SECONDDI

VISI
ON

[
G.R.NO.147633:Jul
y28,
2008]

ALDEGUER&CO.
,INC.
/LOALDEBOUTI Pet
QUE,
  it
ioner
,v.
  HONEYLI Respondent
NETOMBOC,
  .

DECISION

CARPI J.
OMORALES,
  :

I
n1993,
AldeguerandCo.,I
nc./
Loal
deBouti
que(pet
it
ioner
),acor
por
ati
onengagedi
nther
etai
landwhol
esal
eofLoal
de
br
andpr
oducts,hi
redHoneyl
ineTomboc(r
espondent
).

Peti
ti
onerpr
omotedrespondentin1996asOff
icer-
in-
Charge(OIC)ofitsLoal
deAy
alaBout
ique(
Loal
deAy
ala)i
ntheAy
ala
Center
,CebuCi
ty.AsOIC,respondenthadt
hefol
lowingresponsi
bil
i
ties:

1.Moni
tor
sdai
l
ythei
nvent
oryst
atusoft
hest
ocksperpr
oductl
i
neandperpr
oductcl
ass

2.Coor
dinat
ewi
tht
hear
eamanagerwi
tht
hef
oll
owi
ngmat
ter
s

A.st
ockr
equi
rement

b.mai
ntenanceoft
hebout
ique

c.newdi
rect
ivesoft
hemal
lmanagement

d.cust
omer
'spr
obl
ems

e.ot
herbout
iquepr
obl
ems

3.Super
visest
hesal
esst
affassi
gnedi
nther
espect
ivebout
iques

4.I
mpl
ement
sthecompanyr
ulesandr
egul
ati
ons

5.Checkst
hePRanddeposi
tsl
i
pspr
epar
edbyt
hecashi
eragai
nstt
hesal
est
all
yrepor
t

6.Asperint
ernal
cont
rol
,theOICi
snotall
owedt
ohandl
ecashi
eri
ngex cept[i
n]emer
gencycaseswhi
chmusthav
epr
ior
appr
ovalbythemanagement.Key
hol
dingoft
hecashdr
aweri
stheresponsibi
li
tyoft
hecashi
er.

7.Mustatal
lti
messubmitawri
tt
enmemoofanyirr
egulari
nci
dentt
hatmayoccuri
nsi
det
hebout
iqueori
fther
e'sany
1
devi
ati
on[f
rom]companypol
i
cyduetoci
rcumst
ances.

Aft
erconductinganauditofsal
esinLoal
deAyal
a,pet
it
ionerconcludedthatr
espondentmisappr
opr
iat
ed 
P28, 702 
137. whi
ch
3
i
saj ustcausefort
erminati
onunderArt
.282oft
heLaborCode,  andaccordi
nglynot
ifi
edheronMay24,1997ofthe
ter
mi nat
ionofherser
viceseff
ecti
veJune24,
1997.Pet
iti
oneralsonotif
iedherasfol
lows:

Asidefrom t heseundeposi t
edcashcoll
ect
ions,t
herear
ereport
ssubmi tt
edbyt hr
ee(
3)cashi
erswhower eassignedint
he
LoaldeBout iquet hatyou,bei
ngtheOICinthebouti
que 
meddles[si
c][wi
th]thecashf
ordeposi
t,anddelay
ing 
[si
c] 
suchfor
mor ethant hree( 3)days.Thi
shaspromptedthemanagementtobelievethatyouwer
ereal
lyusi
ngt he
4
money .  
(Under scori
ngsupplied)
cr
alawl
i
brar
y

5
Respondentthereuponfi
l
edonJune25,1997aCompl ai
nt  
befor
etheNat
ional
LaborRel
ati
onsCommissi
on(NLRC)agai
nst
peti
ti
onerforil
l
egal di
smissal
,i
ll
egal
sal
arydeduct
ions,underpay
mentofwages,non-
pay
mentof13t
hmont hpay
,and
damages.
 6
I
nherPosi
ti
onPaper
,  
respondentgav
ethef
oll
owi
ngv
ersi
on:

Afterbei
ngclearedofheraccount abil
it
iesonMay19, 1997byNeni t
aPami sa( Nenit
a),t
heAccounti
ngManagerofpet i
ti
oner
,
shewentonl eav et
hef ol
l
owi ngday,herapplicat
ionforthepurposehavingbeenear li
erappr
oved.Onherr epor
tbackfor
wor k,
shereceivedamemor andum7 datedMay24, 1997i nf
ormingherthatef f
ecti
veMay25, 1997,shewasnol onger
al
lowedt oenterthepremisesofLoal deAy al
aandt hatsheshouldinst
eadr eporttopeti
ti
oner
'sHeadOf fi
ceatMandaueCity
.
Compl yi
ng,shereport
edt otheHeadOf fi
cewhereshewasassi gnedtofol
dandpi l
edressesint
hest ockr
oom.

I
nthesamePositi
onPaper,r
espondentposi
tedthatshewaster
minat
edfr
om empl
oymentbecausesher
efusedt
osi
gna
8
v
oucheracknowl
edgi
ngrecei
ptofwagedi f
ferent
ial
swhichshedi
dnotinf
actr
ecei
ve.

From ther ecords,iti

sgat heredthatatt heschedul edconcili
ati
onconf erencebef oretheLaborArbi
ter,peti
ti
onersentno
9
representativ
e.  Andittwicefail
edtosendanyr epresentati
veatt hef ormal heari
ngoft hecase.Fur
ther,itf
ail
edtosubmi tit
s
10
positi
onpaper ,  
drawingtheLaborAr bitertodeclareon February5, 1998 thecasesubmi t
tedfordecisi
onont hebasi sof
11 12
respondent '
sposi ti
onpaper .  
Petit
ionerwasl atert ofi
l
et hefoll
owi ngdayoron  February6,1998 
it
sposi ti
onpaper  
cum
affi
davitsofNeni t
a,KayMal agar(Kay ),
Ji nkyDi
ongson( Jinky),JoanneBer naldez,andJocelynMartinez
13
(Jocelyn),  
profferi
ngt hefol
lowingv ersion:

I
tisitspol
icyt
orequir
eaboutique-
in-
char
get oconducta"cashcount...ev
eryendofthedayoronthefir
sthouroft
he
fol
l
owi ngdayaf
terherdayof
f[anda]nycol
lecti
onforthedaymustbedepositedwit
houtfai
lonthesucceedi
ngbanki
ng
14
day.
"

OnMay19,1997,
Neni t
aaudi
tedt
hesal
esofLoal
deAy
alaanddi
scov
eredundeposi
tedcashsal
escov
eredbysi
xrecei
pts
15
det
ail
edasf
oll
ows:

Of
fi
cial
Recei
ptNumber Dat
e Amount
6565 Apr
il27,
1997 P 
8,338.
00
6582 May6,
1997 5,
542.
50
6586 May7,
1997 10,
035.
40
6801 May11,
1997 12,
090.
00
6802 May12,
1997 9,
203.
40
6803 May13,
1997 6,
844.
30

Whenaskedtoexpl
ain,
respondentclai
medt hatt
heamountswer
ealldeposits-
in-
tr
ansi
t,meani
ng,
thebankhadal
ready
16
pi
ckeduptheamountsbuthadnoty etret
urnedthev
ali
dat
eddeposi
tsli
ps.

Respondenthav i
ngbeenschedul edtogoonv acat
ionleav
estarti
ngMay20, 1997,shewasaskedtoanddidreportf
orwor
k
onev endateduri
ngwhi chsheconf er
redwit
hNenitaandt heGeneralBouti
queandSal esManagerCoraAnzano.Atthe
conference,
respondentmaintainedthatt
hequesti
onedamount swer ealr
eadydeposi t
edi
nthebank.Peti
ti
oner'
sbank
17
passbookdidnot ,
howev er
,ref
lecttheamountscov er
edbythelastthreeabove-i
ndicat
edoff
ici
alr
ecei
pts.

I
nvesti
gati
onshowedt hatdeposit
sonMay13, 1997( compri
singthepr
oceedsofsalesforMay9, 11,and12,1997whi
ch
wereFri
day,Sunday,andelect
ionday,r
espect
ivel
y)andMay14, 1997wereallcheckdeposit
s,andthatther
ewerenocash
deposi
tsevenifther
ewer ecashsalesi
ntheamountof  P28,
137.70cov
eri
ngthesaidperiod.

Onherschedul
edr
etur
ntoworkonMay24,
1997,respondentdi
dnotshowup;
hence,
thei
ssuanceoft
henot
iceofher
18
di
smissalwhi
chwasmail
edt
oheronMay29,1997.

Respondentcommit
tedotheri
rr
egul
ari
ti
esint
hepast.   Thus,
onFebr
chanr
obluar
esv
iry24,
t
ual
l 1997,
awl
i
brar
yshei
ncurredacashshort
age
of 
P46,491.
35andwhenmadet oaccountt
her
efor,
sheclaimedthatarepr
esentat
iveofSol
idbankMandauepickedupt
he
amountont hemor
ningofthesameday.Thebankdeni
edherclaim,however.
Verif
icati
onwi t
hthebankrev eal
edthatthecashsal
esforFebr
uary15and16,1997weredepositedonl
yonFebr uary25,
19
1997, andthecashsal
esforFebr uary20-23,
1997weredeposi
tedonlyonFebr
uary26,1997.  
Respondentl
aterexplai
ned
thatherdev i
ati
onfr
om peti
tioner'
spolicyofr
equi
ri
ngthedepositoft
heday'
ssaleonthefoll
owingbanki
ngdayar osefrom
20
thesuddenchangei nthepick-upsystem oft
hebank.

OnanotheroccasionoronApr i
l24,1997,r
espondenti
nstruct
edanemployee,Jocel
yn,
toi
ssueanoffi
cial
recei
pt
for
 P4,
307.
25ant edatedApri
l3,1997,andanotherf
or 
P6,030.
30antedat
edApr i
l18,
1997,
tocoveramountswhichLoal
de
Ayalar
ecei
vedont hosedat
esandwhi chwerebeingtr
acedbyt heheadoff
ice.

Sti
l
l onanot
heroccasi
on,
respondentf
alsi
fi
edt
hesi
gnat
ureoft
hebankt
ell
erondeposi
tsl
i
psdat
edApr
il3,
1997andApr
il
18,1997.

ByDeci
sion21 
ofMar
ch16,
1998,
LaborAr
bit
erEr
nest
oF.Car
reondi
smi
ssedr
espondent
'
scompl
aint
.

d22  23
TheNLRCuphel theLaborArbit
er'
sDeci
si
onanddeni
edr
espondent
'
sMot
ionf
orReconsi
der
ati
on,  
prompt
inghert
ofi
l
e
24
aPet
it
ionf
orCert
iorar
i  bef
oretheCour
tofAppeal
s.

ByDeci
sion25 
ofFebr
uary27,
2001,theCour
tofAppeal
s,concl
udi
ngthatr
espondentwasil
legall
ydismi
ssed,
rever
sedthe
26
NLRCdecisionandorder
edherr
einstat
ementwi
thful
lpaymentofbackwagesandwithoutlossofseni
ori
tyr
ight
s.

I
nr ever
si ngtheNLRCdeci si
on, theCour tofAppeal sfoundt heLaborAr bi
tertohav e" commi tt
edgrav eabuseofdi scret
ion
wheni t
 admi t
ted[her
einpetit
ioner's]Posi t
ionPaper evenif 
submi ttedalmostt wo( 2)mont hsl at
e,aggravatedbythef act
27
thatsai
dPosi t
ionPaperwas unv erif
ied and nocopyt hereoffurni
shed[ herei
nr espondent ]
"  
(Underscori
ngpar t
lyi
nt he
28
origi
nal
, part
lysuppli
ed).Anditfoundr espondenttohav ebeeni l
l
egallydismissed.  Itfurt
herf oundthatrespondentwas
deniedduepr ocessasshewasnotaf fordedachancet orefutethechar geofmi sappr opri
ationagainsther.Final
ly
, i
tfound
29
thecharget obe" aproductof[respondent 's]r
efusal...tosignaf icti
ti
ousv oucher .
"

Hence,
thepr
esentpet
it
ion30 
faul
ti
ngt
heCour
tofAppeal
stohav
eer
red:

I
.xxx INHOLDI
NGTHATTHELABORARBI
TERCOMMITTEDGRAVEABUSEOFDI
SCRETI
ON 
WHENI TADMI
TTEDHEREI
N
PETI
TIONER'
SPOSI
TIONPAPERONEDAYAFTERTHECASEWASDEEMEDSUBMI
TTEDFORDECI
SION.

I
I.xxx I
NBRUSHI
NGASIDETHEFI
NDI
NGSOFFACTS 
OFBOTHTHENLRCANDTHELABORARBI
TERWHI
CHHELDTHE
TERMINATI
ONOFRESPONDENTVALI
DBASEDONSUBSTANTI
ALEVI
DENCEONRECORD.

I
II
.xxx 
INORDERI
NGTHEREINSTATEMENTOFRESPONDENT 
TOMBOCASSUBSTANTI
ALEVI
DENCEHASESTABLI
SHED
THEJUSTCAUSEFORRESPONDENT'
SDISMI
SSAL.

I
V.xxx I
NHOLDI NGTHATPETITIONERFAI
LEDTOCOMPLYWI
THPROCEDURALDUEPROCESSI
NDI
SMI
SSI
NGTHE
31
RESPONDENT.  
(Under
scor
ingsuppl
i
ed) cr
alawl
i
brar
y

Thepet
it
ioni
simpr
essedwi
thmer
it
.

ALaborArbit
erismandat
edbylawtouseev
eryreasonablemeanstoascer
tai
nthefactsofeachcasespeedi
l
yand
32
obj
ecti
vely
,wit
houtt
echni
cal
it
iesofl
aworprocedur
e,all
inthei
nter
estofdueprocess.  
Fai
l
uretosubmitaposi
ti
onpaper
onti
mei snota

33
gr
oundforst
ri
kingitfrom t
her
ecor
ds.  
Andl
ackofv
eri
fi
cat
ionofpet
it
ioner
'sposi
ti
onpaperi
sonl
yaf
ormal
,nota
34
j
uri
sdi
cti
onal
,defect
.

I
nfindi
ngtheadmissionoft
hebelatedl
yfi
l
edpositi
onpaperofpet
iti
onertohav
ebeenattendedwi
thgraveabuseof
di
scret
ion,t
heCourtofAppeal
sreli
edon,i
nteral
i
a,thef
oll
owingpronouncementi
n Mañebov.Nat
ionalLaborRel
ati
ons
35
Commi ssi
on:

xxxFir
stl
y,whi
lei
tist
ruet
hattheRul
esoftheNLRCmustbeliber
all
yconst
ruedandthatt
heNLRCisnotboundbythe
t
echni
cal
it
iesofl
awandprocedur
e,t
heLaborArbi
ter
sand 
theNLRCitsel
fmustnotbethefi
rstt
oar
bit
rar
il
ydisr
egar
d
speci
fi
cpr ovisionsoft heRul es 
whichar epr ecisel
yintendedt oassistt hepar ti
esinobt ai
ningjust ,ex
peditious,and
i
nexpensiveset tlementoflabordi sputes. Onesuchpr ov i
sionisSect i
on3, RuleVoft heNewRul esofPr ocedur eoftheNLRC
whichrequirest hesubmi ssionofv eri
fi
edposi ti
onpaper swithinfif
teenday sf r
om thedat eofthel astconf erence,wi
thpr
oof
ofservi
cet hereofont heot herparti
es.Theposi ti
onpaper s"shallcoveronl yt hoseclaimsandcausesofact i
onrai
sedint
he
complaintexcludi ngthoset hatmayhav ebeenami cablysett
led,andshal lbeaccompani edbyal lsupportingdocument s
i
ncludi
ngt heaf fidavi
tsofthei rr
espectivewi tnesseswhi chshalltaket hepl aceofthel att
er'
stest imony."
 Af tert
he
submissiont hereof,t
hepar ties"shall
 
... notbeal lowedt oall
egef acts, orpresentevidencet opr ovefacts, notref
err
edto
andanycauseorcausesofact i
onnoti ncludedi nthecompl aintorposi tionpapers,affidavi
ts,andot her
36
document s."  
(Emphasi sandunder scoringsuppl i
ed)
cr
alawl
i
brar
y

I
nfi
ndi
ngMañebot
ohav
ebeendeni
edduepr
ocess,
thi
sCour
thel
d:

[T]
heLaborAr bit
ergr av
elyabusedhi
sdiscret
ioni
ndisr
egardingtherul
egoverni
ngpositi
onpapersby admitt
ingthe
SupplementalPosi ti
onPaper 
andMemor andum,whi
chwas  notevenaccompaniedbyproofofserv
iceto t
hepet i
ti
oneror
hiscounsel
,andby  t
aki
ngintoconsi
der
ation,
asbasi
sforhisdecision,
theal
legedfact
sadducedthereinandt hedocuments
37
attachedt
hereto.  
(Emphasi
sandunderscori
ngsuppli
ed) cr
alawl
i
brar
y

Aspartl
yrefl
ectedintheabov e-
quotedport
ionsofthedeci
si
oni nMañebo,theCour tnotedt
hatthelaborar
bit
erpr
inci
pal
l
y
basedit
sdecisi
onont hefactsal
legedi
n,anddocumentsattachedtothet
hereinrespondent-
employer'
s
"Suppl
emental 
Posit
ionPaperandMemor andum,"
 nocopyofwhi chwasevenfurnishedthepeti
ti
oner-
employee 
Mañebo
tothusdenyhim duepr ocess.

Inthecaseatbar,peti
ti
onersubmi t
tedi
tsPosi
ti
onPaperonFebr uary6,1998oradayaf t
erthelaborar
bit
erconsi
der
edthe
casesubmi tt
edfordecisi
on.Unli
keMañebo,herei
nrespondentwasf ur
nishedacopyofpetit
ioner'
sPosi
ti
onPaperon
38
February6,1998.  
BetweenFebruary6,
1998andMar ch16,1998whent helaborar
bit
erpromulgat
edit
sdecisi
on,
respondentdoesnotev enappeartohav
erebutt
edpetit
ioner
'sPosit
ionPaper .

Fr
om t
her
eci
tal
oft
hef
act
soft
hecaseatbart
hen,
respondentwasnotdepr
ivedofduepr
ocess.

ONTHEMERI TS,pet
it
ionerhasshownjustcausefort
hetermi
nat
ionofr
espondent
'sempl
oymentunderAr
t.282ofthe
LaborCodeont hegr
oundof" f
raudorwil
lf
ulbreachbytheempl
oyeeoft
hetrustr
eposedi
nhim byhi
semployerordul
y
39
author
izedr
epresent
ativ
e."

Nenita'
saf f
idav
itandauditreportar
ecorrobor
atedbypet
it
ioner
'sSol
idbankpassbookshowingt
hatt
he P12,
090.
00cash
salesforMay11, 1997,
 P9,203.40cashsalesf
orMay12,1997,and 
P6, 844.
30cashsal
esforMay13,1997-al
ldul
y
ed40  41
recei
pt -werenotdepositedinpeti
ti
oner'
saccountwi
thSoli
dbank.

Theclaim ofJinky
,acashier
,inheraf
fi
davi
tthati twasrespondentwhot ur
nedov erthedeposi
tst ot
hebankr epresent
ati
ve
onMay13, 1997wascorroborat
edbyKay,thebr anchheadoft heSol
idbank-GorordoBranchwhoper sonal
l
ypi ckedupthe
depositsfr
om LoaldeAyal
aonMay13and14, 1997.Petit
ionerinf
actpresenteddepositsl
ipsshowingthat,
cont r
arytoit
s
42
pol
icy,cashsalesfort
hedaywer eonsever
al occasionsnotdeposit
edont henextbankingday.

Respondent
'scont
enti
onthattheLaborArbiterandtheNLRCignor
edtheMemorandum i
ssuedbypet
it
ioneronFebr
uary29,
1997indi
cat
ingherduti
esandr esponsi
bil
i
tieswhichdonoti
ncludehandl
i
ngcashcoll
ect
ionofsal
esandmakingdeposit
s
wit
hthebank43 
doesnotli
e.I
thasbeenest abli
shedthatwhi
l
ea

44
bout
ique-
in-
char
gei
sordi
nari
lynotal
lowedt
ohandl
ecashi
ering,
shemaydoso, however
,ift
heneedari
ses.  
Atanyrate,
Ji
nkyandsomeoftheaff
iant
sstatedint
hei
raf
fi
davi
tst
hatrespondent
 i
nter
fer
ed 
wit
hcashieri
ngt
asks,i
nviolat
ionof
companypoli
cy.

Onr espondent'
sclaimthatpetit
ionerf
ramedherupi nret aliat
ionf
orherref
usalt
osignavouchershowingr
eceiptof
45
paymentofwagedi ff
erent
ial
swhi chsheneverrecei
ved,  thesamefail
s.Thecopyofthev
oucherdatedApri
l1996which
46
respondentpresentedshowst hatshedid,
infact,si
gnit
.

I
NFINE,
theCour
tfi
ndsthatr
espondent
'semploy
mentwast
ermi
nat
edf
orj
ustcause.I
tfi
nds,
howev
er,
thatpet
it
ionerf
ail
ed
t
oobser
vether
equi
rementsofpr
oceduralduepr
ocess.

Ther
ulesi
mpl
ement
ingBookVIoft
heLaborCoder
equi
ret
hef
oll
owi
ngi
nthet
ermi
nat
ionofempl
oymentbasedonj
ust
causesasdef
inedi
nAr
ti
cle282oft
heLaborCode:

xxx

(i
)Awrit
tennot
iceontheemploy
eespeci
fyi
ngt
hegr
oundorgr
oundsf
ort
ermi
nat
ion,
andgi
vi
ngsai
dempl
oyeer
easonabl
e
oppor
tuni
tyt
owhi cht
oexpl
ainhi
ssi
de.

(i
i
)Aheari
ngorconfer
encedur
ingwhichtheemploy
eeconcer
ned,wit
htheassi
stanceofcounseli
fhesodesi
resi
sgi
ven
oppor
tuni
tyt
orespondtot
hecharge,
presenthi
sevi
dence,
orrebutt
heevi
dencepresent
edagainsthi
m.

(i
i
i)Awr i
tt
ennoti
ceofter
minati
onser
vedontheemployee,
indi
cat
ingt
hatupondueconsi
der
ati
onofal
ltheci
rcumst
ances,
groundshavebeenest
abl
ishedtoj
ust
if
yhist
erminat
ion.

xxxx47

TheCourtofAppealscorrectl
yfound,however
,that"
xxx[ i
]nst
eadofcomplyi
ngwitht
het
wo(2)wr
it
tennoti
ce
48
requi
rement
[s]
,[her
einpetit
ioner
]inone,si
nglenoti
ce,or
dered[her
einr
espondent
'
s]di
smi
ssal
xxx."  
Thus,
itsMay24,
1997memor andum torespondentreads:

Eff
ect
iveMay25,1997,youarenotal
lowedt oent
ertheAyalaBoutique.Youhav
ebeengivenal et
terofNoti
ceof
Termi
nati
on,and[
it
]hasbeenadv i
sedthatyoushalldi
rect
lyrepor
ttotheHeadOf f
iceatM.L.QuezonSt.,
Cabancal
an,
MandaueCit
yupony ourret
urnaf
teryourvacat
ionleav
e.SinceMay25, 1997isaSunday,y
ouar erequi
redtorepor
tto
MandaueOffi
ceonMonday ,May26,1997.

Shoul
dyouwantt ogetyourper
sonalbelongi
ngsinthebouti
que,youhavet
ocourseever
ythi
ngthr
oughtheGener
al
Bouti
que&SalesManager,Ms.CoraG.Anzano.Thel at
terwi
llhandl
ethewi
thdr
awalofyourper
sonalt
hingsi
nthebout
ique,
andshal
ltur
n-ov
erevery
thingtoyoupersonal
ly.Ms.Anzanowillbeatt
heAyal
aBouti
quetomorrowmorning,
May25,1997.

49
Youhav
etot
akeheedoft
hisdi
rect
ivet
oav
oidamor
edr
ast
icact
ion.

50
Suchsi
ngl
enot
icedoesnotcompl
ywi
tht
her
equi
rement
soft
hel
aw.

Pet
it
ionerar
gues, however,
that"respondentwaster
mi nat
ednotonlyfortheoff
ensesshecommitted[i
n]May1997but
al
sofortheotherof f
enses 
parti
cularl
ythosecommitted[i
n]Februar
y1997 f
orwhichshewasalr
eadyrequir
edt oexpl
aini
n
51
wri
ti
ng xxx."  
(Emphasisintheor igi
nal
,under
scori
ngsuppli
ed).Theargumentfai
l
s.For
,fort
hefi
rstnoti
cerequir
ementto
besati
sfi
ed,t
hef oll
owingcondit
ionsmustbemet :

[
T]hefi
rstnoti
cemustinfor
m outri
ghtt
heemployeethataninvesti
gati
onwil
lbeconduct
edonthechargespar
ticul
ari
zed
t
herei
nwhi ch,
ifpr
oven,wil
lresul
ttohi
sdi
smissal.Suchnoti
cemustnotonlycontai
naplai
nstatementoft
hechargesof
malf
easanceormisfeasancebutmustcat
egori
callystat
etheeffectonhi
semploymenti
fthechargesar
eproventobe
t
rue.
Ï
‚
ηÎ
±Ã±r
οbl
εš
 Î½Î
¹r
†
Ï…Î
±l 
l
αÏ
‰ l
ι
brÎ
±rÿ

Thisnoticewi
llaff
ordtheemployeeanopportuni
tytoavail[
of]al
ldef
ensesandexhaustallremedi
estoref
utethe
al
legati
onshurledagainsthi
mf orwhati
satstakeishisveryli
feandl
imb[,
]hisempl
oyment .Other
wise,
theemployeemay
j
ustdisregar
dthenot i
ceasawar ningwi
thoutanydisast
rousconsequencetobeanti
cipat
ed.Absentsuchstat
ement,t
he
fi
rstnoti
cefal
lsshortoftherequi
rementofdueprocess.xxx52

Pet
it
ionerhav
ingfai
l
edtocompl ywi
ththef
ir
stnoti
cerequi
rement,
respondenti
s,fol
l
owi
ng Agabonv.Nat
ionalLabor
53
Rel
ati
onsCommi ssi
on,  
ent
it
ledtoi
ndemnit
yinthefor
m ofnominaldamagesintheamountof 
P30,
000.

WHEREFORE,  t
heFebruary27,2001Deci
si
onoftheCour
tofAppealsi
sREVERSEDandSETASIDE.TheJanuary12,1999
Deci
sionoftheNationalLaborRel
ati
onsCommissi
onisREI
NSTATEDwi t
htheMODIFI
CATI
ONthatpetit
ioner
,Aldeguer&.
Co.,
Inc./
LoaldeBouti
que,isORDEREDtopayr
espondent
,Honeyl
ineTomboc,nomi
nal
damagesintheamount
of
 P30,000.
00.

SOORDERED.