Republic of the Philippines
SUPREME COURT
Manila SECOND DIVISION
G.R. No. 192826 February 27, 2013 PHILIPPINE PLAZA HOLDINGS, INC., Petitioner,
vs.
MA. FLORA M. EPISCOPE, Respondent.
D E C I S I O N
PERLAS-BERNABE, J.:
This is a petition for review on certiorari under Rule 45 of the Rules of Court assailing the March 26, 2010 Decision1 and July 5, 2010 Resolution2 rendered by the Court of Appeals (CA) in CA-G.R. SP
No. 102188. The CA reversed and set aside the Resolutions3 of the National Labor Relations
Commission (NLRC) dared May 30, 2007 and November 14, 2007 in NLRC NCR CA No. 047187-06/NLRC NCR-12-13621-04 and thereby declared respondent to have been illegally dismissed. Petitioner Philippine Plaza Holdings, Inc. (PPHI) is the owner and operator of the Westin Philippine Plaza Hotel (Hotel). Respondent Ma. Flora M. Episcope (Episcope) was employedby PPHI since July 24, 1984 until she was terminated on November 4, 2004 for dishonesty, willful disobedience and serious misconduct amounting to loss of trust and confidence.
In order to check the performance of the employees and the services in the different outlets of the Hotel, PPHI regularly employed the services of independent auditors and/or professional
shoppers.For this purpose,Sycip, Gorres and Velayoauditors dined at the Hotel’s Café Plaza on August 28, 2004. After dining, the auditors were billed the total amount of P2,306.65, representing the cost of the food and drinks they had ordered under Check No. 565938.4 Based on the audit
report5 submitted to PPHI, Episcope was one of those who attended to the auditors and was the one
who handed the check and received the payment of P2,400.00. She thereafter returned Check No. 565938, which was stamp marked "paid," together with the change.
Upon verification of the foregoing check receipt with the sales report of Café Plaza, it was
discovered that the Hotel's copy of the receipt bore a discount of P906.456on account of the use of a
Starwood Privilege Discount Card registered in the name of Peter A. Pamintuan, while the receipt issued by Episcope to the auditors reflected the undiscounted amount of P2,306.65considering that none of the auditors had such discount card. In view of the foregoing, the amount actually remitted to the Hotel was only P1,400.20thus, leaving a shortage of P906.45.
On September 30, 2004, the Hotel issued a Show-Cause Memo7 directing Episcope to explain in
writing why no disciplinary action should be taken against her for the questionable and invaliddiscount application on the settlement check issued to the auditors on August 28, 2004.
In her handwritten letter,8 Episcope admitted that she was on duty on the date and time in question
but alleged that she could no longer recall if the concerned guests presented a Starwood Privilege Discount Card.
On October 4, 2004, Episcope was placed on preventive suspension without pay.9 During the
administrative hearing on October 6, 2004, Episcope, who was therein assisted by the Union President and four union representatives from National Union of Workers in Hotel Restaurant and Allied Industries (NUWHRAIN)-Philippine Plaza Hotel Chapter, confirmed the fact that she was the one who presented the subject check and received the corresponding payment from the guests. She, however, denied stampingthe said check as "paid" or that she gaveany discount without a discount card, explaining that she could not have committed such acts given that all receipts and discount applications were handled by the cashier. But when asked why the discounted receipt was not given to the guests, she merely replied that she could no longer remember. In a separate inquiry, the cashier of Café Plaza, however, maintained that a Starwood Privilege Discount Card must have been presented during the said incident given that there was a Discount Slip10 and a stamped receipt
indicating such discounted payment.11
Finding Episcope to have failed to sufficiently explain the questionable discount application on the settlement bill of the auditors, her employment was terminated for committing acts ofdishonesty, which was classified as a Class D offense under the Hotel's Code of Discipline, as well as for willful disobedience, serious misconduct and loss of trust and confidence.12
Aggrieved, Episcope filed a complaint13 for illegal dismissal with prayer for payment of damages and
attorney's fees against PPHI before the NLRC docketed as NLRC-NCR Case No. 00-12-13621-04.
Rulings of the LA and the NLRC
On October 20, 2005, the Labor Arbiter (LA) rendered a Decision in favor of PPHI and thus, dismissed Episcope's complaint for illegal dismissal.14 The LA found that there was substantial
evidence to support the charge of improper discount application and observed that the said act resulted to a loss on the part of the Hotel. Accordingly, the LA held that Episcope's actions rendered her unworthy of the trust and confidence demanded by her position which thus, warranted her dismissal.
On appeal,15 the NLRC affirmed the LA's decision in theMay 30, 2007 Resolution.16 Episcope's
motion for reconsideration17 was likewise denied in the November 14, 2007 Resolution.18
Ruling of the CA
On certiorari, the CA gave due course to the petition and reversed the NLRC's Decision.19 It found
the report submitted by the auditors grossly insufficient to support the conclusion that Episcope was guilty of the charges imputed against her. It described the report as a mere transaction account in tabular form,bereft of any evidentiary worth. It was unsigned and bore no indication of her alleged culpability. The CA likewise did not give credence to the minutes of the administrative hearing because it was based on the same unaudited report. Hence, the CA(1) declared Episcope's dismissal illegal;(2) ordered her reinstatement to her former position without loss of seniority rights and benefits under the Labor Code; and (3) remanded the case to the NLRC for further proceedings on her money claims and other benefits. The dispositive portion of the CA'sDecision reads:
WHEREFORE, in view of the foregoing, the petition is GRANTED. The assailed Resolutions dated
May 30, 2007 and November 14, 2007 of the public respondent NLRC are REVERSED and SET
ASIDE. Petitioner is hereby ordered reinstated to her former position without loss of seniority rights
and benefits under the Labor Code. The case is hereby remanded to the NLRC for further proceedings on her money claims and other benefits.
SO ORDERED.20
Dissatisfied, PPHI moved for reconsideration which was, however, denied in the assailed July 5, 2010 Resolution.21
Hence, the instant petition anchored on the sole ground that:
THE HONORABLE COURT OF APPEALS SERIOUSLY ERRED AND RULED CONTRARY TO LAW AND JURISPRUDENCE WHEN IT ACTED AS A TRIER OF FACTS AND ORDERED THE REINSTATEMENT OF THE RESPONDENT AND PAYMENT OF BACKWAGES.22
The Ruling of the Court
The petition is impressed with merit.
At the outset, it is settled that the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court in cases brought before it from the CA via Rule 45 of the Rules of Court is generally limited to reviewing errors of law. The Court is not the proper venue to consider a factual issue as it is not a trier of facts. The rule, however, is not ironclad and a departure therefrom may be warranted where the findings of fact of the CA are contrary to the findings and conclusions of the trial court or quasi-judicial agency,23 as in this case.
There is therefore a need to review the records to determine which of them should be preferred as more conformable to evidentiary facts.24
After a judicious review of the records, as well as the respective allegations and defenses of the parties, the Court is constrained to reverse the findings and conclusion of the CA.
Article 293 (formerly Article 279) of the Labor Code25 provides that the employer shall not terminate
the services of an employee except only for a just or authorized cause. If an employer terminates the employment without a just or authorized cause, then the employee is considered to have been illegally dismissed and is thus, entitled to reinstatement or in certain instances, separation pay in lieu thereof, as well as the payment of backwages.
Among the just causes for termination isthe employer’s loss of trust and confidence in its employee. Article 296 (c) (formerly Article 282 [c]) of the Labor Code provides that an employer may terminate the services of an employee for fraud or willful breach of the trust reposed in him. But in order for the said cause to be properly invoked, certain requirements must be complied with namely,(1) the
employee concerned must be holding a position of trust and confidence and (2) there must be an act that would justify the loss of trust and confidence.26
It is noteworthy to mention that there are two classes of positions of trust: on the one hand, there are managerial employees whose primary duty consists of the management of the establishment in which they are employed or of a department or a subdivision thereof, and to other officers or members of the managerial staff; on the other hand, there are fiduciary rank-and-file employees,
such as cashiers, auditors, property custodians, or those who, in the normal exercise of their
functions, regularly handle significant amounts of money or property. These employees, though rank-and-file, are routinely charged with the care and custody of the employer's money or property, and are thus classified as occupying positions of trust and confidence.27 Episcope belongs to this latter
class and therefore, occupies a position of trust and confidence.
As may be readily gleaned from the records, Episcope was employed by PPHI as a service attendant in its Café Plaza. In this regard, she was tasked to attend to dining guests, handle their bills and receive their payments for transmittal to the cashier. It is also apparent that whenever discount cards are presented, she maintained the responsibility to take them to the cashier for the application of discounts. Being therefore involved in the handling of company funds, Episcope is undeniably considered an employee occupying a position of trust and confidence and as such, was expected to act with utmost honesty and fidelity.
Anent the second requisite, records likewise reveal that Episcope committed an act which justified her employer’s (PPHI’s) loss of trust and confidence in her.
Primarily, it is apt to point out that proof beyond reasonable doubt is not required in dismissing an employee on the ground of loss of trust and confidence; it is sufficient that there lies some basis to believe that the employee concerned is responsible for the misconduct and that the nature of the employee's participation therein rendered him absolutely unworthy of trust and confidence demanded by his position.
On this point, the Court, in the case of Bristol Myers Squibb (Phils.), Inc. v. Baban,28 citing Atlas Fertilizer Corporation v. National Labor Relations Commission,29 ruled as follows:
As a general rule, employers are allowed a wider latitude of discretion in terminating the services of employees who perform functions by which their nature require the employer's full trust and
confidence. Mere existence of basis for believing that the employee has breached the trust and confidence of the employer is sufficient and does not require proof beyond reasonable doubt. Thus, when an employee has been guilty of breach of trust or his employer has ample reason to distrust him, a labor tribunal cannot deny the employer the authority to dismiss him.
In addition, it must be observed that only substantial evidence is required in order to support a finding that an employer’s trust and confidence accorded to its employee had been breached. As explained in the case of Lopez v. Alturas Group of Companies:30
xxx, the language of Article 282(c) [now, Article 296 (c)]of the Labor Code states that the loss of trust and confidence must be based on willful breach of the trust reposed in the employee by his
employer. Such breach is willful if it is done intentionally, knowingly, and purposely, without justifiable excuse, as distinguished from an act done carelessly, thoughtlessly, heedlessly or inadvertently. Moreover, it must be based on substantial evidence and not on the employer's whims or caprices or suspicions otherwise, the employee would eternally remain at the mercy of the employer. Loss of confidence must not be indiscriminately used as a shield by the employer against a claim that the dismissal of an employee was arbitrary. And, in order to constitute a just cause for dismissal, the act complained of must be work-related and shows that the employee concerned is unfit to continue working for the employer. In addition, loss of confidence as a just cause for termination of
employment is premised on the fact that the employee concerned holds a position of responsibility, trust and confidence or that the employee concerned is entrusted with confidence with respect to
delicate matters, such as the handling or care and protection of the property and assets of the employer. The betrayal of this trust is the essence of the offense for which an employee is penalized. (Emphasis supplied.)
In the present case, records would show that Episcope committed acts of dishonesty which resulted to monetary loss on the part of PPHI and more significantly, led to the latter’s loss of trust and confidence in her. Notwithstanding the impaired probative value of the unaudited and unsigned auditor’s report, the totality of circumstances supports the foregoing findings:
First, it remains unrefuted that Episcope attended to the auditors when they dined at the Café Plaza on the date and time in question. In fact, Episcope herself admitted that she tendered Check No. 565938 bearing the amount of P2,306.65 and received the amount of P2,400.00 as payment;
Second, it is likewiseundisputed that the check receipt on file with the Hotel for the same transaction reflected only the amount of P1,400.20 in view of the application of a certain Starwood Privilege Discount Card registered in the name of one Peter Pamintuan, while the receipt given to the auditors bore the undiscounted amount of P2,306.65 which thus, resulted to a P906.45 discrepancy. During the proceedings, both receipts were actually presented in evidence yet, Episcope never interposed any objection on the authenticity of the same; and
Third, when asked to explain the said discrepancy, Episcope merelyimputed culpability onthe part of the cashier, whom she claimed prepared all the receipts that were returned to the guests.
From the foregoing incidents, it is clear that Episcope was remiss in her duty to carefully account for the money she received from the cafe's guests. It must be observed that though the receipts were prepared by the cashier, Episcope; as a service attendant,. was the one who actually handled the money tendered to her by the hotel clients. In this regard, prudence dictates that Episcope should have at least known why there was a shortage in remittance. Yet when asked, Episcope could not offer any plausible explanation but merely shifted the blame to the cashier. Irrefragably, as an employee who was routinely charged with the care and custody of her employer's money, Episcope was expected to have been more circumspect in the performance of her duties as a service
attendant. This she failed to observe in the case at bar which thus, justifies PPHI's loss of trust and confidence in her as well as her consequent dismissal.
Perforce, having substantially established the actual breach of duty committed by Episcope and the due observance of due process, no grave abuse of discretion can be imputed against the NLRC in sustaining the finding of the LA that her dismissal was proper under the circumstances.
Finally, with respect to Episcope's other monetary claims, namely, service incentive leave credits and 13th month pay, the Court finds no error on the part of the LA when it denied the foregoing claims considering that Episcope failed to proffer any legitimate basis to substantiate her entitlement to the same.
WHEREFORE, premises considered, the petition is GRANTED. The assailed March 26, 2010
Decision and July 5, 2010 Resolution of the Court of Appeals in CA-G.R. SP No. 102188 are REVERSED and SET ASIDE. The Decision of the Labor Arbiter, as affirmed by the NLRC, dismissing respondent Ma. Flora M. Episcope's complaint for illegal dismissal and other monetary claims is REINSTATED.
SO ORDERED.
ESTELA M. PERLAS-BERNABE
Republic of the Philippines
SUPREME COURT
Manila FIRST DIVISION
G.R. No. 184520 March 13, 2013 ROLANDO DS.TORRES, Petitioner,
vs.
RURAL BANK OF SAN JUAN, INC., ANDRES CANO CHUA, JOBEL GO CHUA, JESUS CANO CHUA, MEINRADO DALISAY, JOSE MANALANSAN III, OFELIA GINA BE and NATY
ASTRERO, Respondents.
D E C I S I O N
REYES, J.:
This Petition for Review on Certiorari,1 under Rule 45 of the Rules of Court, seeks to reverse and set
aside the Decision2 dated February 21, 2008 of the Court of Appeals (CA) in CA-G.R. SP No. 94690
dismissing the complaint for illegal dismissal filed by petitioner Rolando OS. Torres (petitioner) against respondent Rural Bank of San Juan, Inc. (RBSJT) and its officers who are the herein individual respondents, namely: Andres Cano Chua (Andres), Jobel Go Chua (Jobel), Jesus Cano Chua (Jesus), Meinrado Dalisay, Jose Manalansan III (Jose), Ofelia Ginabe (Ofelia) and Naty Astrero (collectively referred to as respondents).3
Likewise assailed is the CA Resolution4 dated June 3, 2008 which denied reconsideration.
The antecedents
Culled from the rulings of the labor tribunals and the appellate court are the ensuing factual milieu:5
The petitioner was initially hired by RBSJI as Personnel and Marketing Manager in 1991. After a six-month probationary period and finding his performance to be satisfactory, RBSJI renewed his employment for the same post to a permanent/regular status. In June 1996, the petitioner was offered the position of Vice-President for RBSJI’s newly created department, Allied Business Ventures. He accepted the offer and concomitantly relinquished his post. The vacancy created was filled by respondent Jobel who temporarily held the position concurrently as a Corporate Planning and Human Resources Development Head.
On September 24, 1996, the petitioner was temporarily assigned as the manager of RBSJI’s N. Domingo branch in view of the resignation of Jacinto Figueroa (Jacinto).
On September 27, 1996, Jacinto requested the petitioner to sign a standard employment clearance pertaining to his accountabilities with RBSJI. When the petitioner declined his request, Jacinto threw a fit and shouted foul invectives. To pacify him, the petitioner bargained to issue a clearance but only for Jacinto’s paid cash advances and salary loan.
About seven months later or on April 17, 1997, respondent Jesus issued a memorandum to the petitioner requiring him to explain why no administrative action should be imposed on him for his unauthorized issuance of a clearance to Jacinto whose accountabilities were yet to be audited. Jacinto was later found to have unliquidated cash advances and was responsible for a questionable transaction involving P11 million for which RBSJI is being sued by a certain Actives Builders
Manufacturing Corporation. The memorandum stressed that the clearance petitioner issued effectively barred RBSJI from running after Jacinto.6
The petitioner submitted his explanation on the same day clarifying that the clearance was limited only to Jacinto’s paid cash advances and salary loan based on the receipts presented by Lily Aguilar (Lily), the cashier of N. Domingo branch. He emphasized that he had no foreknowledge nor was he forewarned of Jacinto’s unliquidated cash advances and questionable transactions and that the clearance did not extend to those matters.7
After conducting an investigation, RBSJI’s Human Resources Department recommended the petitioner’s termination from employment for the following reasons, to wit:
1. The issuance of clearance to Mr. Jacinto Figueroa by the petitioner have been prejudicial to the Bank considering that damages [sic] found caused by Mr. Figueroa during his stay with the bank;
2. The petitioner is not in any authority to issue said clearance which is a violation of the Company Code of Conduct and Discipline under Category B Grave Offense No. 1 (falsifying or misrepresenting persons or other company records, documents or papers) equivalent to termination; and
3. The nature of his participation in the issuance of the said clearance could be a reasonable ground for the Management to believe that he is unworthy of the trust and confidence demanded by his position which is also a ground for termination under Article 282 of the Labor Code.8
On May 19, 1997, RBSJI’s Board of Directors adopted the above recommendation and issued Resolution No. 97-102 terminating the petitioner from employment, the import of which was communicated to him in a Memorandum dated May 30, 1997.9
Feeling aggrieved, the petitioner filed the herein complaint for illegal dismissal, illegal deduction, non-payment of service incentive, leave pay and retirement benefits.10 The petitioner averred that the
supposed loss of trust and confidence on him was a sham as it is in fact the calculated result of the respondents’ dubious plot to conveniently oust him from RBSJI.
He claimed that he was deceived to accept a Vice-President position, which turned out to be a mere clerical and menial work, so the respondents can install Jobel, the son of a major stockholder of RBSJI, as Personnel and Marketing Manager. The plot to oust the petitioner allegedly began in 1996 when Jobel annexed the Personnel and Marketing Departments to the Business Development and Corporate Planning Department thus usurping the functions of and displacing the petitioner, who was put on a floating status and stripped of managerial privileges and allowances.
The petitioner further alleged that he was cunningly assigned at N. Domingo branch so he can be implicated in the anomalous transaction perpetrated by Jacinto. He narrated that on September 27,
1996, the officers of RBSJI, namely: Jobel, Andres, Jose and Ofelia, were actually at the N. Domingo branch but they all suspiciously left him to face the predicament caused by Jacinto.
He recounted that the next day he was assigned back at the Tarlac extension office and thereafter repeatedly harassed and forced to resign. He tolerated such treatment and pleaded that he be allowed to at least reach his retirement age. On March 7, 1996, he wrote a letter to George Cano Chua (George) expressing his detestation of how the "new guys" are dominating the operations of the company by destroying the image of pioneer employees, like him, who have worked hard for the good image and market acceptability of RBSJI. The petitioner requested for his transfer to the operations or marketing department. His request was, however, not acted upon.
The petitioner claimed that on March 19, 1997, respondent Jesus verbally terminated him from employment but he later on retracted the same and instead asked the petitioner to tender a resignation letter. The petitioner refused. A month thereafter, the petitioner received the memorandum asking him to explain why he cleared Jacinto of financial accountabilities and thereafter another memorandum terminating him from employment.
For their part, the respondents maintained that the petitioner was validly dismissed for loss of trust and confidence precipitated by his unauthorized issuance of a financial accountability clearance sans audit to a resigned employee. They averred that a copy of the clearance mysteriously disappeared from RBSJI’s records hence, the petitioner’s claim that it pertained only to Jacinto’s paid cash advances and salary loan cannot stand for being uncorroborated.
Attempts at an amicable settlement were made but the same proved futile hence, the Labor Arbiter11 (LA) proceeded to rule on the complaint.
Ruling of LA
In its Decision12 dated November 27, 1998, the LA sustained the claims of the petitioner as against
the factually unsubstantiated allegation of loss of trust and confidence propounded by the respondents. The LA observed that the petitioner’s selfless dedication to his job and efforts to achieve RBSJI’s stability, which the respondents failed to dispute, negate any finding of bad faith on his part when he issued a clearance of accountabilities in favor of Jacinto. As such, the said act cannot serve as a valid and justifiable ground for the respondents to lose trust and confidence in him.
The LA further held that the failure of both parties to present a copy of the subject clearance amidst the petitioner’s explanation that it did not absolutely release Jacinto from liability, should work against the respondents since it is the proof that will provide basis for their supposed loss of trust and confidence.
The LA upheld the petitioner’s contention that the loss of trust and confidence in him was indeed a mere afterthought to justify the respondents’ premeditated plan to ease him out of RBSJI. The LA’s conclusion was premised on the convergence of the following circumstances: (1) the petitioner’s stint from 1991-1996 was not marred with any controversy or complaint regarding his performance; (2) when Jobel joined RBSJI in the latter part of 1996, he took over the department led by the petitioner thus placing the latter in a floating status; and (3) the petitioner’s temporary transfer to the N. Domingo branch was designed to deliberately put him in a bind and blame him on whatever course of action he may take to resolve the same.
Accordingly, the petitioner was found to have been illegally dismissed and thus accorded the following reliefs in the decretal portion of the LA Decision, viz:
WHEREFORE, premises considered, judgment is hereby rendered ordering respondent Bank and individual respondents, to reinstate [the petitioner to his previous or equivalent position, without loss of seniority rights and other benefits and privileges appurtaining [sic] to him, and to pay the petitioner the following:
1. The petitioner’s partial backwages and other emoluments in the form of allowances, as gasoline, maintenance, representation, uniform and membership allowances, from the time of his dismissal up to his actual date of reinstatement, which as of this date amount to:
Backwages (Partial) ……… P244,800.00 Gasoline Allowances ……….. 63,000.00 Maintenance Allowance ………. 45,000.00 Representation Allowance ……….. 54,000.00 Membership Allowance ……….. 12,000.00 Uniform Allowance ……… 8,000.00 Total ………P426,800.00
2. The petitioner’s 13th month pay from the time of his dismissal up to actual date of reinstatement, which as of this date amounts to Twenty-Seven Thousand Two Hundred (P27,200.00) Pesos;
3. Moral and exemplary damages in the amount of Fifty Thousand ([P]50,000.00) Pesos each, respectively; and
4. Attorney’s fees amounting to ten percent (10%) of the total award, specifically amounting to Fifty-Five Thousand Nine Hundred Twenty-Three Pesos and Eight ([P]55,923.08)
Centavos.
All other claims are hereby Dismissed for lack of merit. SO ORDERED.13
Ruling of the National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC)
In its Resolution14 dated April 14, 2000, the NLRC disagreed with the LA’s conclusion and opined that
it was anchored on irrelevant matters such as the petitioner’s performance and the preferential treatment given to relatives of RBSJI’s stockholders. The NLRC held that the legality of the
petitioner’s dismissal must be based on an appreciation of the facts and the proof directly related to the offense charged, which NLRC found to have weighed heavily in favor of the respondents.
The NLRC remarked that the petitioner was indisputably not authorized to issue the clearance. Also, the tantrums and furious attitude exhibited by Jacinto are not valid reasons to submit to his
demands. The fact that the N. Domingo branch had been sued civilly on February 25, 1997 for a tax scam while under Jacinto’s leadership, should have alerted the petitioner into issuing him a
clearance. The action taken by the petitioner lacked the prudence expected from a man of his stature thus prejudicing the interests of RBSJI. Accordingly, the dispositive portion of the decision reads:
WHEREFORE, the decision appealed from is hereby REVERSED and SET ASIDE. Let a new one [sic] entered DISMISSING the instant case for lack of merit. However, respondent should pay the petitioner his proportionate 13th month pay for 1997 as he was dismissed on May 30, 1997. SO ORDERED.15
The petitioner sought reconsideration16 which was admitted by the NLRC in an Order dated
September 30, 2005. From such Order, the respondents filed a motion for reconsideration on the ground that the petitioner failed to present a copy of his purported motion bearing the requisite proof of filing.17
Traversing both motions, the NLRC issued its Decision18 dated March 3, 2006: (1) granting the
petitioner’s plea for the reconsideration of its Resolution dated April 14, 2000 thus effectively
reversing and nullifying the same; and (2) denying the respondents’ motion for reconsideration of the Order dated September 30, 2005.
Anent the first disposition, the NLRC accorded weight to the explanations proffered by the petitioner that the clearance issued to Jacinto was limited only to his paid cash advances and salary loan. The NLRC further held that the offense imputed to the petitioner is not covered by Category B, Grave Offense No. 1 of RBSJI’s Code of Conduct and Discipline as it does not appear that he falsified or misrepresented personal or other company records, documents or papers.19
Taking an entirely opposite stance, the NLRC declared that the clearance issued by the petitioner did not prejudice RBSJI’s interest as it was limited in scope and did not entirely clear Jacinto from all his financial accountabilities. Also, the petitioner was only "a day old" at the N. Domingo branch and thus he cannot be reasonably expected to be aware of the misdeeds purportedly committed by Jacinto.20
For the foregoing reasons, the NLRC reversed its earlier ruling and reinstated the LA’s Decision dated November 27, 1998, thus:
WHEREFORE, the Arbiter’s decision of 27 November 1998 is hereby AFFIRMED and REINSTATED. Accordingly, the Resolution of 14 April 2000 is REVERSED and SET ASIDE.
Finally, the respondents’ Motion for Reconsideration dated 2 November 2005 is DENIED for lack of merit.
SO ORDERED.21
The respondents sought recourse with the CA,22 which in its Decision23 dated February 21, 2008
reversed and set aside the NLRC Decision dated March 3, 2006 and ruled that the petitioner was dismissed for a just cause. The appellate court articulated that as the Acting Manager of RBSJI’s N. Domingo branch, the petitioner held a highly sensitive and critical position which entailed the conscientious observance of company procedures. Not only was he unauthorized to issue the clearance, he also failed to exercise prudence in clearing Jacinto of his accountabilities given the fact that the same were yet to be audited. Such omission financially prejudiced RBSJI and it amounted to gross negligence and incompetence sufficient to sow in his employer the seed of mistrust and loss of confidence.24 The decretal portion of the CA Decision thus reads:
IN VIEW OF ALL THE FOREGOING, the petition is GRANTED. The March 03, 2006 Decision of the National Labor Relations Commission is REVERSED and SET ASIDE. The April 14, 2000 Decision of the National Labor Relations Commission is hereby REINSTATED. No costs.
SO ORDERED.25
The petitioner moved for reconsideration26 but the motion was denied in the CA Resolution27 dated
June 3, 2008. Hence, the present appeal.
Arguments of the parties
The petitioner avers that the respondents’ claim of loss of trust and confidence is not worthy of credence since they failed to present a copy of the clearance purportedly showing that he cleared Jacinto of all his financial accountabilities and not merely as to his paid cash advances and salary loan. He points out that RBSJI must be in custody thereof considering that it is a vital official record. The petitioner insists that the alleged loss of trust and confidence in him is a mere subterfuge to cover the respondents’ ploy to oust him out of RBSJI. He asserts that the seven-month gap between the date when he issued the subject clearance and the date when he was sent a memorandum for the said act shows that the respondents’ supposed loss of trust and confidence was a mere afterthought.28
On the other hand, the respondents invoke the ratiocinations of the CA that they were justified in losing the trust and confidence reposed on the petitioner since he failed to exercise the degree of care expected of his managerial position. They reiterate the petitioner’s admission that no audit was yet conducted as to the accountabilities of Jacinto when he issued the clearance.
The respondents further assert that as a former Personnel Manager, the petitioner is well-aware of RBSJI’s policy that before a resigned employee can be cleared of accountabilities, he must be first examined or audited. However, the petitioner opted to violate this policy and yield to Jacinto’s tantrums.29
The above arguments yield the focal issue of whether or not the petitioner was validly dismissed from employment.
The Court’s Ruling
Settled is the rule that when supported by substantial evidence, the findings of fact of the CA are conclusive and binding on the parties and are not reviewable by this Court.30 As such, only errors of
law are reviewed by the Court in petitions for review of CA decisions. By way of exception, however, the Court will exercise its equity jurisdiction and re-evaluate, review and re-examine the factual findings of the CA when, as in this case, the same are contradicting31 with the findings of the labor
tribunals.
The respondents failed to prove that the petitioner was dismissed for a just cause.
As provided in Article 28232 of the Labor Code and as firmly entrenched in jurisprudence,33 an
employer has the right to dismiss an employee by reason of willful breach of the trust and confidence reposed in him.
To temper the exercise of such prerogative and to reconcile the same with the employee’s Constitutional guarantee of security of tenure, the law imposes the burden of proof upon the
employer to show that the dismissal of the employee is for just cause failing which would mean that the dismissal is not justified. Proof beyond reasonable doubt is not necessary but the factual basis for the dismissal must be clearly and convincingly established.34
Further, the law mandates that before validity can be accorded to a dismissal premised on loss of trust and confidence, two requisites must concur, viz: (1) the employee concerned must be holding a position of trust; and (2) the loss of trust must be based on willful breach of trust founded on clearly established facts.35
There is no arguing that the petitioner was part of the upper echelons of RBSJI’s management from whom greater fidelity to trust is expected. At the time when he committed the act which allegedly led to the loss of RBSJI’s trust and confidence in him, he was the Acting Manager of N. Domingo branch. It was part of the petitioner’s responsibilities to effect a smooth turn-over of pending transactions and to sign and approve instructions within the limits assigned to the position under existing regulations.36 Prior thereto and ever since he was employed, he has occupied positions that
entail the power or prerogative to dictate management policies – as Personnel and Marketing Manager and thereafter as Vice-President.
The presence of the first requisite is thus certain. Anent the second requisite, the Court finds that the respondents failed to meet their burden of proving that the petitioner’s dismissal was for a just cause.
The act alleged to have caused the loss of trust and confidence of the respondents in the petitioner was his issuance, without prior authority and audit, of a clearance to Jacinto who turned out to be still liable for unpaid cash advances and for an P11-million fraudulent transaction that exposed RBSJI to suit. According to the respondents, the clearance barred RBSJI from running after Jacinto. The records are, however, barren of any evidence in support of these claims.
As correctly argued by the petitioner and as above set forth, the onus of submitting a copy of the clearance allegedly exonerating Jacinto from all his accountabilities fell on the respondents. It was the single and absolute evidence of the petitioner’s act that purportedly kindled the respondents’ loss of trust. Without it, the respondents’ allegation of loss of trust and confidence has no leg to stand on and must thus be rejected. Moreover, one can reasonably expect that a copy of the clearance, an essential personnel document, is with the respondents. Their failure to present it and the lack of
explanation for such failure or the document’s unavailability props up the presumption that its contents are unfavorable to the respondents’ assertions.
At any rate, the absence of the clearance upon which the contradicting claims of the parties could ideally be resolved, should work against the respondents. With only sworn pleadings as proof of their opposite claims on the true contents of the clearance, the Court is bound to apply the principle that the scales of justice should be tilted in favor of labor in case of doubt in the evidence presented.37
RBSJI also failed to substantiate its claim that the petitioner’s act estopped them from pursuing Jacinto for his standing obligations. There is no proof that RBSJI attempted or at least considered to demand from Jacinto the payment of his unpaid cash advances. Neither was RBSJI able to show that it filed a civil or criminal suit against Jacinto to make him responsible for the alleged fraud. There is thus no factual basis for RBSJI’s allegation that it incurred damages or was financially prejudiced by the clearance issued by the petitioner.
More importantly, the complained act of the petitioner did not evince intentional breach of the respondents’ trust and confidence. Neither was the petitioner grossly negligent or unjustified in pursuing the course of action he took.
It must be pointed out that the petitioner was caught in the quandary of signing on the spot a standard employment clearance for the furious Jacinto sans any information on his outstanding accountabilities, and refusing to so sign but risk alarming or scandalizing RBSJI, its employees and clients. Contrary to the respondents’ allegation, the petitioner did not concede to Jacinto’s demands. He was, in fact, able to equalize two equally undesirable options by bargaining to instead clear Jacinto only of his settled financial obligations after proper verification with branch cashier Lily. It was only after Lily confirmed Jacinto’s recorded payments that the petitioner signed the clearance. The absence of an audit was precisely what impelled the petitioner to decline signing a standard employment clearance to Jacinto and instead issue a different one pertaining only to his paid accountabilities.
Under these circumstances, it cannot be concluded that the petitioner was in any way prompted by malicious motive in issuing the clearance. He was also able to ensure that RBSJI’s interests are protected and that Jacinto is pacified. He did what any person placed in a similar situation can prudently do. He was able to competently evaluate and control Jacinto’s demands and thus prevent compromising RBSJI’s image, employees and clients to an alarming scene.
The Court has repeatedly emphasized that the act that breached the trust must be willful such that it was done intentionally, knowingly, and purposely, without justifiable excuse, as distinguished from an act done carelessly, thoughtlessly, heedlessly or inadvertently.38 The conditions under which the
clearance was issued exclude any finding of deliberate or conscious effort on the part of the petitioner to prejudice his employer.
Also, the petitioner did not commit an irregular or prohibited act. He did not falsify or misrepresent any company record as it was officially confirmed by Lily that the items covered by the clearance were truly settled by Jacinto. Hence, the respondents had no factual basis in declaring that the petitioner violated Category B Grave Offense No. 1 of the Company Code of Conduct and Discipline. The respondents cannot capitalize on the petitioner’s lack of authority to issue a clearance to
opportunities for them in the proceedings below to show, through bank documents, that the petitioner is not among those officers so authorized. Second, it is the Court’s considered view that by virtue of the petitioner’s stature in respondent bank, it was well-within his discretion to sign or certify the truthfulness of facts as they appear in RBSJI’s records. Here, the records of RBSJI cashier Lily clearly showed that Jacinto paid the cash advances and salary loan covered by the clearance issued by the petitioner.
Lastly, the seven-month gap between the clearance incident and the April 17, 1997 memorandum asking the petitioner to explain his action is too lengthy to be ignored. It likewise remains
uncontroverted that during such period, respondent Jesus verbally terminated the petitioner only to recall the same and instead ask the latter to tender a resignation letter. When the petitioner refused, he was sent the memorandum questioning his issuance of a clearance to Jacinto seven months earlier. The confluence of these undisputed circumstances supports the inference that the clearance incident was a mere afterthought used to gain ground for the petitioner’s dismissal.
Loss of trust and confidence as a ground for dismissal has never been intended to afford an occasion for abuse because of its subjective nature. It should not be used as a subterfuge for causes which are illegal, improper and unjustified. It must be genuine, not a mere afterthought intended to justify an earlier action taken in bad faith.39
All told, the unsubstantiated claims of the respondents fall short of the standard proof required for valid termination of employment. They failed to clearly and convincingly establish that the petitioner’s act of issuing a clearance to Jacinto rendered him unfit to continue working for RBSJI. The petitioner was illegally dismissed from employment and is entitled to back wages, to be computed from the date he was illegally dismissed until the finality of this decision.40
The disposition of the case made by the LA in its Decision dated November 27, 1998, as affirmed by the NLRC in its Decision dated March 6, 2006, is most in accord with the above disquisitions hence, must be reinstated. However, the monetary awards therein should be clarified.
The petitioner is entitled to separation pay in lieu of reinstatement and his back wages shall earn legal interest.
In accordance with current jurisprudence, the award of back wages shall earn legal interest at the rate of six percent (6%) per annum from the date of the petitioner’s illegal dismissal until the finality of this decision.41Thereafter, it shall earn 12% legal interest until fully paid42 in accordance with the
guidelines in Eastern Shipping Lines, Inc., v. Court of Appeals.43
In addition to his back wages, the petitioner is also entitled to separation pay. It cannot be gainsaid that animosity and antagonism have been brewing between the parties since the petitioner was gradually eased out of key positions in RBSJI and to reinstate him will only intensify their hostile working atmosphere.44 Thus, based on strained relations, separation pay equivalent to one (1) month
salary for every year of service, with a fraction of a year of at least six (6) months to be considered as one (1) whole year, should be awarded in lieu of reinstatement, to be computed from date of his engagement by RBSJI up to the finality of this decision.45
The award of separation pay in case of strained relations is more beneficial to both parties in that it liberates the employee from what could be a highly oppressive work environment in as much as it
releases the employer from the grossly unpalatable obligation of maintaining in its employ a worker it could no longer trust.46
The award of moral and exemplary damages is not warranted.
In M+W Zander Philippines, Inc. v. Enriquez,47 the Court decreed that illegal dismissal, by itself
alone, does not entitle the dismissed employee to moral damages; additional facts must be pleaded and proven to warrant the grant of moral damages, thus:
Moral damages are recoverable only where the dismissal of the employee was attended by bad faith or fraud, or constituted an act oppressive to labor, or was done in a manner contrary to morals, good customs or public policy. Such an award cannot be justified solely upon the premise that the
employer fired his employee without just cause or due process. Additional facts must be pleaded and proven to warrant the grant of moral damages under the Civil Code, i.e., that the act of dismissal was attended by bad faith or fraud, or constituted an act oppressive to labor, or was done in a manner contrary to morals, good customs or public policy; and, of course, that social humiliation, wounded feelings, grave anxiety, and similar injury resulted therefrom.48 (Citations omitted)
Bad faith does not connote bad judgment or negligence; it imports a dishonest purpose or some moral obliquity and conscious doing of wrong; it means breach of a known duty through some motive or interest or ill will; it partakes of the nature of fraud.49
Here, the petitioner failed to prove that his dismissal was attended by explicit oppressive, humiliating or demeaning acts. The following events merely sketch the struggle for power within the upper management of RBSJI between the "old guys" and the "new guys"; they do not convincingly prove that the respondents schemed to gradually ease the petitioner out, viz: (1) his promotion as Vice-President; (2) his replacement by Jobel as Personnel and Marketing Manager; (2) his designation as Acting Manager of N. Domingo branch and the recall thereof on the very next day; (3) the presence of Andres, Jose and Ofelia at the N. Domingo branch in the morning of
September 27, 1996; and (4) George’s inaction on the petitioner’s request to be transferred to the operations or marketing department. As disagreeable as they may seem, these acts cannot be equated with bad faith that can justify an award of damages.
Since no moral damages can be granted under the facts of the case, exemplary damages cannot also be awarded.50
The solidary liability of individual respondents as corporate officers must be recalled.
In the same vein, the individual respondents cannot be made solidarily liable with RBSJI for the illegal dismissal. Time and again, the Court has held that a corporation has its own legal personality separate and distinct from those of its stockholders, directors or officers. Hence, absent any
evidence that they have exceeded their authority, corporate officers are not personally liable for their official acts. Corporate directors and officers may be held solidarily liable with the corporation for the termination of employment only if done with malice or in bad faith.51 As discussed above, the acts
In addition, the lack of a valid cause for the dismissal of an employee does not ipso facto mean that the corporate officers acted with malice or bad faith. There must be an independent proof of malice or bad faith,52 which is absent in the case at bar.
The award of 13th month pay is ncorrect.
Being a managerial employee, the petitioner is not entitled to 13th month pay.1âwphi1 Pursuant to Memorandum Order No. 28, as implemented by the Revised Guidelines on the Implementation of the 13th Month Pay Law dated November 16, 1987, managerial employees are exempt from receiving such benefit without prejudice to the granting of other bonuses, in lieu of the 13th month pay, to managerial employees upon the employer’s discretion.53
The award of attorney’s fees is proper.
It is settled that where an employee was forced to litigate and, thus, incur expenses to protect his rights and interest, the award of attorney’s fees is legally and morally justifiable.54 Pursuant to Article
111 of the Labor Code, ten percent (10%) of the total award is the reasonable amount of attorney’s fees that can be awarded.
WHEREFORE, the petition is GRANTED. The Decision dated February 21, 2008 and Resolution dated June 3, 2008 of the Court of Appeals in CA-G.R. SP No. 94690 are REVERSED and SET ASIDE. The Decision of the Labor Arbiter dated November 27, 1998 is REINSTATED with the following MODIFICATIONS/CLARIFICATIONS: Petitioner Rolando DS. Torres is entitled to the payment of: (a) back wages reckoned from May 30, 1997 up to the finality of this Decision, with interest at six percent (6%) per annum, and 12% legal interest thereafter until fully paid; and (b) in lieu of reinstatement, separation pay equivalent to one (1) month salary for every year of service, with a fraction of at least six (6) months to be considered as one (1) whole year, to be computed from the date of his employment up to the finality of this decision.
The amounts awarded as moral damages, exemplary damages and 13th month pay are DELETED. Only respondent Rural Bank of San Juan, Inc. is liable for the illegal dismissal and the consequential monetary awards arising therefrom. The other portions of and monetary awards in the Labor Arbiter's Decision dated November 27, 1998 are AFFIRMED.
SO ORDERED.
BIENVENIDO L. REYES
Republic of the Philippines
SUPREME COURT
Manila THIRD DIVISION
G.R. No. 198620 November 12, 2014
P.J. LHUILLIER, INC. and MARIO RAMON LUDENA, Petitioners,
vs.
FLORDELIZ VELAYO, Respondent.
D E C I S I O N
REYES, J.:
Before this Court is a petition for review on certiorari1 under Rule 45 of the Decision2 dated June 30,
2011 of the Court of Appeals (CA) in CA-GR. SP No. 03069, affirming the finding of the National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC) that respondent Flordeliz Velayo (respondent) was illegally dismissed. The Resolution3 dated September 14, 2011 denied the motion for reconsideration thereof.
The Facts
The essential antecedent facts are summarized in the assailed CA decision, to wit:
On June 13, 2003, (herein petitioner) PJ (CEBU) LHUILLIER, INC. (PJ LHUILLIER for brevity) hired FLORDELIZ M. ABATAYO [sic] as Accounting Clerk at the LH-4, Cagayan de Oro City Branch with a basic monthly salary ofP9,353.00. On February 9, 2008 appellant (herein private respondent) was served with a Show Cause Memo by MARIO RAMON LUDEÑA, Area Operations Manager of PJ Lhuillier (herein petitioner), ordering her to explain within 48 hours why no disciplinary action should be taken against her for dishonesty, misappropriation, theft or embezz[le]ment of company funds inviolation of Item 11, Rule V of the Company Code of Conduct. Thereafter, (s)he was placed under preventive suspension from February 9 to March 8, 2008 while her case was under investigation. The charges against the appellant (herein private respondent) were based on the Audit Findings conducted on October 29, 2007, where the overage amount of P540.00 was not reported immediately to the supervisor, not recorded atthe end of that day.
On February 11, 2008, complainant (herein private respondent) submitted her reply and admitted that she was not able to report the overage to the supervisor since the latter was on leave on that day and that she was still tracing the overage; and that the omission or failure to report immediately the overage (sic) was just a simple mistake without intent to defraud her employer. On March 10, 2008, after the conduct of a formal investigation and after finding complainant’s (herein private respondent’s) [explanations] without merit, PJ LHUILLIER (herein petitioner) terminated her employment as per Notice of Termination on grounds of serious misconduct and breach of trust.4 (Citation omitted)
On March 14, 2008, the respondent filed a complaint for illegal dismissal, separation pay and other damages against P.J. Lhuillier, Inc. (PJLI) and Mario Ramon Ludeña, Area Operations Manager
(petitioners). On July 23, 2008, the Labor Arbiter (LA) rendered judgment, the dispositive portion of which reads as follows:
WHEREFORE, in view of all the foregoing, judgment is hereby entered ordering the dismissal of the instant complaint for lack of merit.
SO ORDERED.5
The LA found that the respondent’s termination was valid and based not on a mere act of simple negligence in the performance of her duties as cashier:
This is not a case of simple negligence as the facts show that complainant, instead of reporting the matter immediately, had set aside the P540.00 for her personal use instead of reporting the overage or recording it in the operating system of the company.
Complainant is not entitled to moral as well as exemplary damages for lack of basis.6
On appeal, the NLRC in its Decision dated March 19, 2009 countermanded the LA, holding that the respondent was illegally dismissed since the petitioners failed to prove a just cause of serious misconduct and willful breach of trust:
In fine, the Labor Arbiter a quoutterly disregarded the rule on proportionality that has been observed in a number of cases, that is, "the penalty imposed should be commensurate to the gravity of his offense." x x x
x x x x
In the instant case, PJ LHUILLIER was not able to discharge the burden of proving that the dismissal of the complainant was for valid or just causes of serious misconduct and willful breach of trust. Thus, We disagree with the Labor Arbiter’s findings and conclusion that complainant was validly dismissed from service.
x x x x
... Significantly, the complainant’s omission or procedural lapse did not cause any loss or damage to the company.7
Nonetheless, finding that the relations between the petitioners and the respondent have become strained, the NLRC did not order the reinstatement of the respondent. Thus:
WHEREFORE, the instant appealis GRANTED. The assailed decision is hereby SET ASIDE and REVERSED, and a new one entered declaring that complainant was ILLEGALLY DISMISSED. Accordingly, respondent PJ (CEBU) LHUILLIER, INC. is hereby ORDERED:
(a) to pay complainant separation pay equivalent to one (1) month salary for every year of service, a fraction of at least six (6) months being considered as one (1) whole year in lieu of reinstatement due to strained relationship, computed from June13, 2003 up to the finality of the promulgation of this judgment;
(b) to pay complainant FULL BACKWAGES in accordance with Bustamante vs. NLRC ruling (265 SCRA 061); and
(c) to pay ten percent (10%) of the total money award as attorney’s fees. SO ORDERED.8
The NLRC subsequently denied the petitioners’ motion for reconsideration thereof. On July 31,2009, the petitioners filed a petition for certiorariin the CA with prayer for issuance of a temporary
restraining order (TRO) and/or writ of preliminary injunction, invoking the following issues: I
WHETHER OR NOT THE RESPONDENT [NLRC] COMMITTED GRAVE ABUSE OF DISCRETION AMOUNTING TO LACK OR IN EXCESS OF JURISDICTION WHENIT DEVIATED FROM THE FINDINGS OF FACTS OF THE HONORABLE LABOR ARBITER.
II
WHETHER OR NOT PETITIONERS ARE ENTITLED TO THE ISSUANCE OF A TEMPORARY RESTRAINING ORDER AND/OR WRIT OF PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION PENDING THE RESOLUTION OF THE INSTANT PETITION.9
The respondent filed her comment on August 19, 2009. On October 8, 2009, the petitioners filed an urgent motion to resolve their petition for certiorari and prayer for TRO and/or writ of preliminary injunction. On November 9, 2009, the CA denied the petitioners’ prayerfor TRO stating that they have not shown that they stood to suffer grave and irreparable injury if the TRO was denied. The remaining issue in the CA, then, was whether the NLRC acted with grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction when it set aside the factual conclusion and ruling of the LA. The CA ruled in the negative:
We concur with the NLRC in finding for private respondent. Time and again, the Supreme Court has held that it is cruel and unjust to impose the drastic penalty of dismissal if not commensurate to the gravity of the misdeed.
In employee termination disputes, the employer bears the burden of proving that the employee’s dismissal was for just and valid cause. In the instant case, the evidence does not support the finding of the Labor Arbiter that private respondent is guilty of serious misconduct.
In this jurisdiction, the Supreme Court has consistently defined misconduct as an improper or wrong conduct, a transgression of some established and definite rule of action, a forbidden act, a
dereliction of duty, willful in character, implies wrongful intent and not mere error of judgment. To be a just cause for termination under Article 282 of the Labor Code of the Philippines, the misconduct must be serious, that is, it must be of such grave and aggravated character and not merely trivial or unimportant. However serious, such misconduct must nevertheless be in connection with the employee’s work; the act complained of must be related to the performance of the employee’s duties showing him to be unfit to continue working for the employer.
Private respondent’s lapse was not a "serious" one, let alone indicative of serious misconduct. In fact, she (herein private respondent) admitted that she was not able to report the overage to the supervisor since the latter was on leave on that day and that she was still tracing the overage; and that the omission or failure to report immediately the overage was just a simple mistake without intent to defraud her employer. As found by the NLRC, private respondent worked for petitioner for almost six (6) years, and it is not shown that she committed any infraction of company rules during her employment. In fact, private respondent was once awarded by petitioner due to her heroic act of defending her Manager, Ms. Lilibeth Cortez, while resisting a hold-upper.
The settled rule is that when supported by substantial evidence, factual findings made by quasi-judicial and administrative bodies are accorded great respect and even finality by the courts. These findings are not infallible, though; when there is a showing that they were arrived at arbitrarily or in disregard of the evidence on record, they may be examined by the courts. Hence, when factual findings of the Labor Arbiter and the NLRC are contrary to each other, there is a necessity to review the records to determine which conclusions are more conformable to the evidentiary facts. The case before Us shows that the finding of the NLRC is supported by substantive evidence as compared to the finding of the Labor Arbiter with respect to the issue of illegal dismissal. Moreover, in case of doubt, such cases should be resolved in favor of labor, pursuant to the social justice policy of labor laws and the Constitution.
Finally, it is a time-honored principle that although it is the prerogative of management to employ the services of a person and likewise to discharge him, such is not without limitations and restrictions. The dismissal of an employee must be done with just cause and without abuse of discretion. It must not bedone in an arbitrary and despotic manner. To hold otherwise would render nugatory the security of tenure clause enshrined in the Constitution.10 (Citations omitted and emphasis ours)
Invoking Article 27911 of the Labor Code, the CA agreed with the NLRC that the respondent should
have been reinstated without loss of seniority rights and other privileges, with payment of her full backwages, inclusive of allowances and other benefits or their monetary equivalent computed from the time her compensation was withheld up to the time of actual reinstatement. However, with the parties’ relations now strained, the CA conceded that the payment of a separation pay, along with backwages as a separate and distinct relief, is an acceptable alternative to reinstatement. The CA further awarded the respondent attorney’s fees since she was forced to litigate and incur expenses to protecther rights and interests by reason of the unjustified acts of the petitioners.
Petition for Review in the Supreme Court
In this petition, the petitioners raise the following issues:
I. WHETHER OR NOT THE MISAPPROPRIATION BY A PAWNSHOP PERSONNEL IN THE AMOUNT OF [P]540.00, COUPLED WITH SUBSEQUENTDENIALS, AMOUNT TO A
SERIOUS MISCONDUCT IN OFFICE?
II. WHETHER OR NOT THE IMPOSITION OF THE PENALTY OF TERMINATION FROM OFFICE [UPON] A PAWNSHOP PERSONNEL WHO MISAPPROPRIATED AN AMOUNT OF P540.00 FROM THE COFFERS OF THE PAWNSHOP, AND WHO MADE
The appellate court agreed with the NLRC that the respondent’s lapse was "just a simple mistake without intent to defraud her employer;"13 that the incident was neither serious norindicative of
serious misconduct; and that her dismissal was disproportionate to her offense. It accepted the respondent’s explanation that her failure to report her cash overage of P540.00 on October 29, 2007 to the branch manager, who was her immediate superior, was because the latter was then on leave, and that for days thereafter, she was hard-pressed in trying to trace and determine the cause thereof. The CA noted that the respondent had worked for PJLI for almost six years without any previous infractions of company rules, and that she was once commended for a heroic act of defending her former branch manager, Ms. Lilibeth Cortez, during a branch holdup.
On the other hand, the petitioners strongly maintain that under Rule V(A)(11) of its Code of Conduct on "Dishonesty, Misappropriation, Theft or Embezzlement of Company Funds or Property," the respondent committed a "First Level Offense" which is punishable by outright dismissal. According to the petitioners, the respondent committed the following acts which constitute dishonesty and serious misconduct:
1. The respondent did not enter the discovered cash overage in the "operating system" (computerized cash ledger) of the branch on October 29, 2007 notwithstanding that she was fully aware of the company’s policy that such unexplained receipt should be recorded at the end of the business day;
2. The respondent did not report the cash overage to her immediate superior, Branch Manager Violette Grace Tuling (Tuling), upon the latter’s return from a leave ofabsence on November 3, 2007. Neither did the respondent seek Tuling’s help concerning the matter, and just averred that she was afraid to be scolded by Tuling;
3. The respondent deliberately lied about her cash overage after Tuling confronted her on December 17, 2007;
4. Again, the respondent falsely denied the cash overage when the company auditor asked her to explain how it happened; and
5. The respondent concocted a cover-up by claiming that a computer glitch occurred when she was about to post the cash overage in the operating system.14
Ruling of the Court There is merit in the petition.
It need not be stressed that the nature or extent of the penalty imposed on an erring employee must be commensurate to the gravity of the offense as weighed against the degree of responsibility and trust expected of the employee’s position. On the other hand,the respondent is not just charged with a misdeed, but with loss of trust and confidence under Article 282(c) of the Labor Code, a cause premised on the fact that the employee holds a position whose functions may only be performed by someone who enjoys the trust and confidence of management. Needless to say, such an employee bears a greater burden of trustworthiness than ordinary workers, and the betrayal of the trust reposed is the essence of the loss of trust and confidence which is a ground for the employee’s dismissal.15
The respondent’s misconduct must be viewed in light of the strictly fiduciary nature of her position. In addition to its pawnshop operations, the PJLI offers its "Pera Padala" cash remittance service whereby, for a fee or "sending charge," a customer may remit money to a consignee through its network of pawnshop branches all over the country. On October 29, 2007, a customer sent P500.00 through its branch in Capistrano, Cagayan de Oro City, and paid a remittance fee of P40.00.
Inexplicably, however, no corresponding entry was made to recognize the cash receipt of P540.00 in the computerized accounting system (operating system) ofthe PJLI. The respondent claimed that she tried very hard but could not trace the source of her unexplained cash surplus ofP540.00, but a branch audit conducted sometime in December 2007 showed that it came from a "Pera Padala" customer.
To be sure, no significant financial injury was sustained by the PJLI in the loss of a mere P540.00 in cash, which, according to the respondent she sincerely wanted to account for except that she was pre-empted by fear of what her branch manager might do once she learned of it. But in treating the respondent’s misconduct as a simple negligence or a simple mistake, both the CA and the NLRC grossly failed to consider that she held a position of utmost trust and confidence in the company. There are two classes of corporate positions of trust: on the one hand are the managerial employees whose primary duty consists of the management of the establishment in which they are employed or of a department or a subdivision thereof, and other officers or members of the managerial staff;on the other hand are the fiduciary rank-and-file employees, such as cashiers, auditors, property custodians, or those who, in the normal exercise of their functions, regularly handle significant amounts of money or property. These employees, though rank-and-file, are routinely charged with the care and custody of the employer’s money or property, and are thus classified as occupying positions of trust and confidence.16
The respondent was first hired by the petitioners as an accounting clerk on June 13, 2003, for which she received a basic monthly salary of P9,353.00. On October 29, 2007, the date of the subject incident, she performed the function of vault custodian and cashier in the petitioners’ Branch 4 pawnshop in Capistrano, Cagayan de Oro City. In addition to her custodial duties, it was the
respondent who electronically posted the day’s transactions in the books of accounts of the branch, a function that is essentially separate from that of cashier or custodian. It is plain to see then that when both functions are assigned to one person to perform, a very risky situation of conflicting interests is created whereby the cashier can purloin the money in her custody and effectively cover her tracks, at least temporarily, by simply not recording in the books the cash receipt she
misappropriated. This is commonly referred to as lapping of accounts.17 Only a most trusted clerk
would be allowed to perform the two functions, and the respondent enjoyed this trust.
The series of willful misconduct committed by the respondent in mishandling the unaccounted cash receipt exposes her as unworthy of the utmost trust inherent in her position as branch cashier and vault custodian and bookkeeper.
The respondent insists that she never intended to appropriate the money but was afraid that Tuling would scold her, and that she kept the money for a long time in her drawer and only decided to take it home after her search for the cause of the cash overage had proved futile. Both the CA and the NLRC agreed with her, and held that what she committed was a simple mistake or simple
The Court disagrees.
Granting arguendothat for some reason not due to her fault, the respondent could not trace the source of the cash surplus, she nonetheless well knew and understood the company’s policy that unexplained cash must be treated as miscellaneous income under the account "Other Income," and that the same must be so recognized and recorded at the end of the day in the branch books or "operating system." No such entry was made by the respondent, resulting in unrecorded cash in her possession of P540.00, which the company learned about only two months thereafter through a branch audit.
Significantly, when Tuling returned on November 3, 2007 from her leave of absence, the respondent did not just withhold from her the fact that she had an unaccounted overage, but she refused to seek her help on what to do about it, despite having had five days to mull over the matter until Tuling’s return.
In order that an employer may invoke loss of trust and confidence in terminating an employee under Article 282(c) of the Labor Code, certain requirements must be complied with, namely: (1) the employee must be holding a position of trust and confidence; and (2) there must be an act that would justify the loss of trust and confidence.18While loss of trust and confidence should be genuine,
it does notrequire proof beyond reasonable doubt,19 it being sufficient that there issome basis to
believe that the employee concerned is responsible for the misconduct and thatthe nature of the employee’s participation therein rendered him unworthy of trust and confidence demanded by his position.20
The petitioners are fully justified in claiming loss of trust and confidence in the respondent. While it is natural and understandable that the respondent should feel apprehensive about Tuling’s reaction concerning her cash overage, considering that it was their first time to be working together in the same branch, we must keep in mind thatthe unaccounted cash can only be imputed to the
respondent’s own negligence in failing to keep track of the transaction from which the money came. A subsequent branch audit revealed that it came from a "Pera Padala" remittance, implying that although the amount had been duly remitted to the consignee, the sending branch failed to record the payment received from the consigning customer. For days following the overage, the respondent tried but failed to reconcile her records, and for this inept handling of a "Pera Padala" remittance, she already deserved to be sanctioned.
Further, as a matter of strict company policy, unexplained cash is recognized at the end of the day as miscellaneous income. Inexplicably, despite being with the company for four years as accounting clerk and cashier, the respondent failed to makethe required entry in the branch operating system recognizing miscellaneous income. Such an entry could have been easily reversedonce it became clear how the overage came about.
But the respondent obviously thought that by skipping the entry, she could keep Tuling from learning about the overage. Her trustworthiness as branch cashier and bookkeeper has been irreparably tarnished. The respondent’s untrustworthiness is further demonstrated when she began to concoct lies concerning the overage: first, by denying its existence to Tuling and again to the company auditor; later, when she falsely claimed that a computer glitch or malfunction had prevented her from posting the amount on October 29, 2007; and finally,when she was forced to admit before the company’s investigating panel that she took and spent the money.21
