VICTORIANO vs.

ELIZALDE ROPE WORKERS’ UNION

September 12, 1974

Topic: Free Exercise

FACTS:
1. Benjamin Victoriano is a member of the religious sect known as the Iglesia ni Cristo.
2. As an employee of the Elizalde Rope Factory, Inc., he was a member of the Elizalde Rope Workers’ Union
which had with the Company a collective bargaining agreement containing a closed shop provision which
reads: “Membership in the Union shall be required as a condition of employment for all permanent
employees workers covered by this Agreement.”
3. RA 3350 was enacted, introducing an amendment stating that “such agreement [referring to CBA] shall
not cover members of any religious sects which prohibit affiliation of their members in any such labor
organization.”
4. Victoriano tendered his resignation from the Union claiming that as per RA 3350, he is an exemption to
the close shop agreement by virtue of his being a member of the INC because in the INC, one is forbidden
from being a member of any labor union.
5. The Union, however, wrote a formal letter to the Company asking the latter to separate Appellee from
the service in view of the fact that he was resigning from the Union as a member.
6. No. (5) prompted Appellee to file an action for injunction.
7. In its answer to no. (6), the Union invoked the “union security clause” of the collective bargaining
agreement, and assailed the constitutionality of RA 3350 for impairing the obligation of contracts.

ISSUE:
Whether or not RA 3350 is constitutional.

RULING:
Yes, RA 3350 is constitutional.
The Supreme Court of the United States has declared on several occasions that the rights in the First
Amendment, which include freedom of religion, enjoy a preferred position in the constitutional system.
Religious freedom, although not unlimited, is a fundamental personal right and liberty, and has a preferred
position in the hierarchy of values.

In this case, contractual rights founded on the collective bargaining agreement must yield to freedom
of religion.

Doctrine:

Free exercise of religious profession or belief is superior to contract rights.