability with the
employer. Indeed, this Court has consistently held that private employment agencies
are held jointly and severally liable with the foreign-based employer for any violation
of the recruitment agreement or contract of employment.[22] This joint and solidary
liability imposed by law on recruitment agencies and foreign employers is meant to
assure the aggrieved worker of immediate and sufficient payment of what is due
him.[23]
In sum, the failure to deploy respondent was an exercise of a management
prerogative that went beyond its limits and resulted in a breach of contract. In turn,
petitioner's breach gave rise to respondent's cause of action to claim actual damages
for the pecuniary loss suffered by the latter in the form of the loss of nine months'
worth of salary as provided in the POEA-approved contract of employment.
WHEREFORE, premises considered, the instant Petition is DENIED.
SO ORDERED.
Leonardo-De Castro, Bersamin, *Villarama, Jr., and Perez, JJ., concur.
* Designated additional member in lieu of Associate Justice Estela M. Perlas-Bernabe
per S.O. No. 1885 dated 24 November 2014.
[1] Rollo, pp. 10-31.
[2] Id. at 36-48; penned by Associate Justice Antonio L. Villamor and concurred in by
Associate Justices Jose C. Reyes, Jr. and Samuel H. Gaerlan.
[3] Id. at 34-35.
[4] CA rollo, pp. 32-35.
[5] Id.
[6] CA Decision, rollo, p. 37.
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