While the court upheld the power of the health department to “protect health” and
“instill health consciousness,”
(^71) the court struck down asultra viresthe labeling
requirements for milk formula for non-infants.^72
In a case involving a labor strike, the court allowed hotel management to fire or
suspend union members who, after a bargaining deadlock between the hotel and
its union, reported for work with shaven heads. The court said it was tantamount to
an illegal strike, since the violation of the grooming standards was “clearly a
deliberate and concerted action” to “undermine the authority” of, and “embarrass,”
the hotel, “forcing” it to choose between its reputation and ceasing operations.^73
The court held
that the act of the Union was not merely an expression of their
grievance or displeasure but, indeed, a calibrated and calculated act
designed to inflict serious damage to the Hotel’s finances or its
reputation. Thus, we hold that the Union’s concerted violation of the
Hotel’s Grooming Standards which resulted in the temporary cessation
and disruption of the Hotel’s operations is an unprotected act and
should be considered as an illegal strike.^74
iv. de-territorialized notion of citizenship
The dominant notion defining membership in the political community is codified
through the citizenship clause of the Constitution. That notion was built on a fear
of the foreign, and the primacy – jealously guarded – of the native. Recently,
however, there has been a fundamental revision on two fronts: first, on discrimin-
ation on the basis of illegitimacy and the notion of the “natural-born citizen”; and
second, on the emerging consensus to restore the citizenship of overseas migrant
workers who are physically absent from the country or who have severed legal ties
and taken new citizenship abroad.
Because citizenship is the proxy test of allegiance, the highest public offices are
reserved for natural-born citizens.^75 During the 2004 presidential elections,
President Arroyo’s main opponent was a popular movie actor (friend and ally of
deposed president Estrada), Fernando Poe Jr, born an illegitimate child of an
American mother and a Filipino father. Under local laws, he would follow the
citizenship of the mother and, though he would be subsequently legitimated by
the marriage of his parents, he still would not be a “natural-born citizen.”
(^71) Const. Art.ii§ 15.
(^72) Pharmaceutical & Health Care Association of the Philippinesv.Health Secretary, G.R.
No 173034 (October 9 , 2007 ).
(^73) National Union of Workers in the Hotel Restaurant and Allied Industriesv.Court of
Appeals, G.R. No 163942 (November 11 , 2008 ).
(^74) Ibid. (^75) Const. Art.vii§ 2.