April 15, 2021
DivinaLaw Associate Atty. Klinton M. Torralba recently shared his expertise and insights as one of the panel speakers during the online forum “COVID-19 vs. The Workforce: Navigating through Labor Issues in a Health Crisis.” Held last April 15, the forum was organized by Ateneo LEX, the premier business law organization of the Ateneo de Manila University.
To describe labor law, Atty. Torralba shared the purpose of labor legislation as provided under Article 13 of the 1987 Constitution. “(It) is to regulate the relations between workers and employers, recognizing the right of labor to its just share in the fruits of production and the right of enterprises to a reasonable return of investments, and to expansion and growth. It balances the need of the labor and the growth of the capital.”
Attended by future lawyers, Atty. Torralba said in the forum: “It is our job as Millennials to accept that winning in labor law should be redefined. In other cases, winning means you win a favorable judgement for your client. But in labor law, winning sometimes means reaching the middle point – an amicable settlement. It took me awhile to understand this, that you may lose some money or some property to reach an amicable settlement. But then I realized, if it means foregoing the necessary expense of litigation, saving time and resources, and most especially, preserving human relationship – keeping peace between the employer and the employee – then that is a cheap price to pay.”
Atty. Torralba is a member of the DivinaLaw’s Litigation, Labor, and Intellectual Property practice groups. He is a professor at the University of Santo Tomas Faculty of Civil Law. He was Top 9 in the 2017 Philippine Bar Examination.
