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782 Phil. 230
SECOND DIVISION
[ G.R. No. 205703, March 07, 2016 ]
INDUSTRIAL PERSONNEL & MANAGEMENT SERVICES, INC.
(IPAMS), SNC LAVALIN ENGINEERS & CONTRACTORS, INC. AND
ANGELITO C. HERNANDEZ, PETITIONERS, VS. JOSE G. DE VERA
AND ALBERTO B. ARRIOLA, RESPONDENTS.
DECISION
MENDOZA, J.:
When can a foreign law govern an overseas employment contract? This is the fervent
question that the Court shall resolve, once and for all.
This petition for review on certiorari seeks to reverse and set aside the January 24,
2013 Decision[1] of the Court of Appeals (CA) in CA-G.R. SP No. 118869, which
modified the November 30, 2010 Decision[2] of the National Labor Relations
Commission (NLRC) and its February 2, 2011 Resolution,[3] in NLRC LAC Case No. 08000572-10/NLRC Case No. NCR 09-13563-09, a case for illegal termination of an
Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW).
The Facts
Petitioner Industrial Personnel & Management Services, Inc. (IPAMS) is a local
placement agency duly organized and existing under Philippine laws, with petitioner
Angelito C. Hernandez as its president and managing director. Petitioner SNC Lavalin
Engineers & Contractors, Inc. (SNC-Lavalin) is the principal of IPAMS, a Canadian
company with business interests in several countries. On the other hand, respondent
Alberto Arriola (Arriola) is a licensed general surgeon in the Philippines.[4]
Employee's Position
Arriola was offered by SNC-Lavalin, through its letter,[5] dated May 1, 2008, the
position of Safety Officer in its Ambatovy Project site in Madagascar. The position
offered had a rate of CA$32.00 per hour for forty (40) hours a week with overtime pay
in excess of forty (40) hours. It was for a period of nineteen (19) months starting from
June 9, 2008 to December 31, 2009.
Arriola was then hired by SNC-Lavalin, through its local manning agency, IPAMS, and
his overseas employment contract was processed with the Philippine Overseas
Employment Agency (POEA)[6] In a letter of understanding,[7] dated June 5, 2008,
SNC-Lavalin confirmed Arriola's assignment in the Ambatovy Project. According to
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