The Insurance Commission said Wednesday said it authorized the release of P650 million worth of collateral security for the supersedeas bond posted by Philippine Airlines Inc. in 2011.
A supersedeas bond, also known as a defendant’s appeal bond, is a type of surety bond that a court requires from an appellant who wants to delay payment of a judgment until the appeal is over.
PAL posted the supersedeas bond when it appealed the Feb. 18, 2011 order of National Labor Relations Commission ordering the airline to pay P650 million to retrenched employees.
Insurance commissioner Dennis Funa said in a statement the agency authorized the release of the P650 million cash which was deposited in Allied Banking Corp. in favor of PAL.
“We have verified from the NLRC that its Nov. 27, 2015 decision affirming the order of the labor arbiter canceling surety bond issued by Philippine Phoenix Surety and Insurance, Inc. and releasing the collateral security posted for the said bond attained finality on Feb. 22, 2016. In fact, a corresponding entry of judgment was issued by NLRC on April 12, 2016,” Funa said.
“In view of this, we have authorized the release of the collateral security posted for the said bond to PAL,” he said.
The supersedeas bond was placed under liquidation by the Insurance Commission on May 4, 2015. The NLRC in an order dated July 23, 2015 issued a writ of execution ordering the cancellation of the supersedeas bond.
The case stemmed from the illegal dismissal case filed by the Flight Attendants and Stewardess Association of the Philippines against PAL in 1998.
The NLRC initially found PAL guilty of unfair labor practice and illegal dismissal and ordered the reinstatement of PAL’s retrenched employees. PAL appealed the case which reached the Supreme Court. It posted the corresponding supersedeas bond while the case was being heard.
The high tribunal, in a recent decision dated March 13, 2018 and penned by Associate Justice Lucas Bersamin, ruled in favor of PAL’s second motion for reconsideration and overturned its July 22, 2008 decision, which found PAL guilty of unlawful retrenchment and ordered the reinstatement of the retrenched cabin crew.