4/29/2020 E-Library - Information At Your Fingertips: Printer Friendly omission any claim for illegal dismissal. Third, the CA, in its assailed decision, likewise made the very same inference – that the fishing operations ceased as a result of a business decision of Van Doorn and of its partners. In other words, the manner of dismissal was not a contested issue; the records clearly showed that the respondents’ employment was terminated because Van Doorn and its partners simply decided to stop their fishing operations in the exercise of their management prerogative, which prerogative even our labor laws recognize. We confirm in this regard that, by law and subject to the State’s corollary right to review its determination,[37] management has the right to regulate the business and control its every aspect.[38] Included in this management right is the freedom to close or cease its operations for any reason, as long as it is done in good faith and the employer faithfully complies with the substantive and procedural requirements laid down by law and jurisprudence.[39] Article 283 of our Labor Code provides: Art. 283. Closure of establishment and reduction of personnel. - The employer may also terminate the employment of any employee due to the installation of labor-saving devices, redundancy, retrenchment to prevent losses or the closing or cessation of operation of the establishment or undertaking unless the closing is for the purpose of circumventing the provisions of this Title, by serving a written notice on the workers and the [Department of Labor and Employment] at least one (1) month before the intended date thereof. x x x In case of retrenchment to prevent losses and in cases of closures or cessation of operations of establishment or undertaking not due to serious business losses or financial reverses, the separation pay shall be equivalent to one (1) month pay or at least one-half (1/2) month pay for every year of service, whichever is higher. A fraction of at least six (6) months shall be considered as one (1) whole year. [Italics, underscores and emphases ours] This provision applies in the present case as under the contract the employer and the workers signed and submitted to the Philippine Overseas Employment Agency (POEA), the Philippine labor law expressly applies. This legal reality is reiterated under Section 18-B, paragraph 2,[40] in relation with Section 23[41] of the POEA Standard Employment Contract (POEA-SEC) (which is deemed written into every overseas employment contract) which recognizes the validity of the cessation of the business operations as a valid ground for the termination of an overseas employment. This recognition is subject to compliance with the following requisites: 1. The decision to close or cease operations must be bona fide in character; elibrary.judiciary.gov.ph/thebookshelf/showdocsfriendly/1/55926 7/14