Halagueña, et al. v. Philippine Airlines Incorporated, G.R. No. 172013 (2009)

In 2003, several female flight attendants (collectively the petitioners) employed by Philippine Airlines (the respondent), alleged that a provision in their collective bargaining agreement was discriminatory because it required women to retire at 55 years of age, while men could work until 60 years of age. Philippine Airlines Inc. claimed that because the case involved a labor dispute, the court to which the case was assigned, the Regional Trial Court of Makati City, lacked subject matter jurisdiction. The Court of Appeals accepted this argument and found that the Regional Court did not have jurisdiction over the case. The petitioners filed for certiorari with the Supreme Court, which held that the Regional Court did have jurisdiction because the action was not a grievance, but instead a civil action to annul a contractual provision, the legality and constitutionality of which are within the Regional Court’s jurisdiction.