MORALES, MARIVIC A.

Case No. 30

Labor Law II Block A

PEPSI-COLA BOTTLING COMPANY et. al., vs HON. JUDGE ANTONIO M. MARTINEZ, et. al.,

G.R. No. L-58877 March 15, 1982

FACTS:

Respondent Abraham Tumala, Jr. was salesman petitioner company in Davao City. In the annual
Sumakwel contest conducted by the company, he was declared the winner of the Lapu-Lapu
Award for his performance as top salesman of the year, an award which entitled him to a prize
of a house and lot. Petitioner company, despite demands, have unjustly refused to deliver said
prize.
It was alleged that in 1980, petitioner company, in a manner oppressive to labor and without
prior clearance from the Ministry of Labor, arbitrarily and illegally terminated his employment.
Hence, Tumala filed a complaint in the CFI Davao and prayed that petitioner be ordered to
deliver his prize of house and lot or its cash equivalent, and to pay his back salaries and
separation benefits.
Petitioner moved to dismiss the complaint on grounds of lack of jurisdiction. Respondent Tumala
maintains that the controversy is triable exclusively by the court of general jurisdiction
ISSUE:
Whether it is the court of general jurisdiction and not the Labor Arbiter that has exclusive
jurisdiction over the recovery of unpaid salaries, separation and damages
HELD:
NO. SC ruled that the Labor Arbiter has exclusive jurisdiction over the case. Jurisdiction over the
subject matter is conferred by the sovereign authority which organizes the court; and it is given
by law. Jurisdiction is never presumed; it must be conferred by law in words that do not admit
of doubt.
Under the Labor Code, the NLRC has the exclusive jurisdiction over claims, money or
otherwise, arising from ER-EE relations, except those expressly excluded therefrom. The claim
for the said prize unquestionable arose from an ER-EE relation and, therefore, falls within the
coverage of P.D. 1691, which speaks of all claims arising from ER-EE relations, unless
expressly excluded by this Code. To hold that Tumalas claim for the prize should be passed
upon by the regular courts of justice would be to sanction split jurisdiction and multiplicity of
suits which are prejudicial to the orderly of administration of justice.