G.R. No. 129049 – 370 Phil. 901; 96 OG No. 52 – 312 SCRA 47 – Mercantile Law – Corporation Law – Government Owned and Controlled Corporation vs Private Corporation
Baltazar Camporedondo was the administrator of the Surigao del Norte chapter of the Philippine National Red Cross (PNRC). In 1995, a PNRC auditor found out that Baltazar had unremitted collections amounting to P109,000.00. Baltazar, unable to restitute said missing amount, then filed for early retirement. He later filed a complaint for illegal dismissal against PNRC. He filed the case with the National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC). He averred that he was forced to retire because of the erroneous audit. The Labor Arbiter, affirmed by the NLRC, ruled that it has no jurisdiction over the case because PNRC is a government owned and controlled corporation (GOCC). Baltazar however argues that PNRC impliedly became a private corporation when its charter was amended to give it authority to secure loans, etc.
ISSUE: Whether or not the Philippine National Red Cross is a private corporation.
HELD: No. The simple test is to find out whether or not a corporation is public or private is to determine if it has its own charter for the exercise of a public function or was it incorporated under the general corporation law. PNRC has its own charter (R.A. 95). Its subsequent amendment did not convert it into a private corporation. As a GOCC, it is subject to its own charter and its employees are under the jurisdiction of the Civil Service Commission, and are compulsory members of the Government Service Insurance System.
