Social Security System v. Debbie Ubaña

Summary

Debbie Ubaña filed a civil case for damages against the Social Security System (SSS) claiming she was exploited by being paid significantly below regular SSS employee salaries while performing identical work through service contractors. The case traversed multiple courts with jurisdictional disputes. The Supreme Court ultimately affirmed that regular courts have jurisdiction over the case since it's based on abuse of rights under Civil Code Articles 19-20, not labor law, given that both parties admitted no direct employer-employee relationship existed. The Court applied the 'equal pay for equal work' principle and constitutional mandates against discrimination, finding that SSS's practice of paying contracted workers substantially less than regular employees for identical work constitutes unjust enrichment and abuse of rights. The case was remanded to the trial court for continuation of proceedings on the merits.