Egypt vs. Fertile Crescent Essay

During the early dynastic period, the early River Civilizations had just come to be. Egypt and The Fertile Crescent were 2 of the civilizations. Different civilizations were developing different things as well as living two different ways of life. In social and intellectual ways, these two civilizations handled themselves in very similar as well as many different ways to function the way they did and remain stable while they could. Egypt and the Fertile Crescent shared certain things within the social and political part of their civilizations. They both needed a lot of work to be done. Anywhere from building pyramids, to parts of a city, someone had to do it, but who? To solve this dilemma, the Fertile Crescent used slaves, and Egypt had laborers. Having slaves or laborers made is accomplishable for job positions to be filled within a city, or made it easier and quicker to finish projects ordered by the Pharaoh. In an intellectual view, both developed a form of writing. The Fertile Crescent invented the cuneiform, which is also the first form of writing, to pass down history. As well as Egypt, they had hieroglyphics, which served the same purpose, In other words, they needed a way to keep records from generation to generation. To do this, they used what they had to develop a form of writing to accomplish this. As for differences between to two civilizations, they were very many social and political ones. The Fertile Crescent had a small amount of social classes. They had a priest, merchants, and slaves. Those are the basic classes. The significance of having a less amount of classes is simplicity. Also, because the Monarchy already holds most of the power, it has no need for someone else to have any. Egypt had a lot more compared to them. Pharaohs, Land owners, Army commander, merchants, Farmers, and Laborers. While having more social classes than The Fertile Crescent, it might seem to make it harder on them for they have more going on, and more people doing more things, but it made it easier on the Pharaoh. Yes, he still had say so in what went on, but there were still different people in charge of different things. As for any intellectual differences, Egypt was able to develop a calendar. By doing this, they were able to tell when any floods were coming and it was no surprise. Not only did this calendar only help with flooding problems, but they could also mark any important date of when anything happened during their time. On the other hand, the Fertile Crescent was always hit by surprise by floods from the river. They never developed a calendar, so for them, they had no clue when a flood was coming and it became a panic when it did.

Cases on labor law Essay

In May 1994, ABS-CBN† signed an Agreement with the Mel and Jay Management and Development Corporation. ABS-CBN was represented by its corporate officers while MJMDC was represented by SONZA, as President and General Manager, and Carmela Tiangco , as EVP and Treasurer. Referred to in the Agreement as â€Å"AGENT,† MJMDC agreed to provide SONZA’s services exclusively to ABS-CBN as talent for radio and television. ABS-CBN agreed to pay for SONZA’s services a monthly talent fee of P310,000 for the first year and P317,000 for the second and third year of the Agreement. ABS-CBN would pay the talent fees on the 10th and 25th days of the month. On 30 April 1996, SONZA filed a complaint against ABS-CBN before the Department of Labor and Employment, National Capital Region in Quezon City. SONZA complained that ABS-CBN did not pay his salaries, separation pay, service incentive leave pay, 13th month pay, signing bonus, travel allowance and amounts due under the Employees Stock Option Plan (â€Å"ESOP†). On 10 July 1996, ABS-CBN filed a Motion to Dismiss on the ground that no employer-employee relationship existed between the parties. ISSUE: Whether or not there is employer-employee relationship that existed between them, HELD: Although Philippine labor laws and jurisprudence define clearly the elements of an employer-employee relationship, this is the first time that the Court will resolve the nature of the relationship between a television and radio station and one of its â€Å"talents.† There is no case law stating that a radio and television program host is an employee of the broadcast station. Applying the control test to the present case, we find that SONZA is not an employee but an independent contractor. The control test is the most important test our courts apply in distinguishing an employee from an independent contractor.[29] This test is based on the extent of control the hirer exercises over a worker. The greater the supervision and control the hirer exercises, the more likely the worker is deemed an employee. The converse holds true as well – the less control the hirer exercises, the more likely the worker is considered an independent contractor. We find that ABS-CBN was not involved in the actual performance that produced the finished product of SONZA’s work. ABS-CBN did not instruct SONZA how to perform his job. ABS-CBN merely reserved the right to modify the program format and airtime schedule â€Å"for more effective programming.† ABS-CBN’s sole concern was the quality of the shows and their standing in the ratings. Clearly, ABS-CBN did not exercise control over the means and methods of performance of SONZA’s work. SONZA insists that the â€Å"exclusivity clause† in the Agreement is the most extreme form of control which ABS-CBN exercised over him. This argument is futile. Being an exclusive talent does not by itself mean that SONZA is an employee of ABS-CBN. Even an independent contractor can validly provide his services exclusively to the hiring party. In the broadcast industry, exclusivity is not necessarily the same as control. ADJUDICATION: The petition is denied. CONSULTA vs CA Case Digest [G.R. No. 145443. March 18, 2005] RAQUEL P. CONSULTA, petitioner, vs. COURT OF APPEALS, PAMANA PHILIPPINES, INC., RAZUL Z. REQUESTO, and ALETA TOLENTINO, respondents. FACTS: Consulta was Managing Associate of Pamana. On 1987 she was issued a certification authorizing her to negotiate for and in behalf of PAMANA with the Federation of Filipino Civilian Employees Association. Consulta was able to secure an account with FFCEA in behalf of PAMANA. However, Consulta claimed that PAMANA did not pay her commission for the PPCEA account and filed a complaint for unpaid wages or commission. ISSUE: Whether or not Consulta was an employee of PAMANA. HELD: The SC held that Pamana was an independent agent and not an employee. The power of control in the four fold test is missing. The manner in which Consulta was to pursue her tasked activities was not subject to the control of PAMANA. Consulta failed to show that she worked definite hours. The amount of time, the methods and means, the management and maintenance of her sales division were left to her sound judgment. Finally, Pamana paid Consulta not for labor she performed but only for the results of her labor. Without results, Consulta’s labor was her own burden and loss. Her right to compensation, or to commission, depended on the tangible results of her work – whether she brought in paying recruits. The fact that the appointment required Consulta to solicit business exclusively for Pamana did not mean Pamana exercised control over the means and methods of Consulta’s work as the term control is understood in labor jurisprudence. Neither did it make Consulta an employee of Pamana. Pamana did not prohibit Consulta from engaging in any other business, or from being connected with any other company, for as long as the business or company did not compete with Pamana’s business. The exclusivity clause was a reasonable restriction to prevent similar acts prejudicial to Pamana’s business interest. Article 1306 of the Civil Code provides that â€Å"[t]he contracting parties may establish such stipulation, clauses, terms and conditions as they may deem convenient, provided that they are not contrary to law, morals, good customs, public order, or public policy. There being no employer-employee relationship between Pamana and Consulta, the Labor Arbiter and the NLRC had no jurisdiction to entertain and rule on Consulta’s money claim. Consulta’s remedy is to file an ordinary civil action to litigate her claim Petition is dismissed. ANGELINA FRANCISCO, Petitioner, vs. NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS COMMISSION, KASEI CORPORATION, SEIICHIRO TAKAHASHI, TIMOTEO ACEDO, DELFIN LIZA, IRENE BALLESTEROS, TRINIDAD LIZA and RAMON ESCUETA, Respondents. G.R. No. 170087 August 31, 2006 FIRST DIVISION. YNARES-SANTIAGO, J. In 1995, petitioner was hired by Kasei Corporation during its incorporation stage. She was designated as Accountant and Corporate Secretary and was assigned to handle all the accounting needs of the company. She was also designated as Liaison Officer to the City of Makati to secure business permits, construction permits and other licenses for the initial operation of the company. Although she was designated as Corporate Secretary, she was not entrusted with the corporate documents; neither did she attend any board meeting nor required to do so. She never prepared any legal document and never represented the company as its Corporate Secretary. However, on some occasions, she was prevailed upon to sign documentation for the company. In 1996, petitioner was designated Acting Manager. As Acting Manager, petitioner was assigned to handle recruitment of all employees and perform management administration functions; represent the company in all dealings with government agencies; and to administer all other matters pertaining to the operation of Kasei Restaurant which is owned and operated by Kasei Corporation. For five years, petitioner performed the duties of Acting Manager and as of December 31, 2000 her salary was P27,500.00 plus P3,000.00. In January 2001, petitioner was replaced by Liza R. Fuentes as Manager. Petitioner alleged that she was required to sign a prepared resolution for her replacement but she was assured that she would still be connected with Kasei Corporation. Thereafter, Kasei Corporation reduced her salary by P2,500.00 a month beginning January up to September 2001 for a total reduction of P22,500.00 as of September 2001. Petitioner was not paid her mid-year bonus allegedly because the company was not earning well. On October 2001, petitioner did not receive her salary from the company. She made repeated follow-ups with the company cashier but she was advised that the company was not earning well. On October 15, 2001, petitioner asked for her salary but she was informed that she is no longer connected with the company. On the other hand, the Private respondents averred that petitioner is not an employee of Kasei Corporation. They alleged that petitioner was hired in 1995 as one of its technical consultants on accounting matters and act concurrently as Corporate Secretary. As technical consultant, petitioner performed her work at her own discretion without control and supervision of Kasei Corporation. Petitioner had no daily time record and she came to the office any time she wanted. She also did not go through the usual procedure of selection of employees. Also, the private respondents submitted a list of employees for the years 1999 and 2000 duly received by the BIR showing that petitioner was not among the employees reported to the BIR. Issues: (1) Whether there was an employer-employee relationship between petitioner and private respondent Kasei Corporation; and if in the affirmative, (2) whether petitioner was illegally dismissed. Ruling: Yes. The court adopts a two-tiered test involving: (1) the putative employer’s power to control the employee with respect to the means and methods by which the work is to be accomplished; and (2) the underlying economic realities of the activity or relationship. Thus, there is no doubt that petitioner is an employee of Kasei Corporation because she was under the direct control and supervision of Seiji Kamura, the corporation’s Technical Consultant. She reported for work regularly and served in various capacities as Accountant, Liaison Officer, Technical Consultant, Acting Manager and Corporate Secretary, with substantially the same job functions, that is, rendering accounting and tax services to the company and performing functions necessary and desirable for the proper operation of the corporation such as securing business permits and other licenses over an indefinite period of engagement. She was selected and engaged by the company for compensation, and is economically dependent upon respondent for her continued employment in that line of business. Respondent corporation hired and engaged petitioner for compensation, with the power to dismiss her for cause. More importantly, respondent corporation had the power to control petitioner with the means and methods by which the work is to be accomplished. The corporation constructively dismissed petitioner when it reduced her salary by P2,500 a month from January to September 2001. This amounts to an illegal termination of employment, where the petitioner is entitled to full backwages. Thus this petition is GRANTED and is REMANDED to the Labor Arbiter for the recomputation of petitioner Angelina Francisco’s full backwages from the time she was illegally terminated until the date of finality of this decision, and separation pay representing one-half month pay for every year of service, where a fraction of at least six months shall be considered as one whole year. ANGEL JARDIN, DEMETRIO CALAGOS, URBANO MARCOS, ROSENDO MARCOS, LUIS DE LOS ANGELES, JOEL ORDENIZA and AMADO CENTENO, petitioners, vs. NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS COMMISSION (NLRC) and GOODMAN TAXI (PHILJAMA INTERNATIONAL, INC.) respondents. G.R. No. 119268. February 23, 2000 SECOND DIVISION. QUISUMBING, J. Facts: Petitioners were drivers of private respondent, Philjama International Inc., a domestic corporation engaged in the operation of â€Å"Goodman Taxi.† Petitioners used to drive private respondent’s taxicabs every other day on a 24-hour work schedule under the boundary system. Under this arrangement, the petitioners earned an average of P400.00 daily. Nevertheless, private respondent admittedly regularly deducts from petitioners, daily earnings the amount of P30.00 supposedly for the washing of the taxi units. Believing that the deduction is illegal, petitioners decided to form a labor union to protect their rights and interests. Upon learning about the plan of petitioners, private respondent refused to let petitioners drive their taxicabs when they reported for work on August 6, 1991, and on succeeding days. Petitioners suspected that they were singled out because they were the leaders and active members of the proposed union. Aggrieved, petitioners filed with the labor arbiter a complaint against private respondent for unfair labor practice, illegal dismissal and illegal deduction of washing fees. In a decision, dated August 31, 1992, the labor arbiter dismissed said complaint for lack of merit. On appeal, the NLRC (public respondent herein), in a decision dated April 28, 1994, reversed and set aside the judgment of the labor arbiter. The labor tribunal declared that petitioners are employees of private respondent, and, as such, their dismissal must be for just cause and after due process. Private respondent’s first motion for reconsideration was denied. Remaining hopeful, private respondent filed another motion for reconsideration. This time, public respondent, in its decision dated October 28, 1994, granted aforesaid second motion for reconsideration. It ruled that it lacks jurisdiction over the case as petitioners and private respondent have no employer-employee relationship. Issue: Was there a grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction? Was there an employer-employee relationship? Ruling: Yes. The phrase â€Å"grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction† means such capricious and whimsical exercise of judgment by the tribunal exercising judicial or quasi-judicial power as to amount to lack of power. In this case, private respondent exhausted administrative remedy available to it by seeking reconsideration of public respondent’s decision dated April 28, 1994, which public respondent denied. Thus, when private respondent filed a second motion for reconsideration, public respondent should have forthwith denied it in accordance with Rule 7, Section 14 of its New Rules of Procedure which allows only one motion for reconsideration from the same party. The rationale for allowing only one motion for reconsideration from the same party is to assist the parties in obtaining an expeditious and inexpensive settlement of labor cases. For obvious reasons, delays cannot be countenanced in the resolution of labor disputes. The dispute may involve no less than the livelihood of an employee and that of his loved ones who are dependent upon him for food, shelter, clothing, medicine, and education. It may as well involve the survival of a business or an industry. The second motion for reconsideration filed by private respondent is indubitably a prohibited pleading which should have not been entertained at all. Thus, the public respondent gravely abused its discretion in taking cognizance and granting private respondent’s second motion for reconsideration as it wrecks the orderly procedure in seeking reliefs in labor cases. Yes also for the second issue. Under the boundary system which is observed in the relationship of the petitioners and the private respondent, it is that of employer-employee and not of lessor-lessee. In the case of jeepney owners/operators and jeepney drivers, the former exercise supervision and control over the latter. The management of the business is in the owner’s hands. The owner as holder of the certificate of public convenience must see to it that the driver follows the route prescribed by the franchising authority and the rules promulgated as regards its operation. Now, the fact that the drivers do not receive fixed wages but get only that in excess of the so-called â€Å"boundary† they pay to the owner/operator is not sufficient to withdraw the relationship between them from that of employer and employee. Thus, the employees of private respondent, can be dismissed only for just and authorized cause, and after affording them notice and hearing prior to termination. In the instant case, private respondent had no valid cause to terminate the employment of petitioners. Neither were there two (2) written notices sent by private respondent informing each of the petitioners that they had been dismissed from work. Thereby, instant petition is GRANTED. Private respondent is directed to reinstate petitioners to their positions held at the time of the complained dismissal. Private respondent is likewise ordered to pay petitioners their full backwages, to be computed from the date of dismissal until their actual reinstatement. However, the order of public respondent that petitioners be reimbursed the amount paid as washing charges is deleted. [G.R. No. 121605. February 2, 2000] PAZ MARTIN JO and CESAR JO, petitioners, vs. NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS COMMISSION and PETER MEJILA, respondents. QUISUMBING, J.: FACTS: Private respondent Peter Mejila worked as barber on a piece rate basis at Dina’s Barber Shop. The owners and the barbers shared in the earnings of the barber shop. In 1977, petitioners designated private respondent as caretaker of the shop. In November 1992, private respondent had an altercation with his co-barber, Jorge Tinoy. The bickerings, characterized by constant exchange of personal insults during working hours, became serious so that private respondent reported the matter to Atty. Allan Macaraya of the labor department. Meanwhile, private respondent continued reporting for work at the barbershop. But, on January 2, 1993, he turned over the duplicate keys of the shop to the cashier and took away all his belongings therefrom. On January 8, 1993, he began working as a regular barber at the newly opened Goldilocks Barbershop also in Iligan City. On January 12, 1993, private respondent filed a complaint for illegal dismissal with prayer for payment of separation pay, other monetary benefits, attorney’s fees and damages. Significantly, the complaint did not seek reinstatement as a positive relief. ISSUES: Is there an employer-employee relationship between petitioners and private respondent? Was the private respondent dismissed from his employment? HELD: YES. In determining the existence of an employer-employee relationship, the following elements are considered: (1) the selection and engagement of the workers; (2) power of dismissal; (3) the payment of wages by whatever means; and (4) the power to control the worker’s conduct, with the latter assuming primacy in the overall consideration. Absent a clear showing that petitioners and private respondent had intended to pursue a relationship of industrial partnership, we entertain no doubt that private respondent was employed by petitioners as caretaker-barber. No. The labor arbiter was convinced that private respondent was not dismissed but left his work on his own volition because he could no longer bear the incessant squabbles with his co-worker. Nevertheless, public respondent did not give credence to petitioners’ claim that private respondent abandoned his job. On this score, public respondent gravely erred as hereunder discussed. JPL MARKETING PROMOTIONS v. COURT OF APPEALS G.R. No. 151966 July 8, 2005 FACTS: JPL Marketing and Promotions is a domestic corporation engaged in the business of recruitment and placement of workers. On the other hand, private respondents Noel Gonzales, Ramon Abesa III and Faustino Aninipot were employed by JPL as merchandisers on separate dates and assigned at different establishments in Naga City and Daet, Camarines Norte as attendants to the display of California Marketing Corporation , one of petitioner’s clients. On 13 August 1996, JPL notified private respondents that CMC would stop its direct merchandising activity in the Bicol Region, Isabela, and Cagayan Valley effective 15 August 1996. they were advised to wait for further notice as they would be transferred to other clients. However, on 17 October 1996, private respondents Abesa and Gonzales filed before the National Labor Relations Commission Regional Arbitration Branch (NLRC) Sub V complaints for illegal dismissal, praying for separation pay, 13th month pay, service incentive leave pay and payment for moral damages. Aninipot filed a similar case thereafter. Executive Labor Arbiter Gelacio L. Rivera, Jr. dismissed the complaints for lack of merit. The Labor Arbiter found that Gonzales and Abesa applied with and were employed by the store where they were originally assigned by JPL even before the lapse of the six (6)-month period given by law to JPL to provide private respondents a new assignment. Thus, they may be considered to have unilaterally severed their relation with JPL, and cannot charge JPL with illegal dismissal. The Labor Arbiter held that it was incumbent upon private respondents to wait until they were reassigned by JPL, and if after six months they were not reassigned, they can file an action for separation pay but not for illegal dismissal. The claims for 13th month pay and service incentive leave pay was also denied since private respondents were paid way above the applicable minimum wage during their employment. NLRC. agreed with the Labor Arbiter’s finding that when private respondents filed their complaints, the six-month period had not yet expired, and that CMC’s decision to stop its operations in the areas was beyond the control of JPL, thus, they were not illegally dismissed. However, it found that despite JPL’s effort to look for clients to which private respondents may be reassigned it was unable to do so, and hence they are entitled to separation pay. The Court of Appeals dismissed the petition and affirmed in toto the NLRC resolution. While conceding that there was no illegal dismissal, it justified the award of separation pay on the grounds of equity and social justice. ISSUE: Whether or not the respondents are entitled to separation pay? HELD: Under Arts. 283 and 284 of the Labor Code, separation pay is authorized only in cases of dismissals due to any of these reasons: (a) installation of labor saving devices; (b) redundancy; (c) retrenchment; (d) cessation of the employer’s business; and (e) when the employee is suffering from a disease and his continued employment is prohibited by law or is prejudicial to his health and to the health of his co-employees. However, separation pay shall be allowed as a measure of social justice in those cases where the employee is validly dismissed for causes other than serious misconduct or those reflecting on his moral character, but only when he was illegally dismissed. In addition, Sec. 4(b), Rule I, Book VI of the Implementing Rules to Implement the Labor Code provides for the payment of separation pay to an employee entitled to reinstatement but the establishment where he is to be reinstated has closed or has ceased operations or his present position no longer exists at the time of reinstatement for reasons not attributable to the employer. The common denominator of the instances where payment of separation pay is warranted is that the employee was dismissed by the employer. In the instant case, there was no dismissal to speak of. Private respondents were simply not dismissed at all, whether legally or illegally. What they received from JPL was not a notice of termination of employment, but a memo informing them of the termination of CMC’s contract with JPL. More importantly, they were advised that they were to be reassigned. At that time, there was no severance of employment to speak of. Furthermore, Art. 286 of the Labor Code allows the bona fide suspension of the operation of a business or undertaking for a period not exceeding six (6) months, wherein an employee/employees are placed on the so-called â€Å"floating status.† When that â€Å"floating status† of an employee lasts for more than six months, he may be considered to have been illegally dismissed from the service. Thus, he is entitled to the corresponding benefits for his separation, and this would apply to suspension either of the entire business or of a specific component thereof. As clearly borne out by the records of this case, private respondents sought employment from other establishments even before the expiration of the six (6)-month period provided by law. As they admitted in their comment, all three of them applied for and were employed by another establishment after they received the notice from JPL. JPL did not terminate their employment; they themselves severed their relations with JPL. Thus, they are not entitled to separation pay. Nonetheless, JPL cannot escape the payment of 13th month pay and service incentive leave pay to private respondents. Said benefits are mandated by law and should be given to employees as a matter of right. HYDRO RESOURCES CONTRACTORS CORPORATION, petitioner, vs. LABOR ARBITER ADRIAN N. PAGALILAUAN and the NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS COMMISSION, public respondents, and ROGELIO A. ABAN, private respondent G.R. No. L-62909 April 18, 1989 Petitioner corporation hired the private respondent Aban as its â€Å"Legal Assistant† and received basic monthly salary of P 1,500.00 plus an initial living allowance of P 50.00 which gradually increased to P 320.00. On September 4, 1980, Aban received a letter from the corporation informing him that he would be considered terminated effective October 4, 1980 because of his alleged failure to perform his duties well. Aban filed a complaint against the petitioner for illegal dismissal. The labor arbiter ruled that Aban was illegally dismissed. This ruling was affirmed by the NLRC on appeal. Hence, this present petition. ISSUE: Whether or not there was an employer-employee relationship between the petitioner Corporation and Aban. HELD: The Supreme Court dismissed the petition for lack of merit, and reinstate Aban to his former or a similar position without loss of seniority rights and to pay three (3) years back wages without qualification or deduction and P5,000.00 in attorney’s fees. Should reinstatement not be feasible, the petitioner shall pay the private respondent termination benefits in addition to the above stated three years back pay and P5,000.00 attorney’s fees. A lawyer, like any other professional, may very well be an employee of a private corporation or even of the government. This Court has consistently ruled that the determination of whether or not there is an employer-employee relation depends upon four standards: (1) the manner of selection and engagement of the putative employee; (2) the mode of payment of wages; (3) the presence or absence of a power of dismissal; and (4) the presence or absence of a power to control the putative employee’s conduct. Of the four, the right-of-control test has been held to be the decisive factor. In this case, Aban received basic salary plus living allowance, worked solely for the petitioner, dealt only with legal matters involving the said corporation and its employees and also assisted the Personnel Officer in processing appointment papers of employees which is not act of a lawyer in the exercise of his profession. These facts showed that petitioner has the power to hire and fire the respondent employee and more important, exercised control over Aban by defining the duties and functions of his work which met the four standards in determining whether or not there is an employee-employer relationship. Duncan Association of Detailman-PTGWO v. Glaxo WellcomePhilippines G.R. No. 162994 September 17, 20004 Tinga, J. FACTS: Glaxo Wellcome Philippines Inc. hired Pedro A. Tecson as medical representative on October 24, 1995. In Tecson’s contract of employment, it was stipulated, among others, that he agrees to study and abide by existing company rules; to disclose to management any existing or future relationship by consanguinity or affinity with co-employees or employees of competing drug companies and should management find that such relationship poses a possible conflict of interest, to resign from the company. Glaxo’s Employee Code of Conduct also contains provisions to the same effect. Said contract was signed by Tecson and hence commenced his employ with the company. He was assigned to cover the Camarines Sur-Camarines Nortesales area. Tecson met Bettsy, a branch coordinator of Astra Pharma, a competitor of Glaxo. As fate would have it, they eventually fell in love and got married in September 1998. Tecson’s superiors were worried since the marriage gave rise to a conflict of interest and hence, gave him the option to choose whether to stay with the company and let his wife resign from her job or Tecson himself will resign so that his wife may continue working with her company. Tecson never made a decision hence Glaxo moved to transfer Tecson to the Butuan-Surigao-Agusan del Sur sales area considering that he was from said area. But then, Tecson brought the matter to Glaxo’s Grievance Committee. During the pendency of the grievance proceedings, Tecson was paid his salary. However, he was not issued samples of products which were competing with similar products manufactured by Astra. They failed to resolve the conflict hence they submitted the matter for voluntary arbitration. The company offered Tecson a separation pay of one-half month pay for every year of service, but he declined the offer. The National Conciliation and Mediation Board decided in favor of Glaxo. The Board declared Glaxo’s policy on relationships between its employees and person employed with competitor companies as valid, and affirmed Glaxo’s right to transfer Tecson to another sales territory. Upon appeal, the Cour of Appeal affirmed the NCMB decision. It reasoned that the company’s policy is a valid exercise of its management prerogatives. Tecson filed for reconsideration but was denied hence the case was brought to the Supreme Court. ISSUES: 1. Whether the policy of a pharmaceutical company prohibiting its employees from marrying employees of any competitor company valid? 2. Whether said policy violates the equal protection clause of the Constitution? 3. Whether Tecson was constructively dismissed? RULING: 1. Yes. Glaxo has a right to guard its secrets, manufacturing formula, marketing strategies and other confidential programs and information from competitors, especially so that it and Astra are rival companies in the highly competitive pharmaceutical industry. The said prohibition only aims to protect its interests against the possibility that a competitor company will gain access to its secrets and procedures. No. the policy does not violate the equal protection clause of the Constitution. Glaxo does not impose an absolute prohibition against relationships between its employees and those of competitor companies. It is not a policy against marriage. An employee can still marry anyone of his/her own choosing. However, the company still has the right from exercising management prerogatives to ensure maximum profit and business success. It was also stressed that Tecson was aware of the restriction when he signed his employment contract and when he married Betssy. Hence, he is stopped from questioning said policy. 3. No. the Supreme Court ruled that Tecson’s reassignment to another area was not equivalent to his employment termination. Tecson was not demoted nor unduly discriminated upon by reason of such transfer. It must be noted that Glaxo even considered the welfare of Tecson’s family. The reassignment was merely on keeping with the policy of the company in avoidance of conflict of interest, and thus valid. ANDRES VILLAVILLA and ESTER GADIENTE VILLAVILLA v. COURT OF APPEALS, SOCIAL SECURITY COMMISSION, REYNALDO MERCADO, and MARCELO COSUCO, respondents, SOCIAL SECURITY SYSTEM G.R. No. 79664 August 11, 1992 BELLOSILLO, J.: FACTS: Reynaldo Mercado owned the fishing boat â€Å"F/B Saint Theresa. On September 11, 1877, said boat sank off Isla Binatikan, Taytay, Palawan. One of the casualties in said incident was Arturo Villavilla, son of petitioners. He was employed as â€Å"tripulante† (crew member). The parents of Arturo filed a petition with the Social Security Commission against Reynaldo Mercado for death compensation benefits of Arturo whom Reynaldo failed to register as their employee. The Social Security System (SSS) filed a petition in intervention alleging that petitioners must prove that Arturo was an employee of Reynaldo. If said employment was proven, then Reynaldo should be held liable in damages equivalent to the benefits due the petitioners for failure to report Arturo for coverage pursuant to Sec. 24 (a) of the Social Security Act, as amended. 6On November 28, 1984, respondent Social Security Commission issued an Order dismissing the petition for lack of cause of action. 9 The parents of Arturo then brought their case to the Court of Appeals. On appeal, the CA affirmed the questioned Order of the Social Security Commission there being no reversible error. Hence, they elevated their case to the Supreme Court. ISSUES: 1. Whether there was an employer – employee relationship between Arturo Villavilla and Reynaldo Mercado? 2. Whether Reynaldo Mercado is liable for death compensation benefits of Arturo Villavilla? 3. Whether there was a violation of the Social Security Act, as amended ,by Reynaldo Mercado for not registering Arturo Villavilla with the System as his employee as mandated by law. RULING: 1) None. The arrangement between the boat owner and the crewmembers partook of the nature of a joint venture. The fundamental bases for the existence of an employer – employee relationship were not present. a) Reynaldo Mercado had no connection with the selection and engagement of Arturo. The boat owner did not hire them but they simply joined the fishing expedition upon invitation of the ship master, even without the knowledge of the boat owner. b) Reynaldo likewise exercised no power of dismissal over Arturo c) There was no such uniform salary involved. The crew members did not receive fixed compensation as they only shared in their catch. d) Reynaldo had no power of control or had reserved the right to control as to the result of the work to be done as well as the means and methods by which the same is to be accomplished. They ventured to the sea irrespective of the instructions of the boat owner. Upon their own best judgment as to when, how long, and where to go fishing. 2) No. Since there was no employer – employee relationship, then Mercado is not obliged to remit any employer’s contributions to the SSS accounts of said fishermen. Hence they cannot compel him to pay for any death compensation benefits. 3) None. Since it is impossible to determine the monthly wage or earning of the fishermen for the purpose of fixing the amount of their and the supposed employer’s contributions, there is every reason to exempt the parties to this kind of undertaking from compulsory registration with the Social Security System . *** the Supreme Court stated: For, we are not unaware that in this jurisdiction all doubts in the implementation and interpretation of provisions of social legislations should be resolved in favor of the working class. But, alas, justice is not fully served by sustaining the contention of the poor simply because he is poor. Justice is done by properly applying the law regardless of the station in life of the contending parties. NATIONAL SERVICE CORPORATION (NASECO) AND ARTURO L. PEREZ, petitioners, vs. THE HONORABLE THIRD DIVISION, NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS COMMISSION, MINISTRY OF LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT, MANILA AND EUGENIA C. CREDO, respondents. G.R. No. L-69870 November 29, 1988 EUGENIA C. CREDO, petitioner, vs. NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS COMMISSION, NATIONAL SERVICES CORPORATION AND ARTURO L. PEREZ, respondents. G.R. No. 70295 November 29,1988 PONENTE: Padilla, J. FACTS: Eugenia Credo was an employee of the National Service Corporation. She was terminated from office for the commission of offenses against company policies, public moral, and authority. A particular situation asserted by NASECO was Credo’s non-compliance with another NASECO officer’s memorandum regarding the entry procedures in the company’s Statement of Billings Adjustment. This was in lieu with the findings of NASECO’s Committee on Personnel Affairs. Both parties appealed to respondent National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC) which, on 28 November 1984, rendered a decision: 1) directing NASECO to reinstate Credo to her former position, or substantially equivalent position, with six (6) months’ backwages and without loss of seniority rights and other privileges appertaining thereto, and 2) dismissing Credo’s claim for attorney’s fees, moral and exemplary damages. As a consequence, both parties filed their respective motions for reconsideration, which the NLRC denied in a resolution of 16 January 1985. In the case at bar, the court found that NASECO did not comply with these guidelines in effecting Credo’s dismissal. Although she was apprised and â€Å"given the chance to explain her side† of the charges filed against her, this chance was given so perfunctorily, thus rendering illusory Credo’s right to security of tenure. That Credo was not given ample opportunity to be heard and to defend herself is evident from the fact that the compliance with the injunction to apprise her of the charges filed against her and to afford her a chance to prepare for her defense was dispensed in only a day. This is not effective compliance with the legal requirements. Furth, Credo’s mere non-compliance with Lorens memorandum regarding the entry procedures in the company’s Statement of Billings Adjustment did not warrant the severe penalty of dismissal NLRC ruled ordering her reinstatement. NASECO argues that NLRC has no jurisdiction to order her reinstatement. NASECO as a government corporation by virtue of its being a subsidiary of the NIDC, which is wholly owned by the Phil. National Bank which is in turn a GOCC, the terms and conditions of employment of its employees are governed by the Civil Service Law citing National Housing v Juco. ISSUE: Whether or not employees of NASECO, a GOCC without original charter, are governed by the Civil Service Law. HELD: NO. The holding in NHC v Juco should not be given retroactive effect, that is to cases that arose before its promulgation of January 17, 1985. To do otherwise would be oppressive to Credo and other employees similarly situated because under the 1973 Constitution prior to the ruling in NHC v Juco, this court recognized the applicability of the Labor jurisdiction over disputes involving terms and conditions of employment in GOCC’s, among them NASECO. In the matter of coverage by the civil service of GOCC, the 1987 Constitution starkly differs from the 1973 Constitution where NHC v Juco was based. It provides that the â€Å"civil service embraces all branches, subdivisions, instrumentalities, and agencies of the Government including government owned or controlled corporation with original charter.† Therefore by clear implication, the civil service does not include GOCC which are organized as subsidiaries of GOCC under the general corporation law. ADJUDICATION: WHEREFORE, in view of the foregoing, the challenged decision of the NLRC is AFFIRMED with modifications. Petitioners in G.R. No. 69870, who are the private respondents in G.R. No. 70295, are ordered to: 1) reinstate Eugenia C. Credo to her former position at the time of her termination, or if such reinstatement is not possible, to place her in a substantially equivalent position, with three (3) years backwages, from 1 December 1983, without qualification or deduction, and without loss of seniority rights and other privileges appertaining thereto, and 2) pay Eugenia C. Credo P5,000.00 for moral damages and P5,000.00 for attorney’s fees. G.R. No. 78090 July 26, 1991 PACIFIC MILLS, INC., petitioner, vs. ZENAIDA ALONZO, respondent. Facts: From July 30, 1973, Zenaida Alonzo was employed as a ring frame operator in the Pacific Mills, Inc. until September 30, 1982 when she was discharged by Management. The record shows that in the early afternoon of September 22, 1982, Zenaida challenged Company Inspector Ernesto Tamondong to a fight, saying: â€Å"Putang Ina mo, lumabas ka, tarantado, kalalaki mong tao, duwag ka . . Ipagugulpi kita sa labas at kaya kitang ipakaladkad dito sa loob ng compound palabas ng gate sa mga kamag-anak ko.† And suiting action to the word, she thereupon boxed Tamondong in the stomach. The motive for the assault was Zenaida’s resentment at having been reprimanded, together with other employees, two days earlier by Tamondong for wasting time by engaging in Idle chatter. 1 Tamondong forthwith reported the incident to the firm’s Administrative Manager 2 as well as the Chairman of Barangay Balombato, Quezon City. 3 On September 30, 1982, Zenaida Alonzo was given a Memorandum by the company’s Executive Vice President & General Manager terminating her employment as of October 1, 1982 on various grounds: poor work, habitual absences and tardiness, wasting time, insubordination and gross disrespect. The service of that memorandum of dismissal on her was not preceded by any complaint, hearing or other formality. These were apparently considered unnecessary by Management 4 in view of the provision in the Company Rules and Regulations (embodied in the Collective Bargaining Agreement between the company and the union representing the employees) that: Fighting or attempting to inflict harm to another employee, will render (sic) the aggressor to outright dismissal. It was only at the hearing of the complaint for illegal dismissal (and non-payment of proportionate 13th month pay) instituted by Zenaida on October 4, 1982 in the NCR Arbitration Branch, that evidence was presented by the company not only of the assault by Zenaida on her superior but also of many other violations by her of company rules and regulations, in an attempt to substantiate the validity of her dismissal from work. The Labor Arbiter found that Alonzo had indeed verbally abused and struck her superior, Tamondong, and rejected her contention that the assault was not punishable since it was â€Å"not work-connected and was provoked/instigated by Ernesto Tamondong.† 5 The Arbiter also declared as â€Å"fully established the previous infractions of complainant,† these being â€Å"a matter of record and not denied by complainant (Zenaida).† The Arbiter was of the view, however, that Alonzo was entitled to relief, because (a) the penalty imposed was â€Å"harsh and severe and not commensurate with the offense, . . . suspension of three (3) months . . (being) the proper, just and reasonable penalty . . .;† and because (b) the company had failed â€Å"to investigate complainant before she was dismissed.† Acting on the employer’s appeal, the National Labor Relations Commission rendered judgment on March 23, 1987, sustaining the Labor Arbiter’s findings Pacific Mills Inc. has instituted in this Court the special civil action of certiorari at bar praying for nullification of the judgment of the NLRC for having been rendered with grave abuse of discretion. In the comment thereon, 7 required of him by the Court, the Solicitor General opined that: . . . both the Labor Arbiter and the NLRC apparently failed to take into consideration the fact that Zenaida Alonzo was dismissed not because of this isolated act (of assault against her superior) but rather because of numerous and repeated violations of company rules and regulations. It was only this last incident which compelled Pacific Mills, Inc. to finally terminate her services. It is the totality of the infractions committed by the employee which should have been considered in determining whether or not there is just cause for her dismissal. Issue: whether or not there is just cause for her dismissal Held: Decisive of this controversy is the judgment of the Court en banc in Wenphil Corporation v. NLRC, promulgated on February 8, 1989, 10 in which the following policy pronouncements were made: Thus in the present case, where the private respondent, who appears to be of violent temper, caused trouble during office hours and even defied his superiors as they tried to pacify him, should not be rewarded with reemployment and back wages. It may encourage him to do even worse and will render a mockery of the rules of discipline that employees are required to observe. Under the circumstances, the dismissal of the private respondent for just cause should be maintained. He has no right to return to his former employer.However, the petitioner (employer) must nevertheless be held to account for failure to extend to private respondent his right to an investigation before causing his dismissal. The rule is explicit as above discussed. The dismissal of an employee must be for just or authorized cause and after due process (Section 1, Rule XIV, Implementing Regulations of the Labor Code). While it is true that Pacific Mills, Inc. had not complied with the requirements of due process prior to removing Zenaida Alonzo from employment, it is also true that subsequently, in the proceedings before the Labor Arbiter in which Zenaida Alonzo had of course taken active part, it had succeeded in satisfactorily proving the commission by Zenaida of many violations of company rules and regulations justifying termination of her employment. Under the circumstances, it is clear that, as the Solicitor General has pointed out, the continuance in the service of the latter is patently inimical to her employer’s interests and that, citing San Miguel Corporation v. NLRC, 11 the law, in protecting the rights of the laborer authorizes neither oppression nor self-destruction of the employer. And it was oppressive and unjust in the premises to require reinstatement of the employee. WHEREFORE, the petition is granted and the challenged decision of the respondent Commission dated March 23, 1987 and that of the Labor Arbiter thereby affirmed, are NULLIFIED AND SET ASIDE. However, the petitioner is ordered to pay private respondent a proportionate part of the 13th month pay due her, amounting to P351.00 as well as to indemnify her in the sum of P1,000.00. No costs. ABANTE v. LAMADRID BEARING & PARTS CORP EMPERMACO B. ABANTE, JR., petitioner, vs. LAMADRID BEARING & PARTS CORP. and JOSE LAMADRID, President, respondents. [G.R. No. 159890 May 28, 2004] FACTS: Petitioner was a salesman of respondent company earning a commission of 3% of the total paid up sales covering the whole area of Mindanao. Aside from selling, he was also tasked with collection. Respondent corporation through its president, often required Abante to report to a particular area and occasionally required him to go to Manila to attend conferences. Later on, bad blood ensued between the parties due to some bad accounts that Lamadrid forced petitioner to cover. Later petitioner found out that respondent had informed his customers not to deal with petitioner since it no longer recognized him as a commission salesman. Petitioner filed a complaint for illegal dismissal with money claims against respondent company and its president, Jose Lamadrid. By way of defense, respondents countered that petitioner was not its employee but a freelance salesman on commission basis. ISSUE: Whether or not petitioner, as a commission salesman, is an employee of respondent corporation. HELD: To determine the existence of an employee-employer relationship, the SC applied the four fold test: 1) the manner of selection and engagement; (2) the payment of wages; (3) the presence or absence of the power of dismissal; and (4) the presence or absence of the power of control. Applying the aforementioned test, an employer-employee relationship is notably absent in this case. It is true that he was paid in commission yet no quota was imposed therefore a dismal performance would not warrant a ground for dismissal. There was no specific office hours he was required to observe. He was not designated to conduct services at a particular area or time. He pursued his selling without interference or supervision from the company. The company did not prescribe the manner of selling merchandise. While he was sometimes required to report to Manila, these were only intended to guide him. Moreover, petitioner was free to offer his services to other companies. Art. 280 is not a crucial factor because it only determines two kinds of employees. It doen;t apply where there is no employer-employee relationship. While the term commission under Article 96 of the LC was construed as being included in the term â€Å"wage†, there is no categorical pronouncement that the payment of commission is conclusive proof of the existence of an employee-employer relationship. R TRANSPORT CORPORATION v ROGELIO EJANDRA G.R. No. 148508 May 20, 2004 CORONA, J.: Facts: Rogelio Ejandra worked as a bus driver of R Transport Corporation and was paid on a 10% commission basis. He informed R Transport’s general manager that his license was confiscated after he was apprehended for a traffic violation. The manager gave him money to redeem his license. Ejandra went to the LTO office everyday but it was only after a week that he was able to get back his license. When he reported back to work, the manager told him to wait until his services were needed again. When asked how long he had to rest, the manager did not give a definite time. Considering himself dismissed, Ejandra filed a complaint for illegal dismissal against R Transport. R Transport denied Ejandra’s allegations and claimed that he abandoned his job; that he lied about his license being confiscated; and that he was not an employee because theirs was a contract of lease and not of employment, being paid on commission basis. The labor arbiter rendered his decision in favor of Ejandra, finding his dismissal to be without just cause and ORDERING R-Transport to REINSTATE him to his former position without loss of seniority and other benefits and to pay him backwages from the time of his dismissal until actual reinstatement. The NLRC affirmed this decision. R Transport filed in the Court of Appeals a petition for certiorari on the ground that the NLRC committed grave abuse of discretion in affirming the decision of the labor arbiter. The CA denied the petition. Issues: 1. Did Ejandra abandon his job? 2. Is there an employer-employee relationship between R Transport and Ejandra? 3. Was private respondent dismissed for just cause? Ruling: 1. No. R Transport failed to prove the requisites constituting abandonment. Ejandra’s absence was justified because the LTO did not release his license until after a week. He never intended to sever his employment as he reported for work as soon as he got his license back. If he abandoned his work, R Transport should have reported such fact to the nearest Regional Office of the Department of Labor and Employment in accordance with Section 7, Rule XXIII, Book V of Department Order No. 9, series of 1997. 2. Yes. R Transport invoked the Supreme Court’s rulings on the right of an employer to dismiss an employee. By adopting said rulings, R Transport impliedly admitted that it was the employer of Ejandra. The fact that Ejandra was paid on commission basis did not rule out the presence of an employee-employer relationship (Article 97(f), Labor Code). 3. No. It also violated Ejandra’s right to procedural due process by not giving him the required notice and hearing provided for in Section 2, Rule XXIII, Book V of Department Order No. 9., series of 1997 (Rules Implementing Book V of the Labor Code). Ramos vs Court of Appeals () 380 SCRA 467 Labor Standards Case Digests Facts: Petitioner Erlinda Ramos was advised to undergo an operation for the removal of her stone in the gallbladder. She was referred to Dr. Hosaka, a surgeon, who agreed to do the operation. The operation wasscheduled on June 17, 1985 in the De los Santos Medical Center. Erlinda was admitted to the medicalcenter the day before the operation. On the following day, she was ready for operation as early as 7:30am.Around 9:30, Dr. Hosaka has not yet arrived. By 10 am, Rogelio wanted to pull out his wife from theoperating room. Dr. Hosaka finally arrived at 12:10 pm more than 3 hours of the scheduled operation.Dr. Guiterres tried to intubate Erlinda. The nail beds of Erlinda were bluish discoloration in her left hand.At 3 pm,Erlinda was being wheeled to the Intensive care Unit and stayed there for a month.Since theill-fated operation,Erlinda remained in comatose condition until she died.The family of Ramos sued them for damages. Issue: WON there was an employee-employer relationship that existed between the Medical Center and Drs.Hosaka and Guiterrez. Held: No employer-employee between the doctors and hospital.Private Hospitals hire, fire and exercise real control over their attending and visiting consultant staff.While consultants are not technically employees, the control exercised, the hiring and the right toterminate consultants fulfill the hallmarks of an employer-employee relationship with the exception of payment of wages. The control test is determining.In applying the four fold test, DLSMC cannot be considered an employer of the respondent doctors.Ithas been consistently held that in determining whether an employer- employee relationship existsbetween the parties, the following elements must be present: (1) selection and engagement of services;(2) payment of wages; (3) the power to hire and fire; and (4) the power to control not only the end to beachieved, but the means to be used in reaching such an end.The hospital does not hire consultants but it accredits and grants him the privilege of maintaining a clinicand/or admitting patients.It is the patient who pays the consultants. The hospital cannot dismiss theconsultant but he may lose his privileges granted by the hospital. The hospitalî€ s obligation is limited toproviding the patient with the preferred room accommodation and other things that will ensure that thedoctors orders are carried out.The court finds that there is no employer-employee relationship between the doctors and the hospital FILAMER CHRISTIAN INSTITUTE v IAC August 17, 1992 FACTS: Funtecha was a working student, being a part-time janitor and scholar of Filamer Christian Institute. One day, Funtecha, who already had a student’s driver’s license, requested Masa, the school driver and son of the school president, to allow him to drive the school vehicle. Assenting to the request, Masastopped the vehicle he was driving and allowed Funtecha to take over behind the wheel. However, after negotiating a sharp dangerous curb, Funtecha came upon a fast moving truck so that hehad to swerve to the right to avoid a collision. Upon swerving, they bumped a pedestrian walking in hislane. The pedestrian died due to the accident. ISSUE: Won Filamer Christian Institute should be held liable HELD: YES First it should be noted that driving the vehicle to and from the house of the school president were bothAllan and Funtecha reside is an act in furtherance of the interest of the petitioner-school. The school jeep had to be brought home so that the school driver can use it to fetch students in the morning of thenext school day. Thus, in learning how to drive while taking the vehicle home in the direction of Allan’s home, Funtechadefinitely was not having a joy ride or for enjoyment, but ultimately, for the service for which the jeepwas intended by the petitioner school.(School president had knowledge of Funtecha’s desire to learn how to drive.) Court is thus constrained to conclude that the act of Funtecha in taking over the steering wheel was onedone for and in behalf of his employer for which act the school cannot deny any responsibility byarguing that it was done beyond the scope of his janitorial duties. The fact that Funtecha was not the school driver does not relieve the school from the burden of rebutting the presumption of negligence on its part. It is sufficient that the act of driving at the time of theincident was for the benefit of the school. Petitioner school has failed to show that it exercised diligence of a good father of a family.Petitioner has not shown that it has set forth rules and guidelines as would prohibit any one of itsemployees from taking control over its vehicles if one is not the official driver or prohibiting theauthorized driver from letting anyone than him to drive the vehicle. Furthermore, school had failed toshow that it impose sanctions or warned its employees against the use of its vehicles by persons other than the driver. Thus, Filamer has an obligation to pay damages for injury arising from the unskilled manner by whichFuntecha drove the vehicle since the law imposes upon the employers vicarious liability for acts or omissions of its employees. The liability of the employer, under Article 2180, is primary and solidary. However, the employer shallhave recourse against the negligent employee for whatever damages are paid to the heirs of theplaintiff. On Labor Code’s Rule X The clause â€Å"within the scope of their assigned tasks† (found in CC) for purposes of raising thepresumption of liability of an employer, includes any act done by an employee, in furtherance of theinterests of the employer or for the account of the employe at the time of the infliction of the injury or damage Even if somehow, the employee driving the vehicle derived some benefit from the act, the existence of a presumptive liability of the employer is determined by answering the question of whether or not theservant was at the time of the accident performing any act in furtherance of his master’s business. Rule X, which provides for the exclusion of working scholars in the employment coverage and on whichthe petitioner is anchoring its defense, is merely a guide to the enforcement of the substantive law onlabor. It is not the decisive law in a civil suit for damage instituted by an injured person during avehicular accident against a working student of a school and against the school itself. Present casedoes not involve a labor dispute.An implementing rule on labor cannot be used by an employer s a shield to avoid liability under thesubstantive provisions of the CC. Motion granted G.R. No. 75112 August 17, 1992 FILAMER CHRISTIAN INSTITUTE, petitioner, vs. HON. INTERMEDIATE APPELLATE COURT, HON. ENRIQUE P. SUPLICO, in his capacity as Judge of the Regional Trial Court, Branch XIV, Roxas City and POTENCIANO KAPUNAN, SR., respondents. GUTIERREZ, JR., J.: FACTS: Funtecha was a working student, being a part-time janitor and a scholar of petitioner Filamer. He was, in relation to the school, an employee even if he was assigned to clean the school premises for only two (2) hours in the morning of each school day. Having a student driver’s license, Funtecha requested the driver, Allan Masa, and was allowed, to take over the vehicle while the latter was on his way home one late afternoon. It is significant to note that the place where Allan lives is also the house of his father, the school president. Allan Masa turned over the vehicle to Funtecha only after driving down a road, a fast moving truck with glaring lights nearly hit them so that they had to swerve to the right to avoid a collision. Upon swerving, they heard a sound as if something had bumped against the vehicle, but they did not stop to check. Actually, the Pinoy jeep swerved towards the pedestrian, Potenciano Kapunan who was walking in his lane in the direction against vehicular traffic, and hit him. ISSUE: WON there exists an employer-employee relationship between the petitioner and its co-defendant Funtecha. HELD:Yes. Funtecha is an employee of petitioner Filamer. He need not have an official appointment for a driver’s position in order that the petitioner may be held responsible for his grossly negligent act, it being sufficient that the act of driving at the time of the incident was for the benefit of the petitioner. Hence, the fact that Funtecha was not the school driver or was not acting within the scope of his janitorial duties does not relieve the petitioner of the burden of rebutting the presumption juris tantum that there was negligence on its part either in the selection of a servant or employee, or in the supervision over him. The petitioner has failed to show proof of its having exercised the required diligence of a good father of a family over its employees Funtecha and Allan.

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Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) characteristics and uses - Assignment Example DNA sequence determination of the mDNA has been from many organisms including the extinct ones, and the comparison of the sequences outlines the mainstay of phylogenetics. The researchers have therefore been able to elucidate various evolutionary relationships within species. Additionally, the analysis of the relatedness of the populations among organisms has been ascertained and has become vital in the field of anthropology. The human mitochondrion DNA as an example, is commonly present per every cell except in sex cells as elucidated by Brown, George & Wilson, 1979, and is closely related to that of metazoans. The circular double-strand molecule of mDNA has about 15000 to 17000 base pairs and the nucleotide content differentiates the two strands. In animals, the transcribed strand produces molecules of polycistronic RNA. In replication process, the mDNA is replicated by the gamma complex of the enzyme DNA polymerase that is composed of 140 kDa of the catalytic section of the enzyme encoded by the gene POLG and two accessory subunits of 55 kDa encoded by POLG2 gene. During the process of embryogenesis, the mDNA replication is down because it is regulated from the oocyte that is fertilized through the embryo that is pre-implanted. At the stage of blastocyst, Anderson et al, 1981, further exemplifies that onset of the replication of the mDNA is specific to the trophectoderm cells. In contrast, the replication of mDNA is restricted by the inner cell mass cell until they receive signals making them differentiate to specific cell types. In the susceptibility concept, the mDNA does not necessarily accumulate many oxidative base damages than the nuclear DNA. As a result, some other types of the oxidative DNA damage are more efficiently repaired in the mitochondria than in the nucleus. The presence of proteins in the organelle further offers protection just as in the nuclear chromatin. The integrity of

Communityy service Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Communityy service - Essay Example The backdrop of this medical camp is that there were lots of refugees as a result of the war with Armenia and we had to ensure that they were properly looked after. I have made an effort to list down all the activities that I performed in my interaction with the refugees and their relatives and the kind of medical assistance that we provided for them. One of the most important things to come out of the medical camp was the fact that I learnt a lot personally about the human conditions in refugee camps and the kind of medical assistance that needs to be provided for them. The team from Kyunhee University was very helpful and eager to work in the various departments of the medical facility. A point to be noted is that we conducted the medical camp after extensive interaction with the local hospital and then we ensured that all of them get the medical assistance that they needed. The next sections describe each of the activities in detail and the summary of my experience is also provide d in the last section. The conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan that killed 30,000 people and created one million refugees supposedly ended 13 years ago with a ceasefire in 1994 -- but the countries are still at war over Nagorno-Karabakh, a territory in Azerbaijan controlled by ethnic Armenian forces. Ordinary citizens are now caught in the middle. Azeri farmers living along the borders of the war zone dodge bullets as they attempt to sow vegetables and graze cattle; their irrigation water is blocked by Armenian forces and a lake that used to feed into six local villages has dried up. Traveling across the war zone to visit the nearest town six kilometers away requires a special pass, American and European efforts to resolve the issue diplomatically have failed, and the president of Azerbaijan is threatening a new war if the Armenians do not give up the occupied territory. The government of Azerbaijan also refuses to recognize the results of an upcoming

Being Me Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Being Me - Essay Example However, I chose not to have my marriage as a hurdle in the way of my education. Therefore, I discussed my desire of continuing studies with my husband. He was very reluctant to grant me permission to study. He was of the view that I might compromise upon my home in order to do good at studies. It took me as much as two whole years to convince him. I love him for finally understanding me. â€Å"You need not just a spouse, but a spouse who believes what you believe† (Onyemalech, n.d.). I assured him that home to me was just as important and sacred as it was to him, and convinced him that I would never compromise upon my home in any case. Becoming a Radiology Technologist had always been my dream. I worked in different areas in radiology including diagnostic, mammogram, MRI, and Cat Scan. By the grace of God, today I am the first female Director of Radiology at the medical center where I work. Today, when my high school class mates meet me, they become astonished to see me as a successful Radiology Technologist. The last thing they knew about me was that I had got married, and had said â€Å"good-bye† to studies. They expected me to have spent all of my life growing children. What makes all this even more interesting is that I managed to fulfill my duties as a wife and a mother along with taking my academic career and professional life to higher levels.

Does Religion Cause War Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Does Religion Cause War - Essay Example Religion is a sensitive issue because it is a matter of the heart to many people, (Burleigh 111-120). It arouses intense emotions. In many part of the world, religion is incorporated into people’s culture, (Gieling 190-201). If a religion causes war, it must be viewed in terms of what religion means to those who are passionate about it, (Burleigh 111). In other words, religion affects many things about people and becomes part and parcel of the personal life of those people. In that sense, people are bound to defend religion as part of their heritage, culture and essence of existence. Religion has proved to be stronger than life itself, (Gieling 190-201). People are willing to die for religious reasons. The fact is most religions come with a promise of greater and better life than life on earth. This is something that people are strongly attached to, (Burleigh 111-120). The attachment to deity makes life on earth seem to be of little or no significance. According to the religio us, this can seem to justify war to take care of these religious interests. Simply put, people can rise up to fight in the name of religion. Loyalty to a being higher than a human can cause people to go to the extremes, (Pearse 147). This has been proved over time. People feel that the reward they want from the unseen deity is more beneficial than respecting the rights of their fellow brothers and sisters. Sometimes the zeal tends to go overboard. For every act of adversity meted to fellow humans through a conflict of a religious nature, people feel there is a reward for it, (Gieling 190-201). This reward does not have to be physical. Religion and War are not strange bed fellows. In fact, they have gone together for a long time. Some of the reasons why people go to war in the name of religion include; spreading their faith. It has been argued that involving God in a war does not necessarily make it holy. One thing is clear, whether war is being done to spread faith or not, it is bou nd to have casualties. The results are always devastating. It has also been said that people fight with an aim of recovering consecrated places, (Pearse 147). These are places referred to as alters which could be profaned and polluted by a group that does not understand the proper use of such places. Such a belief causes the religious to feel duty bound to act on behalf of their god. In the process of recovery of such places, resistance arises, and that can become a beginning of a chain of wars. This includes war to avenge for acts of killings or past time cruelties which were done with a religious intention. Some Christians, Muslims or other groups feel that they may also want to recover countries that were once controlled by their faith. Many countries especially in Middle East and Asia have gone to the extent of incorporating their religion into their constitutions, (Gieling 190-201). This means that religion became part of the culture of those countries. A violation of faith in such a setting is viewed as blasphemy. In such cases, it becomes hard for people with other religious affiliations to exercise their religious freedom. In a large or small way, religion in such a context becomes a source of conflict. The paradox of religion is that it was meant to instill freedom and peace into a world full of conflict, (Cavanaugh 51-62). However, more often than not, religion tends to bring chaos. We have had long and protracted conflicts in the Middle East, (Burleigh 111-120). All because of religious reasons, we have had militias formed to defend certain religious convictions in remote societies. To a certain extent, there

Explication Essay - comparing two poems of similar theme

Explication - comparing two poems of similar theme - Essay Example While this seems as a leveling of love with the other material needs of life, what Millay seeks to do is to place love at a higher level than these needs, without denigrating the importance of these basic needs of human beings who are unable to resist â€Å"wants past resolution’s power† (Millay, 730). In the sestet, she makes this clear by stating the indispensable nature of love by stating the fact that unlike other needs of human beings, love is still not a commodity that the narrator of the poem can trade in the marketplace. The narrator ends the poem by stating that she may do so, but would rather not, thereby placing the tension between the two sparring needs of human beings. made in the name of love. In the first seven couplets of the poem, the poet, in images that are overtly sexual, describes the narrator’s love for a woman that is absent in the poem, but can be called a silent presence. Throughout these verses, the poet’s ideas about love are disturbing, since many of them include the incarceration of the lover. The urge to lock the lover in a â€Å"cell under lock and key† in particular, reveals the intentions of an obsessive lover (Brodsky, 734). Brodsky also reveals the intense sexual energy that the narrator of the poem has, pent up in himself, when he talks of the â€Å"lava relentlessly erupting† from his â€Å"hidden source† (ibid). The last lines of the poem, however, reveal the real intent of the poet in writing this poem. It talks of the narrator’s compulsion to accept the position that he does, in the life of his lover, so as to circumvent the restrictions that the society imposes on love and its m anifestations. The primeval nature of love and the sexual urges that are associated with non-platonic love are what the poet seeks to showcase through this poem. The restrictions that the church and institutions of marriage impose

Nelson Mandela Spiritual Biography Essay Example for Free

Nelson Mandela Spiritual Biography Essay Nelson Mandela challenged the status quo in many ways weather it was done politically, socially, or personally, in order to achieve such high goals Mandela paid many great personal expenses. Before the acts of Nelson Mandela, the country of South Africa was broken; it was plunged in a deep racism with the election in 1948. The regime of 1948 committed the crime of Apartheid which is defined as the action of committing inhumane acts of a character similar to other crimes against humanity which is committed in the context of an institutionalized regime which systematically oppresses and dominates one racial group over any other racial group or groups and commits it with the intention of maintaining that regime. Mandela would oppose the ideas of this regime and eventually play a major role in the elimination of the apartheid they worked in evil to create. In his autobiography Nelson Mandela describes his trials and tribulations on his journey to the freedom of South Africa hence the name of the book â€Å" Long Walk To Freedom†. From the time when he was young, Mandela was raised to be a leader. Nelson Mandela belongs to a cadet branch of the Thembu dynasty, which reigns in the Transkei region of South Africas Eastern Cape Province. When Mandela was nine, his father died of tuberculosis and the regent, Jongintaba, became his guardian. He attended many schools including The Wesleyan College in Healdtown, this is where most of the Thembu royalty went to college. Jongintaba conditioned Mandela to be a leader and these characteristics’ show during his presidency. However this leadership training was cut short by the fact that so many people of royalty face, arranged marrage. Shortly after leaving Fort Hare, Jongintaba announced to Mandela and Justice (the regents son and heir to the throne) that he had arranged marriages for both of them. He fled to Johannesburg in order to avoid being forcefully married and what he found was a country whose national flag was in the dictionary next to the word apartheid. Determined to change the status quo he embarked on a political campaign and joined the ANC and began practicing terrorism. He was arrested and sentenced to life in prison. He was released twenty seven years later by making the promise that he would stop participating in terrorism. He went back to the ANC and used it as his political party to run for office. He won due to the fact that he had won the right to vote for many of the black South Africans who supported him. He unified the country, most notably through rugby, but also helped to raise many of the blacks, whale not neglecting the whites, out of poverty. He is still an influential character to this day, and leads many humanitarian organizations. He is currently in the hospital due to medical troubles but he is expected to make a recovery. Starting in his early life Nelson Mandela always challenged the status quo. During this time he escaped an arranged marriage and thus beginning a life of meaningful defiance, defiance that would improve the lives of all those around him, defiance that lift a race from the depths of poverty, defiance that would end apartheid. He began his political campaign through peaceful protesting taking from the ideas of Gandhi with peaceful non- violent protest. This is shown by â€Å" I cannot pinpoint the a moment when I became politicized, when I knew that I would spend my life in the liberation struggle. To be African in South Africa means that one is politicized from the moment of ones birth , weather one acknowledges it or not.† (Long Walk to Freedom 208). He joined the ANC and on December 5 1956. Shortly after Mandela and 150 others were protesting non- violently and were arrested and charged with treason, however all of the defendants received acquittals. Mandela realized that he would need more aggressive tactics in order to end apartheid. He defied the 1948 regime which supported and strengthened apartheid in South Africa, exemplified by a biography of Nelson Mandela â€Å" The NP seized the political initiative in 1948 and retained it into the early 1950s, pushing through its agenda of apartheid legislation without seeming to pay any heed, let alone making any compromises, to the political forces arranged against it.† (Nelson Mandela 46). This quote exemplifies why Mandela abandoned his non- violent means, because the regime had total support from the white population and would not change its views in any way. In 1961 Mandela became the leader of the armed wing of the ANC and continued his defiance by violent means. Mandela described the move to armed struggle as a last resort; Due to the fact that the oppression and violence from the government was increasing despite his best efforts, this convinced Mandela that even with many more years of non-violent protest against apartheid, he could not eliminate apartheid non-violently. And in June 1961, Mandela sent a letter to South African newspapers warning the government, that if they did not meet their demands, the Umkhonto we Sizwe would embark on a campaign of sabotage. The letter demanded the government accept a call for a national constitutional convention. The demands were not met by the government and beginning on 16 December 1961, the Umkhonto we Sizwe with Mandela as its leader, launched a bombing campaign against government targets with the first action of the campaign being the bombing of an electricity sub –station. In total, over the next eighteen months, the Umkhonto we Sizwe would initiate dozens more acts of sabotage and bombings. This is shown by his quote â€Å"I do not deny that I planned sabotage. I did not plan it in a spirit of recklessness nor because I have any love of violence. I planned it as a result of a calm and sober assessment of the political situation that had arisen after many years of tyranny, exploitation and oppression of my people by the whites.† (Nelson Mandela). This exemplified his true defiance of apartheid, that he was willing to corrupt his values to achieve a goal. Nelson Mandela did not follow the status quo by any means during these years of his life. His trial also exemplifies how he did not follow the status quo. He tried to use his trial to fight apartheid but this argument did not abide so well with the white judge who was appointed by the 1948 administration. In the end he was found guilty of many crimes as stated in â€Å" Crimes Charged: (1) The commission of acts of sabotage together with the communist party; (2) conspiracy to aid or procure wrongful acts concerning the recruitment of persons for training in the preparation and use of explosives for committing acts of violence, conspiracy to commit acts of guerilla warfare, acts of assistance to military units of foreign countries invading South Africa, and acts of participation in violent revolution; (3) the execution of the common purpose of committing the acts set out above; (4) soliciting money in South Africa and abroad and disbursing those funds in the interests of their campaign† ( Great World Trials 347). Although this quote may be long and difficult to read, it is indicative evidence for what they are truly imprisoning Mandela for, to silence his defiance. After his trial and conviction and he was taken to Robben Island where he would truly begin his spiritual journey. Even the prison system in South Africa was segregated and Mandela was a D- Class Prisoner and was only allowed one visit and letter per month. However even though Mandela was in Jail his wife, Winnie Mandela continued defying apartheid shown by â€Å" All the while, Mandela’s wife, Winnie Mandela, who was both his loyal supported and respected representative on the outside, spent the decades protesting and periodically being tried, imprisoned, and banned for her political activity.†( Great World Trials 352). Mandela began a journey of knowledge gaining a Bachelor of laws from the University of London via their external program shown by â€Å" I was still in the midst of perusing my L.L.B. at the Universi ty of London. I had started studying for the L.L.B. at the University of London during the Rivonia Trial† ( Long Walk to Freedom 504). This clearly exemplifies Mandela’s defiance, that even though they locked him up he still perused his goal of ending apartheid which he found to be best served by furthering his education and gaining a law degree. Mandela also read poetry growing very fond of a poem by William Earnest Henley called Invictus. These beautiful words inspired him to not be revengeful towards the whites who put him in prison but rather to seek unity. Mandela was eventually released from jail on February 2, 1990 after he made a deal with President F. W. de Klerk who had gotten rid of the ban on ANC and other organizations like it. Upon his release from prison he rejoined the leadership of the ANC now lead by Chris Hani. Mandela gained control of the ANC in April of 1993 following the assassination of Chris Hani. By then the ANC and other anti- apartheid organizations had won the rights of the black population to vote. Mandela used the ANC as his political party to commit the ultimate act of defiance, run for the presidency of South Africa. The ANC won 62 percent of the votes in the election, and Mandela was inaugurated as South Africa’s first black president on May 10 1994. Nelson Mandela viewed this as the beginning of his journey and not the time to relax shown by â€Å" I have walked that long road to freedom. I have tried not to falter; I have made missteps along the way. But I have discovered the secret that after climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb. I have taken a moment here to rest, to steal a view of the glorious vista that surrounds me, to look back on the distance I have come. But I can rest only for a moment, for with freedom comes responsibilities, and I dare not linger, for my long walk has not yet ended.† ( Long Walk to Freedom 640). Mandela had committed the ultimate act of defiance of running for president and came out victorious, the white residents of South Africa was in for some payback for imprisoning him for 27 years, at least that was the general idea carried by the white population when Mandela was elected, but Mandela had other plans. When Nelson Mandela first walked into his office as president he found many of the people who worked in his office, such as secretaries, packing up their things in anticipation of Mandela firing them. Mandela called them into his office and many thought that they were about to get fired. Instead Mandela asked them to put aside their political views and asked all of the old employees to stay and work with him. In doing this he is once again defying the status quo, which was that he would seek revenge on the whites for his imprisonment, but instead of revenge he sought unity. He unified the country in many ways most notably through rugby. He now asked others not to follow the status quo. He asked to blacks to back the previously hated Springboks, the South African Rugby Team. A movie named Invictus tells the story of this as the underdog South African team lead by the captain of the rugby team Francois Pienaar won against the favored New Zealand rugby team. This is shown by â€Å" When he took the field in a rugby uniform after South Africa won the 1995 World Cup, the virtually all white crowd chanted, â€Å" Nelson! Nelson!†.† (Nelson Mandela 142. During his reign as president Nelson Mandela virtually ended apartheid in South Africa ushering in a new era for prosperity for the country. In all Nelson Mandela was a very influential human rights activist and his work can be categorized to be as great as the work of Gandhi or Martin Luther King Jr. due to the basic human rights that he rightfully gave to so many South Africans. He also is an influential leader to this day and has his name on many charitable organizations. He defied the status quo of a country and won. In the End these words given the title of Invictus by William Ernest Henley truly reflect Nelson Mandela’s desire for unity and his capacity for forgiveness. Out of the night that covers me, Black as the Pit from pole to pole, I thank whatever gods may be For my unconquerable soul. In the fell clutch of circumstance I have not winced nor cried aloud. Under the bludgeonings of chance My head is bloody, but unbowed. Beyond this place of wrath and tears Looms but the Horror of the shade, And yet the menace of the years†¨Finds, and shall find, me unafraid. It matters not how strait the gate, How charged with punishments the scroll. I am the master of my fate: I am the captain of my soul. Works Cited Mandela, Nelson, Wyk Chris Van, and Paddy Bouma. Long Walk to Freedom. New York: Flash Point/Roaring Brook, 2009. Print. Maltz, Leora. Nelson Mandela. San Diego: Greenhaven, 2004. Print. Knappman, Edward W. Great World Trials. Detroit: Gale Research, 1997. Print. Invictus 2009. Perf. Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon. Warner Bros., 2009. BrainyQuote. Xplore, n.d. Web. 17 Dec. 2012.

What Is Man Doing To The Earth Religion Essay

What Is Man Doing To The Earth Religion Essay THREE HUNDRED years ago, man lived much closer to nature. For the most part, he was not threatened by man-made changes to the global environment in the way he is today. The industrial revolution had not begun. There were no power stations, factories, automobiles, or other sources of widespread pollution. The thought of mans ruining the whole earth may have been hard for him to imagine. Yet, even back then, a warning about global ruination was in wide circulation. That warning was found in the last book of the Bible, and it foretold a time when God would intervene in mans affairs to bring to ruin those ruining the earth.-Revelation 11:17,  18. How comforting for all who are concerned about modern mans mismanagement of the earth to know that the Creator of our magnificent planet will save it from ruin! But, you may wonder, have we really reached such a critical situation that Gods intervention is needed? Well, consider some of the facts and judge for yourself. Forests beautify the earth and provide food and shelter for several million different species. As trees grow and manufacture food, they perform other vital services, such as absorbing carbon dioxide and releasing precious oxygen. Thereby, National Geographic says, they offer one antidote to the global warming that threatens life on earth as we know it. But man is ruining his forest heritage. North American and European forests are dying from pollution. And the demands of industrial nations are decimating tropical forests. An African newspaper explained that in 1989, 66 million cubic metres [of tropical wood were] expected to be exported-48  percent to Japan, 40  percent to Europe. Also, in some lands, farmers burn forests to create farmland. Soon the fragile forest soil becomes exhausted, and the farmers have to burn more forest. It is estimated that in this century alone, nearly half the worlds forests have vanished. Oceans Earths oceans also play a vital role in cleaning the atmosphere, and mans activities are ruining them. Vast quantities of carbon dioxide are absorbed by the oceans. In turn, phytoplankton absorbs carbon dioxide and releases oxygen. Dr.  George Small explains the importance of this life cycle: 70  percent of the oxygen added to the atmosphere each year comes from plankton in the sea. Yet, some scientists warn that phytoplankton could be seriously depleted because of ozone reduction in the atmosphere, which is believed to be caused by man. Also, man dumps garbage, oil, and even toxic wastes into the ocean. While some countries agree to limit the wastes they allow to be dumped at sea, others refuse. One Western nation even reserves the right to dump nuclear wastes at sea. Famed ocean explorer Jacques Cousteau warns: We must save the oceans if we want to save mankind. Drinking Water Man is ruining even his drinking water! In poor lands, millions of people die each year because of contaminated water. In richer nations, water sources are contaminated by, among other things, fertilizers and pesticides that wash into rivers and seep into groundwater. In 1986 the world production of pesticides was 2.3 million tons, and the rate of increase is reported to be 12  percent per year. Another source of pollution is chemical dumps. The metal drums containing the chemicals, explains Scientific American, are nothing less than time bombs that will go off when they rust through. This type of pollution, the journal adds, is happening worldwide in thousands of chemical waste dumps. The result? All over the earth, once pure rivers are being turned into industrial sewers. It is estimated that 20 million Europeans drink water from the Rhine, yet this river is so polluted that sludge dredged from its bed is too dangerous to use for landfill! Farming Practices Alarmingly, man is even ruining his farmland. In the United States alone, 20  percent of the land set aside for irrigation has been damaged, according to Scientific American. Why? Because overirrigation adds too much salt to the soil. Many countries have ruined much valuable land in this way. As much land is now being taken out of production due to salinization as is being brought into production through new irrigation projects, states The Earth Report. Another widespread problem is overgrazing,  which may be contributing to the spread of deserts. Too Many Motor Vehicles So much for our planets land and water. But what about its air? This too is being ruined, and the culprits are many. To mention just one, consider the automobile. Following are warnings from three influential scientific journals: Motor vehicles generate more air pollution than any other single human activity. (New Scientist) There are currently 500 million registered automobiles on the planet .  .  . Filling their tanks consumes about one third of the worlds production of oil. .  .  . The number of automobiles is increasing more quickly than the population. (Scientific American) Petrol [gasoline] in all phases of production, use and disposal is a major source of environmental degradation and disease.-The Ecologist. Yes, our planet is being abused, ruined. Its seas, drinking water, farmlands, and even its atmosphere are being polluted to an enormous extent. Surely, this alone would suggest that the time is near for God to intervene and bring to ruin those ruining the earth. (Revelation 11:18) However, there are other, even worse, ways in which the earth is being ruined. Let us see just what they are. A World Government The only way to combat the  greenhouse effect and other emerging  environmental  disasters is a world government, says Dr.  Kenneth Hare, renowned geographer and  climate-change expert. Humanity is mounting a deadly assault on nature, Hare warned. The planet is threatened not just by a nuclear holocaust but by ecological misuse, reports the Calgary Herald, a Canadian newspaper. Hare claims that three billion tons of carbon are spewed into the atmosphere annually by automobile exhausts and industrial smokestacks. Computer studies show that even with moderate economic growth, carbon-dioxide levels would double by the year 2075. Weve created a global problem, and without regulation of the environment on a global scale, well be in trouble, said Hare. What Dr.  Hare recommends is indeed logical. Still, can man ever hope to establish a global government that would be able to do such things as regulate economic growth, develop nonpolluting energy sources, and convince humankind to embark on a program of worldwide environmental care? Hardly! Gods Word clearly says: To earthling man his way does not belong. It does not belong to man who is walking even to direct his step. (Jeremiah 10:23) However, this does belong in the hands of God. As the Prince of Peace, his Son, Jesus Christ, will administer a world government that will rule in justice and righteousness. Under his heavenly rulership, mankind will not imperil the environment.-Isaiah 9:6,  7; 11:9; Daniel 2:44. Oh, for Some Fresh Air! BY AWAKE! CORRESPONDENT IN BRITAIN WHEN you breathe, do you inhale fresh air? Present-day air pollution is a bigger enemy than smoking, claims a doctor quoted in The Times of London. In England and in Wales, contaminated air kills an estimated 10,000 people every year. Worldwide, especially in large cities, the situation is serious. Many blame the automobile industry for polluting the atmosphere. To reduce dangerous exhaust, new vehicles in many countries now come fitted with catalytic converters, which reduce pollution. The hydrocarbons in exhaust gases have dropped to 12 percent of the 1970 levels, with similar reductions of nitrogen oxides and carbon monoxide. Babies in strollers are particularly vulnerable because they ride at the level that cars spew out fumes. But air pollution threatens car occupants as well. Reportedly, the contamination is three times higher inside cars than outside. Further hazards come from inhaling benzene fumes from fuel as you fill your cars fuel tank. Now the most prevalent form of air pollution worldwide is Suspended Particulate Matter, says a 1993-94 United Nations environmental data report. Apparently, tiny bits of soot, or particulate matter, have the ability to penetrate deep into the lungs and there deposit damaging chemicals. The depletion of the ozone layer high above the globe attracts much press comment. At ground level, however, sunlight acts on the nitrogen oxides and other volatile elements of air pollution to produce high levels of ozone. These levels have doubled in Britain during this century. These gases damage paint and other building materials, cause disease in trees, plants, and crops, and appear to trigger respiratory problems in some people. Although most of the ozone pollution occurs in towns, surprisingly it is the rural areas that suffer the worst effects. In the urban areas, nitrogen oxides mop up the excess ozone, but where these oxides are sparse, the ozone has free rein to wreak damage. Additionally, air pollution is up to 70 times higher inside homes than outdoors, reports The Times. Here the fumes from air fresheners, mothballs, and even dry-cleaned clothes pollute the air. Cigarette smoke likewise adds to health risks indoors. What, then, can you do to protect your family? The Times of London offered the following suggestions. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Reduce your use of the car. If possible, share transportation with others. Drive smoothly. If stuck in a traffic jam or otherwise stationary for more than a couple of minutes, switch off the engine. If possible, on hot days park your car in the shade to reduce pollution produced by fuel evaporation. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Choose to exercise in the early mornings when ozone levels outdoors are generally low. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Outlaw smoking in the home. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Keep bedroom windows slightly open at night to lower humidity and move allergens outside. No doubt you agree: Oh, for some fresh air! Warning! This Water May Be Hazardous to Your Health CAN you imagine turning on the water tap at your kitchen sink, holding a lighted match to the faucet, and witnessing a horrifying eruption of flames? Can you imagine a freshwater river that bursts into flames at the drop of a lighted cigarette? Would you be appalled if your bathwater was too thick to drink but too thin to plow and piling up in one end? Does it boggle the mind to think of river water that can develop a picture from a negative before your eyes? What would be your reaction if your tap water came out with a head on it, looking like bock beer? Do you have to open the window at your sink so as not to stink up the house when water is drawn from the faucet? Does your marriage mate leave the morning pot of coffee untouched because of its unusual strength, only to discover later that no coffee had been added yet? Or is your water crystal clear, pure in taste, but your family repeatedly suffers from headaches, dizziness, dysentery, or skin rashes after drinking it? Or would the suffering of tremors, blindness, and impairment of the central nervous system best describe the symptoms? Did you know that not long ago one third of humanity was in a perpetual state of illness because of impure water and that ten million people were dying each year, not for the lack of it, but because of it? Can all of this be the figment of a wild imagination-the stuff of science-fiction movies? Unfortunately, the scenarios are true. It has become obvious that man today has the awesome genius to poison completely every living thing on the face of the earth and in the waters below. Most of this has come about through his efforts to make life easier-mitigating pain and disease, bringing the world closer to his living room through communication, pursuing his quest into outer space, and making  destructive  implements of war. Most of this is caused by mans creation of new but deadly chemical compounds. Six years ago, over 60,000 such chemical concoctions were on the market-35,000 of which were classified as either deadly or extremely hazardous to our health, with thousands more being formulated each year. From these chemical cocktails have come equally dangerous and highly toxic wastes that are disposed of by dumping them into the earth, rivers, and streams, with little thought of the consequences it would have on people or environment. A Boon to Farmers, a Bomb to Earths Waters Pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers have been a boon to the worlds farmers, but they have been a bomb to earths waters. For years farmers in Californias San Joaquin Valley sprayed their grapes, fruit, and tomatoes with the pesticide DBCP, only to discover in recent years that it can cause cancer and sterility in humans. Although the spraying has stopped, the poison hasnt stopped percolating through the layers of the earth and into the underground water system. Thirty-five percent of the wells in the valley have DBCP, said a spokesman for the health department. In one county in California, 250,000 people run the risk of DBCP contamination, reported Newsweek magazine. Other pesticides affect the nervous system. Still others are suspected of causing various other illnesses. Some herbicides have been discovered to have serious effects on the brain, rendering the victim immobile. In many agricultural areas, fertilizers have raised nitrate concentrations above health standards set out in some countries. These chemicals, too, have infiltrated aquifers. Detergents, solvents, dry-cleaning fluids, septic-tank cleaners, to mention a few, have been highly developed through chemistrys progression. The result has been marvelous benefits to mankind. However, as these products percolate through the earth, the result has been a contamination of earths pure waters for generations to come. We are poisoning ourselves and our posterity, said one environmentalist. Many of the millions of underground gasoline storage tanks at the service stations dotting the highways and city streets leak, as reports show, and their highly explosive contents seep into the ground and percolate through the well-water systems. They can cause houses and barns to burst into flames when the fumes reach a lighted match. Flames from a water faucet are all too common as a result of this underground witches brew of death-dealing chemicals oozing into the water system. It was thought that the earth itself would purify these chemicals as they trickled through the layers of the earth, rendering them harmless. In the past decade, however, it has been discovered that many of these dangerous chemicals have not been filtered out but go right through to the aquifers, contaminating them for generations to come. Ground-water contamination is the result of sins committed a long time ago, said James Groff of the American Water Works Association. Nobody had the foresight to predict it. The sins, however, continue to be committed to this date. The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that in the United States alone 1.5 trillion gallons of hazardous waste leak into the underground water system each year. Much of it is deliberately dumped by unscrupulous and greedy men without regard to the terrible, terrible damage to mans water and health. Just 1 gallon of solvent will contaminate 20 million gallons of ground water to exceed safe levels set by most states, said one scientist. When one thinks in terms of a trillion gallons of waste, then the expression, water, water everywhere, and not a drop to drink, looms up as being a potentially frightful reality. A Time Bomb, Slowly Ticking Away Ground water and its contaminants, said the chairman of the House Subcommittee on Environment, Energy and Natural Resources, represent a potential time bomb, slowly ticking away. Theres a growing belief that this problem will be the next great crisis of the 1980s. The New York Times reported: There is wide agreement, however, that the contamination of ground water is by far the most serious and difficult problem affecting the quality of drinking water and now constitutes a subterranean time bomb. Theres no doubt we have a time bomb on our hands, warned a University of Arizona scientist. The question is how big the bang will be. A person does not have to put his ear to the ground to know how big the bang will be. Already the world shudders in fear of the coming explosion. For example, it has been estimated that by the year 2000 a fourth of the worlds water supply could be unsafe for drinking. A third of the water in Chinas major rivers is polluted beyond safe limits for human consumption, said Worldwatch Institute. According to Thane Gustafson, a specialist on Soviet Union affairs, that country will face a greater demand for water by the year 2000 than its waters can supply because of water pollution today. South America faces a similar crisis-a water supply too contaminated for its people to drink. Either we manage to limit the waste of water or by the year 2000 we shall be dying of thirst, proclaimed the United Nations World Conference on water. Without being guilty of exaggeration it is easy to foresee that in the very near future the world will be literally dying of thirst, either as a result of pollution or present wasteful usage, the conference said. People in all parts of the earth experience the devastating effects of the time bomb that appears to have exploded on the world scene already. When one considers, for example, that 70 percent of Indias drinking water is polluted and is the cause of much of the countrys illness, it becomes no exaggeration to say that its waters and all life dependent on them cry out for a cure. And what can be said of the Third World countries and the dying people looking for clean water? Truly, the world faces a dilemma of unprecedented proportions. Water-borne diseases kill 30,000 people every day, said Swiss water-treatment expert Dr.  Maarten Schalekamp. Only a third of mankind possesses what he called irreproachable drinking-water facilities, while another third of earths inhabitants is drinking contaminated water. The remaining third has very little water of any kind. And so it goes. Poisoned waters percolating through the earth, rushing through its rivers, meandering down its streams, cascading over its falls, while a great portion of mankind inevitably drinks to its death. Truly, a time bomb of mans own making! Jehovah God, the Creator of earth, man, and all life-giving waters, has set ticking his own time bomb by which he will bring to ruin those ruining the earth. (Revelation 11:18) It is set to go off at his appointed time, and those who have ruined the earth, the air, and the water will not be able to defuse it or to escape its destructive forces. The year 2000 continues to be pointed to by man as being a critical time. Whether the guilty live to see that feared year remains to be seen. Only Jehovah knows. Following the destruction of those whom God now holds accountable, the earth will be restored to a paradise, and rivers of waters of life, clean and pure, will be abundant for every living thing. Our Beautiful Earth-How Much of It Will We Leave Our Children? ACCORDING to published reports, 1.7  billion children have been born into the world since the year 1970. If they constituted a nation, it would be the worlds largest. Is it not fair to ask, What kind of world are we leaving them? Over 25 years ago a prominent doctor of the U.S. Public Health Service observed: We all live under the haunting fear that something may corrupt the environment to the point where man joins the dinosaurs as an obsolete form of life. In the intervening years, that fear has intensified. Last year a national forum, addressed by nearly a hundred biologists, warned that coming was a wave of mass extinctions such as wiped out the dinosaurs, only this time it would not be by a natural development but by human activities. This year Worldwatch Institute released its report State of the World 1987. It said: A sustainable society satisfies its needs without diminishing the prospects of the next generation. By many measures, contemporary society fails to meet this criterion. Questions of ecological sustainability are arising on every continent. The scale of human activities has begun to threaten the habitability of the earth itself. The Institutes report said that the demands of over 5  billion people-and their numbers are increasing by 83  million a year-are overwhelming the regenerative capacities of earths biological systems. Chemical pollution is thinning the atmospheric ozone and may lead to causing more skin cancers, impairing human immune systems, and retarding crop growth. If acid rain continues, not only will more lakes and forests die but soils will acidify further and may take decades, if not centuries, to recover. Intensified farming practices have pushed the rate of topsoil loss beyond that of new soil formation. Deforestation reduces the amount of carbon dioxide used from the atmosphere, and the burning of fossil fuels releases more carbon dioxide than the remaining plants and the oceans can take in. The result is an increase in the warming greenhouse effect that may ultimately melt glaciers and flood coastal cities. The loss of tropical forests means less recycling of water for rainfall and may lead to the creation of deserts. Toxic chemicals, raw sewage, crude oil, nuclear accidents, radon, microwaves, asbestos-on and on could go the listing of mans sins against the environment. State of the World 1987 warns: Never have so many systems vital to the earths habitability been out of equilibrium simultaneously. New environmental problems also span time periods and geographic areas that stretch beyond the authority of existing political and social institutions. No single nation can stabilize the earths climate, protect the ozone layer, preserve the planets mantle of forests and soils, or reverse the acidification of lakes and streams. Only a sustained international commitment will suffice. This commitment is dragging its feet, and time is running out. Hundreds of billions are spent in the arms race; a mere pittance is spent on preserving the environment that sustains us and the neglect of which can kill us. Since 1983 the United States alone has committed $9  billion to the Strategic Defense Initiative research and wants $33  billion more for it from 1986 to 1991-but turns stingy on the environment. The other industrialized nations do likewise. The State of the World 1987 puts the crisis in a nutshell: The time has come to make peace with each other so that we can make peace with the earth. A sustainable future, this report states, calls upon us simultaneously to arrest the carbon dioxide buildup, protect the ozone layer, restore forests and soils, stop population growth, boost energy efficiency, and develop renewable energy sources. No generation has ever faced such a complex set of issues requiring immediate attention. Preceding generations have always been concerned about the future, but we are the first to be faced with decisions that will determine whether the earth our children inherit will be habitable. The following article shows the crisis developing over toxic chemicals. The Ugly Side of Industrial Chemicals IT WAS just after midnight on a cool December evening in 1984 that the worst industrial accident in history happened. A world away from the Republic of India, few people were familiar with the name Bhopal, an industrial city with a population of more than 800,000, located almost at the center of the country. Its sleeping residents were unaware of the death-dealing events developing a stones throw away. At the U.S. Union Carbide plant in Bhopal, a storage tank holding 45  tons of methyl isocyanate (MIC), a deadly chemical used in making pesticides, began building up dangerously high pressure. Suddenly, from a malfunctioning valve, a cloud of poisonous gas began spreading death and agony over the quiet city. It snuffed out the lives of more than 2,500 men, women, and children. It maimed more than a hundred thousand others. The death of thousands of animals-water buffalo, cattle, and dogs-caused the countryside to be littered with dead bodies that clogged the roads and city streets. Bhopal became a giant makeshift crematory, burning the dead around the clock. Seventy funeral pyres, with bodies stacked 25 high, consumed the dead in their flames. Others were buried in hurriedly dug mass graves-scores of bodies at a time. Later another catastrophe hit Europe and was called Bhopal on the Rhine. A chemical spill from an industrial plant above Basel, Switzerland, dumped 40  tons of poisonous waste into the Rhine. It killed hundreds of thousands of fish and eels as it drifted downstream along the German-French border, into the Rhineland and then through the Netherlands to the North Sea. One newspaper editorialized: The Swiss used to be considered clean, their industry safe, and that included the chemical industry. That is all past now. The residents of Bhopal and communities along the Rhine River had become the victims of a technological age that boasts the compounding of more than 66,000 chemical concoctions. Many are formulated to make life easier for man, yet, ironically, a vast number are highly toxic and can cause fatal and devastating side effects, both to humans and to the entire biological system. One expert classified these chemicals as biocides. Many are the chemicals with long names that few people can pronounce and that for convenience bear letters such as PCB, DDT, PCDD, PCDF, TCDD. This alphabet soup of toxic chemicals is a deadly hazard both to humans and to earths resources on which man must rely to live. Thousands upon thousands of releases of toxic substances into the environment occur each year, said a spokesman for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Such releases pose a threat to the quality of air, surface water, and underground drinking supplies, and poison the soil for decades to come. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates that in the United States alone, 1.5  trillion gallons of hazardous chemical wastes find their way into the underground water systems each year. Knowing that just one gallon of solvent will contaminate 20  million gallons of groundwater to exceed safe levels, it is staggering to compute what catastrophic damage 1.5  trillion gallons of poisonous chemicals are doing. Because of hazardous chemicals and wastes and the careless dumping of them, rivers and streams are being polluted. Fish are dying. As the rivers and streams enter the oceans, the death-dealing chemicals pour with them, and in some places where ocean life was once plentiful, today, according to famed oceanographer Jacques Cousteau, fish can no longer be found. Bird and animal life is also threatened by the contamination. Even wildlife sanctuaries prove to be no haven. Ten national wildlife refuges are contaminated by toxic chemicals and another 74 may be in danger. .  .  . Agricultural runoff containing selenium and other chemicals has killed large numbers of waterfowl in the refuge, reported The New York Times of February  4, 1986. World experts do not paint a promising picture for the future. The rapid diminishment of earths resources does not end with the loss of soil and the pollution of air and water. What about earths great tropical rain forests that for millenniums have raised their leafy arms hundreds of feet into the air? Are these too in danger of going the way of other resources that are diminishing before our eyes? Whether we realize it or not, our lives are affected by these luxuriant handiworks of Jehovah, as the next article will show. What Future for Us and Our Children? A FAMILY cannot spend more than it makes and remain solvent. A nation cannot pay out more than it takes in and still prosper; nor can we continue our deficit spending of the environment. We cannot squander more soil than is formed, create more carbon dioxide than plants can use, cut down more trees than we replace, pollute more air and water than earth can recycle. Environmental deficits, like national deficits, will demand an accounting. They will be paid, either in money and international cooperation or in lives-ours and our childrens. Modern technology has made the ruining of the earth possible. It could be used to prevent it. Why isnt it? Love of money. It would cost billions. This world cannot see-or in its selfishness will not see-beyond its own shortsighted materialistic desires. Since it refuses to pay in money, it will pay in loss of topsoil, loss of forests, loss of aquifers, hothouse atmosphere, poisoned water, mounting sickness, human lives. And to hold onto its money, this world is selling off its childrens future. Will it wake up in time? Historys answer is not reassuring, but Gods answer is. Jehovah God himself says that he will step in and bring to ruin those ruining the earth. (Revelation 11:18) He will remove from earth those ruining its environment and destroying its beauty, for he created it to be life-sustaining and beautiful. The heavens are my throne, and the earth is my footstool, he says, and: I shall glorify the very place of my feet.-Isaiah 66:1; 60:13. He created it to be inhabited by people who love righteousness-and it will be, by millions who once lived in the past, by millions who are living now, and by millions of children yet to be born. This he has recorded in his Word, the Bible, and you can read it for yourself at Isaiah 45:18 and John 5:28,  29. Then, cared for by those who love it, the earth will regenerate itself into the beauty with which our Creator originally endowed it. Then righteously disposed persons and their children will have a future, a glorious one: Just a little while longer, and the wicked one will be no more; and you will certainly give attention to his place, and he will not be. But the meek ones themselves will possess the earth, and they will indeed find their exquisite delight in the abundance of peace. The righteous themselves will possess the earth, and they will reside forever upon it.-Psalm 37:10,  11,  29. And never die? And never die! God himself will be with them. And he will wipe out every tear from their eyes, and death will be no more, neither will mourning nor outcry nor pain be anymore. The former things have passed away. (Revelation 21:3,  4) Too good to be true? No, this present wicked world is too bad to remain.-Daniel 2:44. But you and your children can remain. Jehovah God makes it possible through the sacrifice of his Son. To learn of Jehovah and of his Son will mean everlasting life for you and your children-life in a new world wherein righteousness is to dwell. (John 3:16; 17:3; 2  Peter 3:13) This can be the happy future for you and your children. Whether it is or not is up to you. Pollution-Who Causes It? THIS island is government property under experiment. The ground is contaminated with anthrax and dangerous. Landing is prohibited. This sign posted on the Scottish mainland opposite Gruinard Island warns off would-be visitors. For the past 47 years, since an experimental explosion of biological weapons during the second world war, this beautiful island has been contaminated by the disease agents of anthrax. Gruinard Island is an extreme example of pollution. But milder forms of ground pollution are a problem that is widespread and growing. Ground Pollution on the Increase One cause of this ground pollution i