Case Digest: Tabang v. NLRC, G.R. No. 121143, January 21, 1997

 Labor Law | Powers and Duties 

• Purificacion Tabang was a founding member, a member of the Board of Trustees, and the corporate secretary of Pamana Golden Care Medical Center Foundation, Inc., a non-stock corporation engaged in extending medical and surgical services.
• In October 1990, she was appointed as Medical Director and Hospital Administrator claiming a monthly retainer fee of P5,000, allegedly stopped in November 1991.
• In 1993, she was informed of her removal. She then filed a complaint for illegal dismissal and non-payment of wages and allowances before the Labor Arbiter.
• Corporation filed a motion to dismiss.
• Ground: Lack of jurisdiction over the subject matter.
• Her dismissal was intra-corporate controversy and within SEC's domain.
• LA: Dismissed the complaint for lack of jurisdiction
• NLRC: Affirmed the dismissal.
• The position of a Medical Director and Hospital Administrator is akin to that of an executive position in a corporate ladder structure.

WoN the SEC has jurisdiction over the case. YES

Aggrieved by the decision, petitioner filed the instant petition which we find, however, to be without merit.

We agree with the findings of the NLRC that it is the SEC which has jurisdiction over the case at bar. The charges against herein private respondent partake of the nature of an intra-corporate controversy. Similarly, the determination of the rights of petitioner and the concomitant liability of private respondent arising from her ouster as a medical director and/or hospital administrator, which are corporate offices, is an intra-corporate controversy subject to the jurisdiction of the SEC.

Contrary to the contention of petitioner, a medical director and a hospital administrator are considered as corporate officers under the by-laws of respondent corporation. Section 2(i), Article I thereof states that one of the powers of the Board of Trustees is "(t)o appoint a Medical Director, Comptroller/Administrator, Chiefs of Services and such other officers as it may deem necessary and prescribe their powers and duties."

The president, vice-president, secretary and treasurer are commonly regarded as the principal or executive officers of a corporation, and modern corporation statutes usually designate them as the officers of the corporation. However, other offices are sometimes created by the charter or by-laws of a corporation, or the board of directors may be empowered under the by-laws of a corporation to create additional offices as may be necessary. It has been held that an "office'' is created by the charter of the corporation and the officer is elected by the directors or stockholders. On the other hand, an "employee" usually occupies no office and generally is employed not by action of the directors or stockholders but by the managing officer of the corporation who also determines the compensation to be paid to such employee. 

In the case at bar, considering that herein petitioner, unlike an ordinary employee, was appointed by respondent corporation's Board of Trustees in its memorandum of October 30, 1990, 9 she is deemed an officer of the corporation. Perforce, Section 5(c) of Presidential Decree No. 902-A, which provides that the SEC exercises exclusive jurisdiction over controversies in the election appointment of directors, trustees, officers or managers of corporations, partnerships or associations, applies in the present dispute. Accordingly, jurisdiction over the same is vested in the SEC, and not in the Labor Arbiter or the NLRC.

Moreover, the allegation of petitioner that her being a member of the Board of Trustees was not one of the considerations for her appointment is belied by the tenor of the memorandum itself. It states: "We hope that you will uphold and promote the mission of our foundation," and this cannot be construed other than in reference to her position or capacity as a corporate trustee.

A corporate officer's dismissal is always a corporate act, or an intra-corporate controversy, and the nature is not altered by the reason or wisdom with which the Board of Directors may have in taking such action. Also, an intra-corporate controversy is one which arises between a stockholder and the corporation. There is no distinction, qualification, nor any exemption whatsoever. The provision is broad and covers all kinds of controversies between stockholders and corporations. 12

With regard to the amount of P5,000,00 formerly received by herein petitioner every month, the same cannot be considered as compensation for her services rendered as Medical Director and Hospital Administrator. The vouchers submitted by petitioner show that the said amount was paid to her by PAMANA, Inc., a stock corporation which is separate and distinct from herein private respondent. Although the payments were considered advances to Pamana Golden Care, Calamba branch, there is no evidence to show that the Pamana Golden Care stated in the vouchers refers to herein respondent Pamana Golden Care Medical Center Foundation, Inc.

Pamana Golden Care is a division of Pamana, Inc., while respondent Pamana Golden Care Medical Center Foundation, Inc. is a non-stock, non-profit corporation. It is stated in the memorandum of petitioner that Pamana, Inc. is a stock and profit corporation selling pre-need plan for education, pension and health care. The health care plan is called Pamana Golden Care Plan and the holders are called Pamana Golden Care Card Holders or, simply, Pamana Members. 

It is an admitted fact that herein petitioner is a retained physician of Pamana, Inc., whose patients are holders of the Pamana Golden Care Card. In fact, in her complaint filed before the Regional Trial Court of Calamba, herein petitioner is asking among others, for professional fees and/or retainer fees earned for her treatment of Pamana Golden Care card holders. Thus, at most, said vouchers can only be considered as proof of payment of retainer fees made by Pamana, Inc. to herein petitioner as a retained physician of Pamana Golden Care.

Moreover, even assuming that the monthly payment of P5,000.00 was a valid claim against respondent corporation, this would not operate to effectively remove this case from the jurisdiction of the SEC. In the case of Cagayan de Oro Coliseum, Inc. vs. Office of the Minister of Labor and Employment, etc., et al., we ruled that "(a)lthough the reliefs sought by Chavez appear to fall under the jurisdiction of the labor arbiter as they are claims for unpaid salaries and other remunerations for services rendered, a close scrutiny thereof shows that said claims are actually part of the perquisites of his position in, and therefore interlinked with, his relations with the corporation. In Dy, et al., vs. NLRC, et al., the Court said: "(t)he question of remuneration involving as it does, a person who is not a mere employee but a stockholder and officer, an integral part, it might be said, of the corporation, is not a simple labor problem but a matter that comes within the area of corporate affairs and management and is in fact a corporate controversy in contemplation of the Corporation Code."

WHEREFORE, the questioned resolution of the NLRC is hereby AFFIRMED, without prejudice to petitioner's taking recourse to and seeking relief through the appropriate remedy in the proper forum.