In February 1990, Earl Timothy Cone (popularly known as Coach Tim Cone) was given an alien employment permit to be the head coach of Alaska, a basketball team competing in the Philippine Basketball Association. Alaska was owned by General Milling Corporation.
Upon opposition by the Basketball Coaches Association of the Philippines (BCAP), the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), through Secretary Ruben Torres, revoked Tim Cone’s permit as head coach on the ground that it appears that he is a non-resident alien and as such before he may be allowed to work as a head coach for a PBA team, there must be showing that “there is no person in the Philippines who is competent, able and willing to perform the services required nor that the hiring of Cone would redound to the national interest” in accordance with Article 40 of the Labor Code.
ISSUE: Whether or not Tim Cone may work as head coach for a PBA team.
HELD: No. The Secretary of Labor is correct. Tim Cone failed to show that no other Filipino is qualified for the head coaching job.
At that time, Norman Black, also an alien was a head coach for a PBA team, why was he allowed a head coaching job?
As pointed out by the Solicitor-General, no comparison can be made between Cone and Mr. Norman Black as the latter is “a long time resident of the country,” and thus, not subject to the provisions of Article 40 of the Labor Code which apply only to “non-resident aliens.”
TRIVIA: Tim Cone, who spent most of his childhood years in the Philippines, married his longtime Filipina girlfriend. He was later allowed head coaching job and the rest, as they say, is history.
