MANILA, Philippines – The Supreme Court (SC) has allowed the increase of overtime pay and other allowances of Bureau of Customs (BOC) personnel assigned at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA).
In a 28-page ruling released last week, the SC’s second division declared Customs Administrative Order (CAO) No. 1 in 2005 as constitutional.
The order required airline companies belonging to the Board of Airlines (BAR) to increase the pay of Customs personnel in the airports.
The CAO had doubled the overtime pay and travel, board and lodging expenses and/or meal allowance of BOC personnel at the NAIA from their original pay since 1992.
Covered by the order are members of BAR: Asiana Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Cebu Pacific, China Airlines, China Southern Airlines, Continental Micronesia Airlines, Emirates, Etihad Airways, Eva Air Airways, Federal Express Corp., Gulf Air, Japan Airlines, Air France, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Korean Air, Kuwait Airways, Lufthansa German Airlines, Malaysia Airlines, Northwest Airlines, Philippine Airlines, Qantas Airlines, Qatar Airlines, Royal Brunei Airlines, Singapore Airlines, Swiss International Airlines, Saudi Arabian Airlines and Thai International Airways.
The SC ruling reversed an earlier decision issued by the Court of Appeals in October last year, which declared the Customs order unconstitutional.
The new Customs order, which amended CAO No. 7 in 1992, was promulgated pursuant to Section 3506 of the Tariff and Customs Code of the Philippines (TCCP) that the appellate court also declared as “unenforceable” against the BAR members.
Section 3506 states that “Customs officials may be assigned by a collector to do overtime work at rates fixed by the Commissioner of Customs when the service rendered is to be paid for by importers, shippers, or other persons served.”
Contrary to the findings of the CA, the SC held that this rule covers airline companies, aircraft owners and operators.
The SC stressed the compensation of BOC personnel from airlines does not violate Section 8, Article IX (B) of the Constitution, which provides that an appointive public officer or employee “is prohibited from receiving additional, double or indirect compensation, unless specifically authorized by law.”
“The overtime pay, travel and meal allowances are payment for additional work rendered after regular office hours and do not constitute double compensation prohibited under Section 8, Article IX (B) of the 1987 Constitution as they are in fact authorized by law or Section 3506 of the TCCP,” the SC explained.
The SC noted the term “other persons served” refers to all other persons served by the BOC employees.
“Airline companies, aircraft owners, and operators are among other persons served by the BOC employees. As pointed out by the OSG (Office of the Solicitor General), the processing of embarking and disembarking from aircrafts of passengers, as well as their baggage and cargoes, forms part of the BOC functions.”
The SC said Customs employees who serve beyond the regular office hours are entitled to overtime pay for the services they render.
The BAR, according to the SC, also cannot claim that it was denied due process in the imposition of the increase of the overtime rate as they and the Airline Operators Council participated in several meetings conducted prior to the issuance of the Customs administrative order.
The BAR has been opposing the implementation of CAO 1-2205, claiming it would aggravate the already high operating cost paid by the airlines which are still reeling from the impact of consecutive negative global events and the unprecedented increase in fuel prices.
Under CAO 7-92, the BOC officers and employees at NAIA were to receive P30-38 hourly overtime pay, P50 traveling allowance per way, and P50 allowance per meal.
On the other hand, under CAO 1-2005, the hourly overtime pay of BOC officers and employees would range from P66 to P83, P110 flat rate for traveling allowance and P110 allowance per meal.
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By: Edu Punay
Source: The Philippine Star, Sept. 29, 2011
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