FIRST DIVISION
[G.R. No. 242085. January 14, 2019.]
ALSTER INTERNATIONAL SHIPPING SERVICES, INC. AND JOHANN MK BLUMENTHAL GMBH REEDEREI, petitioners,vs. ELMER H. ACOSTA, respondent.
NOTICE
Sirs/Mesdames :
Please take notice that the Court, First Division, issued a Resolution dated January 14, 2019 which reads as follows:
"G.R. No. 242085 (Alster International Shipping Services, Inc. and Johann MK Blumenthal GMBH Reederei v. Elmer H. Acosta). — After review, the Court resolves to DENY the petition for failure to sufficiently show that the Court of Appeals (CA) committed any reversible error in its assailed Decision, finding respondent illegally dismissed and rightfully entitled to indemnity. With respect to the proper amount of indemnity due him, the provision of law, restricting wages recoverable by illegally dismissed overseas workers to three months only, having been struck down twice for its unconstitutionality, 1 there is no more coherent legal basis for restricting the unpaid salaries award in favor of respondent to an amount equivalent to three months' worth of work only. Hence, respondent is entitled to the payment of unpaid salaries equivalent to the remaining unexpired portion of his employment contract.
Anent the other issues raised, elementary is the principle that this Court is not a trier of facts, and only errors of law are generally reviewed in petitions for review on certiorari of decisions of the CA. In labor cases, this doctrine applies with even greater force, 2 where factual questions are for labor tribunals to resolve. 3 The findings of fact of quasi-judicial bodies like the National Labor Relations Commission are accorded with respect, even finality, if supported by substantial evidence. When further passed upon and upheld by the CA, they are binding and conclusive upon the Supreme Court and will not normally be disturbed save for exceptional circumstances which are not obtained in this case.
WHEREFORE, premises considered, the petition is DENIED. The assailed Decision dated April 24, 2018 and Resolution dated September 13, 2018 issued by the Court of Appeals in CA-G.R. SP No. 135646 are hereby AFFIRMED.
SO ORDERED."
Very truly yours,
(SGD.) LIBRADA C. BUENADivision Clerk of Court
Footnotes
1. See Serrano v. Gallant Maritime Services, Inc. G.R. No. 167614, March 24, 2009, 582 SCRA 255.
2.San Juan De Dios Educational Foundation Employees Union-Alliance of Filipino Workers v. San Juan De Dios Educational Foundation, Inc., G.R. No. 143341, May 28, 2004, 430 SCRA 193, 205.
3.Masangcay v. Trans-Global Maritime Agency, Inc., G.R. No. 172800, October 17, 2008, 569 SCRA 592, 606.