General Milling Corporation vs. Torres

196 SCRA 215 [G.R No. 9366, April 22, 1991]

FACTS:

Earl Timothy Cone is a US citizen, who was hired by General Milling as a sports consultant and assistant coach. He possessed an alien employment permit which was changed to pre-arranged employee by the Board of Special Inquiry of the Commission on Immigration and Deportation. GMC requested that Cone’s employment permit be changed to a full-fledged coach, which was contested by The Basketball Coaches Association of the Philippines. Alleging that GMC failed to show that there is no competent person in the Philippines to do the coaching job. Secretary of Labor cancelled Cone’s employment permit.

ISSUE:

Whether or not the Secretary of Labor act with grave abuse of discretion in revoking Cone’s Alien Employment Permit?

HELD:

The Secretary of Labor did not act with grave abuse of discretion in revoking Cone’s Alien Employment Permit. GMC’s claim that hiring of a foreign coach is an employer’s prerogative has no legal basis. Under Section 40 of the Labor Code, an employer seeking employment of an alien must first obtain an employment permit from the Department of labor.

GMC’s right to choose whom to employ is limited by the statutory requirement of an employment permit. The Labor Code empowers the Labor Secretary to determine as to the availability of the services of a “person in the Philippines who is competent, able and willing at the time of the application to perform the services for which an alien is desired.” DOLE is the agency vested with jurisdiction to determine the question of availability of local workers.