GR-

No. 120095 August 5, 1996

JMM PROMOTIONS & MANAGEMENT, INC. v CA

Petitioners: JMM Promotions & Management, Inc., and Kary International, Inc.,
Respondents: Hon. Court of Appeals;
Hon. Ma. Nieves Confessor; - then Secretary of the Department of Labor and Employment
Hon. Jose Brillantes; and
Hon. Felicisiomo Joson -Administrator of Philippine Overseas Employment Administration
Deciding Body: Kapunan, J., Padilla, Bellosillo, Vitug and Hermosisima Jr., JJ.

Facts:
1. After the gruesome death of Maricris Sioson, an entertainer, Former President Aquino
instituted the ban on deployment of performing artists to Japan and other countries.
Domestic helper, factory workers and entertainers worked under exploitive conditions even
rape and various forms of torture which compelled urgent government action.
2. The government through the Secretary of Labor and Employment issued Department Order
No. 28 this gave rise to the existence of Entertainment Industry Advisory Council (EIAC).
Pursuant to EIAC’s recommendations, Department Order No. 3 was created with the
following issuances:
1. D.O. No.3-A, providing for additional guidelines on the training,
testing, certiXication and deployment of performing artists.
2. D.O. No.3-B, pertaining to the Artist Record Book (ARB) requirement,
which could be processed only after the artist could show proof of
academic and skills training and has passed the required tests.
3. D.O. No.3-C, providing the minimum salary of performing artist ought
to received (not less that US$600.00 for those bound for Japan) and
the authorized deductions therefrom.
4. D.O. No.3-D, providing for the guidelines on the issuance and use of
the ARB by returning performing artists who, unlike new artists,
shall only undergo a Special Orientation Program (shorter than the
basic program) although they must pass the academic test.
3. The Federation of Entertainment Talent Managers of the Philippines (FETMOP) prayed for a
writ of preliminary injunction and it contends that the said orders:
1. violated the constitutional right to travel;
2. abridged existing contracts for employment;
3. deprived individual artists of their licenses without due process of
law; and
4. Issuances of the ARB was discriminatory and illegal and “in gross
violation of the constitutional right to life, liberty, and property”
4. JMM Promotion and Management, Inc. and Kary International Inc., Xiled for a Motion for
Intervention.
5. The trial court denied petitioners’ writ of preliminary injunction.

Issue: Whether or not Artist Record Book is a valid requirement for overseas employment.
Ruling: Yes. The ARB is a valid requirement for overseas employment.

The ARB requirement and the Department Order that issued it were issued pursuant to a valid
exercise of police power. The police power concerns government enactments which precisely
interfere with personal liberty with personal liberty or property in order to promote the general
welfare or the common good. The Constitution mandates the government to extend the fullest
protection to our overseas workers. This is embodied in Section 18 of Article II of the Constitution:
“The State afXirms labor as a primary social economic force. It shall protect the rights of workers
and promote their welfare.” Protection to labor does not indicate promotion of employment alone.
Under the welfare and social justice provisions of the Constitution, the promotion of full
employment, while desirable, cannot take a backseat to the government’s constitutional duty to
provide mechanisms for the protection of our workforce, local or overseas.”