PHILIPPINE ASSOCIATION OF FREE LABOR UNIONS (PAFLU), PETITIONER, VS. THE BUREAU OF LABOR RELATIONS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR AND/OR ITS AGENT, RESPONDENT.

This
is an original petition filed in this Court by the Philippine
Association of Free Labor Unions (PAFLU), praying for an order
“enjoining the Bureau of Labor Relations and/or any of its agents to
desist from conducting the holding of a certification election among
the workers of Insular Lumber Company at Fabrica, Negros Occidental on
June 28, 1963, until after the Honorable Court of Industrial Relations
shall have resolved the Allied Workers Association’s motion for
reconsideration and your petitioner’s ‘Urgent Motion to Hold in
Abeyance the Holding of Certification Election'”.

It is
alleged that petitioner Paflu and the Allied Workers Association filed
separate motions in the Court of Industrial Relations, to hold in
abeyance the enforcement of its order of May 31, 1963 (in Cases Nos.
63-MC and 64-MC), calling for the holding of certification election to
determine the proper collective bargaining agent or employer unit for
the workers of Insular Lumber Company, which election would be
participated in by herein petitioner union and 3 others having members
among the workers. The unions, in these motions, claimed that the
holding of election among the workers of the company at Fabrica, Negros
Occidental, would deprive those working in its South Negros operations
at Hinoba-an, Negros Occidental, of their right to participate in the
selection of their bargaining representative. Since the certification
elections, as directed in the order of the Industrial Court, was set
for June 28, 1963 by the Bureau of Labor Relations (the office in
charge of the enforcement of that order) and as of June 25, 1963, the
aforementioned motions of the unions still remained unresolved, the
present petition was filed on the latter date, obviously with a view to
preventing the holding of the scheduled certification election.

This
petition was given due course and the respondent Bureau of Labor
Relations was required to answer the allegations thereof, but no
preliminary restraining order was issued by this Court against the
enforcement of the directive to hold the elections as scheduled, on
June 28, 1963. The respondent Bureau of Labor Relations failed to file
an answer and the parties did not file any brief. When this case was
called for hearing on December 11, 1963, none of the parties appeared.

The
issue in these cases is whether the certification election to determine
the proper collective bargaining representative for the workers of the
Insular Lumber Company should be held on June 28, 1963, before the
motions of the unions, pending before the Industrial Court, were
resolved. Considering that nearly three years had passed since the
scheduled-date for the holding of the elections without the parties
informing this Court of any action that had been taken in the premises,
and in view of the failure of the parties to present any other issue,
these cases may now be dismissed for lack of justiciable controversy.
No costs. So ordered.

Bengzon, C.J., Bautista Angelo, Concepcion, Reyes, J.B.L., Dizon, Regala, Makalintal, Bengzon, J.P., and Sanchez, JJ., concur.