GR L 69875; (October, 1988) (Digest)
G.R. No. L-69875 October 28, 1988
BATANGAS LAGUNA TAYABAS BUS COMPANY (BLTB Co.), petitioner, vs. NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS COMMISSION, LIBRADO AQUINO and EUFEMIO BONDAD, respondents.
FACTS
Private respondents Librado Aquino and Eufemio Bondad were bus conductors for petitioner BLTB Co. In December 1973, they, along with 34 other employees, were detained by military authorities for alleged involvement in a large-scale defraudation of the company amounting to over P186,000.00, committed from February to November 1973. Following a military investigation, an estafa case was filed against them before the Court of First Instance of San Pablo City. After their temporary release in May 1974, they filed a complaint for illegal dismissal, alleging that BLTB Co. refused to give them work assignments. The labor arbiter ruled in their favor, awarding backwages and separation pay, a decision affirmed by the NLRC.
ISSUE
Whether the NLRC committed grave abuse of discretion in ruling that private respondents were illegally dismissed.
RULING
The Supreme Court modified the NLRC decision. It held that a just cause for dismissal existed. Private respondents, as bus conductors, held positions of trust. The filing of criminal estafa charges against them, supported by a prima facie finding of guilt after a preliminary investigation by impartial military and fiscal authorities, constituted substantial evidence of fraud or willful breach of trust—a valid ground for termination under the Labor Code. The Court emphasized that an employer need not await an employee’s final conviction in a criminal case to dismiss them for breach of trust, as continuing the employment of those prima facie involved in defrauding the company would be inimical to its interests.
However, the Court found that BLTB Co. failed to comply with the procedural requirement under the then-prevailing Presidential Decree No. 21, which mandated prior written clearance from the Secretary of Labor before dismissing a regular employee with at least one year of service. This procedural lapse rendered the dismissal ineffective. In such a situation, where a just cause exists but prior clearance was not obtained, awarding full backwages would be unduly harsh. Applying equity by analogy to precedent, the Court deemed it proper to award only separation pay. Consequently, the NLRC decision was modified by deleting the award of backwages and ordering BLTB Co. to pay separation pay computed from the respondents’ dates of employment up to December 1974, when they were deemed separated.