Alicia Tan - Gonzales

TIG-ILINIT SA UMA
PLOT
ENDING/RESOLUTION
Alicia Tan-Gonzales is from Bacolod City, has written fiction, poetry and plays in the Western
wrtretgdfgdfgdfgdfgdf paniaga, nagpabilin sa lamesa sila ni Cristy, Carding kag Tiyo Gorio,
nag-istorya sila tuhoy sa kahi The Insular Life Assurance Co., Ltd., Employees Association - NATU,
FGU Insurance Group Workers and Employees Association - NATU, and Insular Life Building Employees
Association - NATU, petitioners
vs.
The Insular Life Assurance Co., Ltd., FGU Insurance Group, Jose M. Olbes, and Court of Industrial
Relations, respondents.
G.R. No. L-25291, January 20, 1971

FACTS:

The Insular Life Assurance Co., Ltd., Employees Association - NATU, FGU Insurance Group Workers and Employees
Association - NATU, and Insular Life Building Employees Association - NATU (herein referred to as the Unions), while
still members of the Federation of Free Workers (FFW), entered into separate collective bargaining agreements with
the Insular Life Assurance Co., Ltd., and the FGU Insurance Group (herein referred to as the Companies).

Two of the lawyers and officers of the Unions namely Felipe Enaje and Ramon Garcia, tried to dissuade the Unions
from disaffiliating with the FFW and joining the National Association of Trade Unions (NATU), to no avail. Enaje and
Garcia soon left the FFW and secured employment with the Anti-Dummy Board of the Department of Justice and were
thereafter hired by the companies - Garcia as assistant corporate secretary and legal assistant, and Enaje as personnel
manager and chairman of the negotiating panel for the Companies in the collective bargaining with the Unions.

On October 1957, negotiations for the collective bargaining was conducted but resulted to a deadlock. From April 25
to May 6, 1958, the parties negotiated on the labor demands but with no satisfactory results due to the stalemate on
the matter of salary increases. This prompted the Unions to declare a strike in protest against what they considered
the Companies’ unfair labor practices. On May 20, 1958, the Unions went on strike and picketed the offices of the
Insular Life Building at Plaza Moraga.

On May 21, Jose M. Olbes, the acting manager and president, sent individual letters to the striking employees urging
them to abandon their strike with a promise of free coffee, movies, overtime pay, and accommodations. He also warned
the strikers if they fail to return to work by a certain date, they might be replaced in their jobs. Further, the Companies
hired men to break into the picket lines resulting in violence, and the filing of criminal charges against some union
officers and members. When eventually, the strikers called off their strike to return to their jobs, they were subjected
to a screening process by a management committee, among the members were Garcia and Enaje. After screening,
eighty-three (83) strikers were rejected due to pending criminal charges, and adamantly refused readmission of thirty-
four (34) officials and members of the Unions who were most active in the strike.

The CIR prosecutor filed a complaint for unfair labor practice against the Companies, specifically (1) interfering with
the members of the Unions in the exercise of their right to concerted action; and (2) discriminating against the members
of the Unions as regards readmission to work after the strike on the basis of their union membership and degree of
participation in the strike. After the trial, the Court of Industrial Relations dismissed the Unions’ complaint for lack of
merit.

ISSUES:

I. Whether or not the Companies are guilty of unfair labor practice when they sent individual letters to the
strikers with the promise of additional benefits, and notifying them to either return to work, or lose their
jobs; and

II. Whether or not the Companies are guilty of unfair labor practice for discriminating against the striking
members of the Unions in readmission of employees after the strike.
HELD:

First issue. The Companies contended that by sending those letters, it constituted a legitimate exercise of their freedom
of expression. That contention is untenable. The Companies are guilty of unfair labor practice when they sent individual
letters to the strikers. It is an act of interference with the right to collective bargaining through dealing with the strikers
individually instead of through their collective bargaining representatives. Although the Unions are on strike, the
employer is still obligated to bargain with the union as the employees’ bargaining representative. Further, it is also an
act of interference for the employer to send individual letters to the employees notifying them to return to their jobs,
otherwise, they would be replaced. Individual solicitation of the employees urging them to cease union activity or cease
striking consists of unfair labor practice. Furthermore, when the Companies offered to “bribe” the strikers with
“comfortable cots, free coffee, and movies, overtime work pay” so they would abandon their strike and return to work,
it was guilty of strike-breaking and/or union busting which constitute unfair labor practice.

Second Issue. Some of the members of the Unions were refused readmission because they had pending criminal
charges. However, despite the fact they were able to secure clearances, 34 officials and members were still refused
readmission on the alleged ground that they committed acts inimical to the Companies. It should be noted, however,
that non-strikers who also had criminal charges pending against them in the fiscal’s office, arising from the same
incidents whence against the criminal charges against the strikers are involved, were readily readmitted and were not
required to secure clearances. This is an act of discrimination practiced by the Companies in the process of rehiring
and is therefore a violation of Sec. 4(a)(4) of the Industrial Peace Act.

The respondent Companies did not merely discriminate against all strikers in general since they separated the active
rom the less active unionists on the basis of their militancy, or lack of it, on the picket lines. Discrimination exists where
the record shows that the union activity of the rehired strikers has been less prominent than that of the strikers who
were denied reinstatement.
mtangan sang uma kon tig-ilinit.
Sang mahagbong na ang fdgdfgdfgdfgdf. Upod sila nga duha nga malipay nga nagbalik sa balay
nila ni Carding. Sang sila mag-abot sa balay, timprano pa sila nanyapon. Pagkatapos sing
paniapon, si Cristy nag-gwa kag nagpungko sa idalom sang Santol kaupod si Auring, namangkot
siya kay Auring tuhoy sa mga aniniput nga yara sadto sa kahoy sang Talisay. Nag-una si Auring
sulod sa balay kay natuyo na kuno siya. Sang makalakat na si Auring, may nagtupad naman kay
Cristy, si Carding. Gin-pamangkot ni Carding si Cristy kung magabalik pa bala siya sa uma,
nagsabat naman ang dalaga nga kon agdahon kuno siya. Pagkatapos, dungan sila nga naglakat
pabalik sa http://www.bathandbodyworks.com/c/body-care/bath-fizzies-bubble-bath
Cristy, Auring, Carding, Pepe, Boyet, Tiya Marcel, Tiyo Gorio, Tonting kag Ilen

POINT OF VIEW:
The Narrator of the story has a LIMITED point of view
Preliminary Incidents
Samtang nagapreparar para sa paniaga sila ni Tiya Marcel kag Auring, si Cristy nag-gwa sa
balay, didto nakita ni Cristy ang grabe nga epekto sang tig-ilinit sa uma. Nakita niya ang mga
maniwang nga manok kag pato, apat ka ido nga halos karubkob nalang ang nagaputos sa ila
panit, ang kauhaw kag kakapoy sang bukid sa idalom sang kainit sang adlaw kag ang mga kahoy
nga layong kag ang iban nga nawad-an na sang dahon.
Sang makatapos na sila sang paniaga, si Tiyo Gorio nag-istorya kay Carding kag Cristy
nahanungod sa mga problema sini sa uma kapin nagid kon tig-ilinit.
RISING INCIDENTS
Si Carding naghambal sa iya amay nga indi dapat indi magsalig lang sa humay bangud ang
humay nagahulat lang sang tig-ululan para mabuhi. Naghambal pagid siya nga makita gid sang
iya amay nga may iban pa nga palangitan-an sa uma.
CLIMAX
Gin-updan ni Carding si Cristy sa sapa para maligo. Samtang gapaligo si Cristy, naglakat si
Carding kag nanguha sang apat-apat. Pagkatapos maligo ni Cristy, naglakat naman sila ni
Carding sa busay kag didto naghambal si Carding “Ang tubig indi makita sa tanan nga bahin
sang sapa nga nagailig, apang yara lang ini sa punta sang imo mga tudlu.” Sang hinali lang nga
may kagang nga naglabay sa ila atubang, nakibot si Cristy, gin-uyatan ni Carding ang kamut ni
Cristy, wala naman ini ginbawi sang dalaga. Gin-paathag naman ni Carding nga gapanago
lamang ang mga kagang sa idalom sang mga bato kon tig-ilinit kag ginpamangkot pagid niya si
Cristy kung nahibal-an na bala sini kun ano ka kusog ang kagang nga may dala nga kaham-ut.
Event leading to the development of the story:
Ang mag-abyan nga sila ni Cristy kag Auring nagapanglakaton pakadto sa uma nila ni Auring sa
ubos sang bukid Canapasan
FALLING INCIDENTS
Sila ni Cristy kag Carding nagpuli na kag timprano pa sila naniapon sang sina nga gab-i. Bangrus
nga sinabawan nga may apat-apat ang ila sud-an. Wala si Carding nagkuha sang hiniwa, si Cristy
wala naman. Ginsunlog ni Auring si Cristy nga updan man kuno sini ang iya magulang sa pagpu-
asa. Pagkatapos sang ila paniapon, nagkadto sila ni Auring kag Cristy sa idalom sang kahoy nga
Santol.
Sa idalom sang Santol, namangkot si Cristy kay Auring kung ngaa wala na sing mga aniniput sa
kahoy sang Talisay. Ginpa-athag naman ni Auring sa abyan nga kon tig-ilinit wala naga-gwa ang
mga aniniput. Nasubu-an gid si Cristy tungod sini kag si Auring naglakat na kay natuyo na kuno
siya. Nagpungko naman sa tupad niya si Carding. Nag-istorya sila nga ang mga aniniput kuno
daw mga bitu-on. Ginpamangkot ni Carding si Cristy kung sa diin bala siya magaobra kag kun
magabalik pa bala siya sa uma bisan tig-ilinit. Nagsabat naman ang dalaga nga kun agdahon
kuno siya. Naghambal naman ang ulitawo nga sa pila ka adlaw, agdahon niya gid ang dalaga. Si
Cristy naghambal nga magahulat kuno siya, kag dungan sila nga nagbalik sa balay kung sa diin
gasililiga ang mga kingki.
“Success can be achieved through optimism and hardwork.”
Just like what Carding personified in the story, even though summer is very harsh to the farm, he
never lost hope and he looked for other ways to get income from the farm instead of plainly
depending on the uncertain harvest of rice and he worked very hard to achieve his goal.
THEME:
The story “Tig-ilinit sa Uma” highlights the life of people in the farm, as what Carding said,
“Ang tubig indi makita sa tanan nga bahin sang sapa nga nagailig, apang yara lang ini sa punta
sang imo mga tudlu.” The way people in the farm value their family and deal with climate
change especially El Niño or the unbearable heat of the sun during the summer season, the way
they handle poverty and dryness of the farm that they were experiencing. The sacrifices they
make in order to cope with the uncertainties of life. Most of all, people in the farm hold on to
their hopes, confidence and optimistic views in life despite all the problems and hardships that
they encounter in their everyday life.
SIGNIFICANCE