To address the issue on the finality of decisions of the National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC), the Commission en banc has recently issued a resolution which forms as a supplement to its provisions in the 2011 NLRC Rules of Procedures.  As resolved by the Commission en banc, if the date of receipt by the counsel or authorized representative or the parties is not reflected in the return card and there is no other proof of receipt,  1)  the decision of the Commission is considered final and in effect on the 10th day from receipt of the return card  by the concerned Division for as long as this 10th day is not beyond sixty (60) days from posting, otherwise, the general rule applies; and 2) the admission as to the date of receipt in any pleading filed with the higher court shall only be considered if it is reiterated/asserted in a manifestation filed with the NLRC, and the sixty (60) day period from posting has not yet expired.

NLRC recommends filling-in of 15 Labor Arbiter positions

      In a January 2012 decision, the Supreme Court ruled that the NLRC cannot be accused of grave abuse of discretion because under the NLRC Rules of Procedure, the NLRC shall limit itself to reviewing and deciding only the issues that were elevated on appeal.

       “The NLRC, while not totally bound by technical rules of procedure, is not licensed to disregard and violate the implementing rules it implemented,” the Court said.

      In line with the strategy under the Philippine Labor and Employment Plan 2011-2016 to ensure transparency and accountability in dispute settlement by posting the status of labor cases at the DOLE and NLRC websites, the NLRC has developed a computer program to provide a comprehensive database of all cases at the Regional Arbitration Branches.

Project SpeED was designed to achieve a 98% disposition rate of all cases in the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and its attached agencies, which includes the National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC) by April 30, 2011 as directed by President Benigno “Noynoy” S. Aquino III.

While the NLRC’s Performance Report details the participation in the Project SpeED (Speedy and Efficient Delivery of Labor Justice) 1, 2 and 3 which aimed to dispose cases within seven (7) months from filing at the Regional Arbitration Branches (RABs) or from receipt of appealed case records in the Commission Proper, the Secretariat - National Conciliation and Mediation Board (NCMB), in its Final Report on Project SpeED, reported that out of 54,630 enrolled cases, 53,556 or 98% were successfully disposed of by the NLRC. This is so because the NLRC, under the stewardship of Chairman Gerardo C. Nograles, has been persistent in pursuing the reforms to continuously improve its services, and focused on its core mission of speedy and impartial adjudication and arbitration of labor and management disputes.

Significantly, among the bureaus and agencies tasked to implement the Project SpeED, the NLRC accomplished the highest number and percentage of enrolled and disposed cases. The table below shows the individual performances: