Tabang VS Nlrc.

SECOND DIVISION
[G.R. No. 121143. January 21, 1997]

PURIFICACION G. TABANG, petitioner,
vs.
NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS COMMISSION and PAMANA GOLDEN
CARE MEDICAL CENTER FOUNDATION, INC., respondents.
REGALADO, J.:
This is a petition for certiorari which seeks to annul the resolution of the
National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC), dated June 26, 1995,
affirming in toto the order of the labor arbiter, dated April 26, 1994, which
dismissed petitioners complaint for illegal dismissal with money claims
for lack of jurisdiction.
The records show that petitioner Purificacion Tabang was a founding
member, a member of the Board of Trustees, and the corporate
secretary of private respondent Pamana Golden Care Medical Center
Foundation, Inc., a non-stock corporation engaged in extending
medical and surgical services.
On October 30, 1990, the Board of Trustees issued a memorandum
appointing petitioner as Medical Director and Hospital Administrator of
private respondents Pamana Golden Care Medical Center in Calamba,
Laguna.
Although the memorandum was silent as to the amount of
remuneration for the position, petitioner claims that she received a
monthly retainer fee of five thousand pesos (P5,000.00) from private
respondent, but the payment thereof was allegedly stopped in
November, 1991.
As medical director and hospital administrator, petitioner was tasked to run
the affairs of the aforesaid medical center and perform all acts of
administration relative to its daily operations.
On May 1, 1993, petitioner was allegedly informed personally by Dr.
Ernesto Naval that in a special meeting held on April 30, 1993, the Board
of Trustees passed a resolution relieving her of her position as Medical
Director and Hospital Administrator, and appointing the latter and Dr.
Benjamin Donasco as acting Medical Director and acting Hospital
Administrator, respectively. Petitioner averred that she thereafter received a
copy of said board resolution.
On June 6, 1993, petitioner filed a complaint for illegal dismissal and
non-payment of wages, allowances and 13th month pay before the
labor arbiter.
Respondent corporation moved for the dismissal of the complaint on
the ground of lack of jurisdiction over the subject matter. It argued that
petitioners position as Medical Director and Hospital Administrator was
interlinked with her position as member of the Board of Trustees, hence, her
dismissal is an intra-corporate controversy which falls within the exclusive
jurisdiction of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Petitioner opposed the motion to dismiss, contending that her position as
Medical Director and Hospital Administrator was separate and distinct from
her position as member of the Board of Trustees. She claimed that there is
no intra-corporate controversy involved since she filed the complaint in her
capacity as Medical Director and Hospital Administrator, or as an employee
of private respondent.
On April 26, 1994, the labor arbiter issued an order dismissing the
complaint for lack of jurisdiction. He ruled that the case falls within the
jurisdiction of the SEC, pursuant to Section 5 of Presidential Decree No.
902-A. [1]
Petitioners motion for reconsideration was treated as an appeal by the
labor arbiter who consequently ordered the elevation of the entire
records of the case to public respondent NLRC for appellate review. [2]
On appeal, respondent NLRC affirmed the dismissal of the case on the
additional ground that the position of a Medical Director and Hospital
Administrator is akin to that of an executive position in a corporate
ladder structure, hence, petitioners removal from the said position was
an intra-corporate controversy within the original and exclusive
jurisdiction of the SEC. [3]
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 intracorporate 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. [4]
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.[5] 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.[6]
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.[7] 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.[8]
In the case at bar, considering that herein petitioner, unlike an ordinary
employee, was appointed by respondent corporations 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 or 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,[10] and this
cannot be construed other than in reference to her position or capacity
as a corporate trustee.
A corporate officers dismissal is always a corporate act , or an intracorporate controversy, and the nature is not altered by the reason or
wisdom with which the Board of Directors may have in taking such
action.[11] 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 [13] 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. [14]
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 [15] 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.[16] 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 mnthly 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.,[17] 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 petitioners taking recourse to and seeking
relief through the appropriate remedy in the proper forum.
SO ORDERED.

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SECOND DIVISION

[G.R. No. 121143. January 21, 1997]

considered as proof of payment of retainer fees made by Pamana, Inc.

said: (t)he question of remuneration involving as it does, a person who

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