[

G.R.No.145417.December11,
2003.
]

FLORENCI
OM.DELACRUZ,
JR.
,Pet
  it
ioner
,v.NATI
ONALLABORRELATIONSCOMMI SSION(4th 
Div
isi
on)SHEMBERG
MARKETI
NGCORPORATI ONandERNESTOU.DACAY,JR.
,
 Respondent
s.

DECISION

J.
CORONA,
  :

Beforeusisapeti
ti
onf orrevi
ewon cert
ior
ari
 seekingtosetasi
dethedeci
sion1oftheCourtofAppeal
sdatedJuly11,
2000,
aff
irmingwit
hmodi f
icati
onthetworesolut
ionsoft heNati
onalLaborRel
ati
onsCommi ssi
on(NLRC)datedJul
y9,19992
andNov ember19,1999,3whi chawardedtopetit
ionerFl
orenci
odelaCruz,Jr
.,t
heamountofP23,900repr
esent
inghis
unpaidwagesandindemni ty
. chanr
ob1esv
irt
ua11aw1i
brar
y

Thef
act
sfol
l
ow.

OnMay27, 1996,pet i
ti
onerFlorenci
oM.del aCruz, Jr
.washiredbypr i
v ater
espondentShembergMar keti
ngCor porat
ion
(Shemberg)asseni orsalesmanagerwi thamont hlysalar
yofP40,500.Shember gwasengagedi nthebusi nessof
manuf act
uri
ng,trading,dist
ri
butingandimpor ti
ngv ari
ousconsumerpr oducts.Thepositi
onofseniorsalesmanagerwas
thennewlycreatedinl i
newi t
hShember g’sobjecti
v eofproductpositi
oningintheconsumermar ket
.It
sdut iesincl
uded,
amongot hers,t
hesuper v
isi
onandcont rolofthesal esfor
ceofthecompany .Theseniorsalesmanagerwasal sov est
ed
withsomedi scr
et i
ont odecideonmat terswithi
nt hescopeofhisf unctions,
incl
udi
ngt heappoi
ntmentofdi str
ictsal
es
represent
ati
vesandt hereshuff
lingofsalesment oachievesalestargets.

Howev er
,onSeptember14,1996,Shember g’
shumanr esourcedepar t
mentmanager ,
Ms.LilybethY.Llanto,summoned
peti
ti
onerandinfor
medhim ofthemanagement ’sdeci
siontot er
mi natehi
sser vices.Pet
iti
oneraskedLl antoforsomething
todowi t
hthedropinthecompany’ssales.Petit
ionert
henr equestedameet ingwi thShember g’sv i
cepresident
,Ernest
oU.
Dacay,Jr.
,butwastol
dthatthedecisi
onoft hemanagementwasf inal
.Hisrequestt obef ur
nisheda30- daywr i
ttennoti
ce
wasalsodeniedbythemanagement .Hence, peti
ti
onerfil
edacompl ai
ntfori
llegal di
smissal,
non- paymentofsalary,
backwages,13thmonthpayanddamagesagai nstShember g,ErnestoDacay, Jr.andLily
bethLl anto.

Respondentsanswer edthatpeti
tioner’
sdismissalwaspr emisedont hefol
lowing:(
1)hispoorper formanceasev i
dencedby
thesteadyandsubst ant
ialdr
opincompanysal essi ncehi sassumptionasseniorsalesmanager ;(2)thedissati
sfacti
onof
hissubordi
nat esov erhi
smanagementst y
leanddeal i
ngswi t
hthecompany ’
sdist
ri
butorswhi chresultedinthelowmor al
e
ofShember g’ssalesf or
ce,asevidencedbyt hejointaf f
idavi
t4oftwoofhi ssubordinates,RuelO.SalgadoandJoel D.Sol;
(3)hisunauthorizeduseofcompanycel lul
arphonef oroverseaspersonalcall
s5and( 4)theunaut horizedrei
mbur sementof
theplaneti
cket sofhi swif
eandchi ld.6Inshort,petit
ionerwast er
minatedforhisfail
uretomeett her equir
edcompany
standardsandf orlossoftrustandconf i
dence.

I
nadeci
siondat
edAugust25,
1997,
laborarbi
terEr
nestoF.Carr
eonrul
edthatpet
it
ionerFl
orenci
odel
aCr
uzwasi
l
legal
l
y
di
smi
ssedandgrant
edhi
sclai
mforseparat
ionpay,backwagesandunpai
dwages: chanr
ob1esv
irt
ual
1awl
i
brar
y

WHEREFORE,premisesconsi
der
ed,judgmenti
sherebyr
ender
edor
der
ingt
her
espondentShember
gMar
ket
ingCor
p.t
opay
t
hecomplai
nantFlorenci
odelaCruzthefol
l
owing: chanr
ob1esv
irt
ua11aw1i
brar
y

1.Separ
ati
onpayP40,
500.
00

2.Backwages379,
350.
00

3.Unpai
dwages18,
900.
00

——————

TOTALP438,
750.
00

Theot
hercl
aimsandt
hecasesagai
nstr
espondent
sEr
nest
oDacay
,Jr
.andLi
l
ybet
hLl
ant
oar
edi
smi
ssedf
orl
ackofmer
it
.

Soor
der
ed.

Onappeal
byr
espondent
s,t
heNLRCdi
smi
ssedt
heappeal
inadeci
siondat
edMay13,
1998.7

Respondent
smov
edf
orr
econsi
der
ati
on,
present
ingaddi
ti
onal
evi
dencet
osuppor
tit
scl
aim:
(1)anaf
fi
dav
itexecut
edon
July11,19988byMs.LilyJoyM.Sembrano, Shemberg’
svicepresi
dentforoper
ati
ons;
(2)pet i
ti
oner’
slett
erofappoint
ment
datedJuly8,1996asseni
orsalesmanager
; 9(3)peti
ti
oner
’sjobdescri
pti
on;10(4)memor andum datedJuly30,1996
addressedtopeti
ti
oner
,ster
nlywar
ninghi
m aboutt hehugedropincompanysales11and( 5)anundat edmemor andum
requi
ringpet
iti
onert
oexplai
nwhyhewascl aimingreimbur
sementforhiswife’
sandchil
d’splaneti
ckets.12

Peti
tioneropposedthemot
ionf
orr
econsi
der
ati
onandquest
ionedt
heaut
hent
ici
tyoft
headdi
ti
onal
evi
dencesubmi
tt
edby
therespondents.13

OnJul
y9,
1999,
theNLRCpar
ti
all
ygr
ant
edt
hemot
ionf
orr
econsi
der
ati
onandmodi
fi
edi
tspr
evi
ousr
esol
uti
on: chanr
ob1esv
irt
ual
1awl
i
brar
y

WHEREFORE,premisesconsi
der
ed,t
heMot i
onforReconsi
der
ati
onf
il
edbytherespondent
s-appel
l
antsisPARTIALLY
GRANTED.Thedecisi
onofthi
sCommi ssi
onpromulgat
edon13May1998isABANDONED.Thedeci si
onofLaborArbi
ter
Er
nest
oF.Carreondated25August1997isMODIFIEDandanewoneisent
ered,t
owi t
: chanr
ob1esv
irt
ual
1awl
i
brar
y

Orderi
ngrespondentShember
gMar ket
ingCor
porat
iontopaycompl
ainantFl
orenci
odel
aCr
uz,
Jr.
,theamountofTwent
y
ThreeThousandNineHundredPesos(P23,
900.
00),br
okendownasfoll
ows: chanr
ob1esv
irt
ua11aw1i
brar
y

Unpai
dWagesP18,
900.
00

I
ndemni
ty5,
000.
00

—————

TOTALP23,
900.
00

Soor
der
ed.14

Peti
ti
onerf
il
edamot
ionf
orr
econsi
der
ati
onoft
heabov
eresol
uti
onbutt
hesamewasdeni
edbyt
heNLRConNov
ember19,
1999.15

Peti
ti
onerelev
atedthecasetotheCourtofAppeal
sonapeti
ti
onfor
 cer
ti
orar
i 
buti
twasdi
smi
ssedf
orl
ackofmer
it
.16Hi
s
subsequentmotionforr
econsi
derat
ionwasli
kewisedeni
edonSept
ember8,2000.17

Hence,
thi
spet
it
ion.

Pet
it
ionerr
aisest
hef
oll
owi
ngassi
gnment
sofer
ror
:18

THECOURTOFAPPEALSCOMMI TTEDREVERSI
BLEERRORWHENI TREFUSEDTOAWARDBACKWAGES
NOTWI THSTANDI
NGITSFACTUALFINDI
NGTHATRESPONDENTSFAILEDTOCOMPLYWI THTHETWO- NOTICE
REQUIREMENT,CONTRARYTOTHENEW DOCTRINEIN"SERRANOVS.NLRCANDISETANNDEPT.STORE,G.
R.NO.117040,
27JANUARY2000"WHEREBYTHEHONORABLESUPREMECOURTENBANCRULEDTHATANEMPLOYEEWHOWASNOT
GIVENNOTI CEMUSTBEPAI
DBACKWAGESFROM HI STERMINATI
ONUNTILITISFI
NALLYDETERMINEDTHATITWAS
FORAJUSTCAUSE.

I
I

THECOURTOFAPPEALSCOMMI TTEDGRAVEABUSEOFDISCRETI
ONWHENI TRULEDTHATTHESUBMISSIONBY
PETI
TIONEROFPLANETICKETSFORREFUNDCONSTI
TUTEDUNAUTHORIZEDUSEOFCOMPANYFUNDS, DESPI
TE
ABSENCEOFEVI
DENCEONASPECI FI
CPROHIBI
TIONREGARDINGSUCHREQUEST,ANDCONSI
DERI
NGTHATTHESAME
WASRESPONDENTS’AFTERTHOUGHTFORNOTBEINGRAISEDINTHEORIGI
NALPOSITI
ONPAPERBEFORETHELABOR
ARBITER.chanr
ob1esv
irt
ua11aw1i
brar
y

I
II

THECOURTOFAPPEALSCOMMI
TTEDGRAVEABUSEOFDI
SCRETI
ONWHENI
TFAI
LEDTOAWARDDAMAGESASWELL
ASATTORNEY’
SFEES.

Thepet
it
ioni
swi
thoutmer
it
.
Peti
ti
onerinsiststhattheCour tofAppealscommi tt
edgr aveabuseofdiscreti
oninruli
ngthatthesubmi ssi
onofhi sfamil
y’s
pl
anet i
cketsforreimbur sementwast antamountt ofraudanddecei twhichjusti
fi
edtheempl oyer
’slossoftrustand
confi
denceinhi m.Hecont endsthatpri
vater espondents’at
tempttoimput efraudanddeceittohim wasamer e
aft
erthought,
consi der
ingt hatitwasonlyraisedbypr i
vaterespondentsforthefir
stti
meonappeal andnotint heori
ginal
posit
ionpaper ssubmittedt othelaborarbi
ter.

Petit
ionerwasholdingamanager ialposit
ioninwhi chhewast askedtoper
for m keyfuncti
onsinaccordancewi t
han
exactingworkethic.Hisposit
ionrequir
edt heful
ltrustandconfi
denceofhisempl oyer.Whilepeti
ti
onercouldexercisesome
discr
et i
on,t
hisobv i
ouslydi
dnotcov eractsforhisownper sonalbenef
it
.Asf oundbyt hecourtaquo, hecommi tt
eda
tr
ansgr essi
onthatbetrayedthetr
ustandconf idenceofexpensesoutofcompanyf unds.Petiti
onerfai
ledt
opr esentany
persuasiveevi
denceorar gumenttopr oveotherwise.Hisactamountedtofraudordecei twhichledtothelossoftrustand
confidenceofhisempl oyer
.

Wer eit
erat
et hewell-
establi
shedr ul
ethatf
indi
ngsoffactoftheCourtofAppealsareconclusiv
eont hepart
iesandarenot
generall
yreviewablebythisCour twhensupport
edbysubstanti
alevi
dence.19Ther ati
onal
ei sthatt
hisCourt,
notbeinga
tri
eroffacts,rel
iesi
ngoodpar tontheassessmentandevaluat
ionofevidencebythelowercour t
s.Wethussubscribetothe
fol
lowingfindingsoftheCour tofAppealsi
naffi
rmingtheNLRCdecision,thatpet
it
ioner
’sdismissal
wasf orajustcause: chanr
ob1esv
irt
ual
1awl
i
brar
y

Wit
hrespecttotheunaut
hor
izeduseofcompanyfunds,ther
eappear
stobesubstant
ialevi
dencet
oshowt
hatpet
it
ioner
i
ndeedisguil
tyofthesame—butonlywithr
especttotherei
mbursementofpl
aneti
cketfar
es. chanr
ob1esv
irt
ua11aw1i
brar
y

Alt
hought hecell
ularphonebi llst
atementwi ththeal l
egedunaut hori
zedov erseascall
swer erefl
ectedwassubmi t
tedin
evi
dence,itdoesnotpr ovethatpeti
tionerwast heonewhomadet hosecalls.Peti
ti
onercl
aimedt hatthesaidmobi leunit
wasnotatal lti
mesusedbyhi m.Thiswasnotcont rovertedbyrespondent s.Furt
hermore,therewasnoev idencepr esented
toprovethattherecipientoftheov erseascallwasnotatal l
connect edwiththecompanyast hecallscoul
dact ual
lybe
off
ici
albusinesscalls.Mer epresentati
onofacel l
ularphonebillst
atementwoul dnotsuff
icetochar gepet
iti
onerwi th
unauthor
izeduseofcompanyphoneespeci all
yi nthelightofthememor andum sentbythecel l
ularphonecompanywar ni
ng
i
tssubscribersofil
legal act
ivi
ti
esper petuat
edbyunaut hori
zedindividual
sposi ngasthei
rempl oyees.

Butthiscannotbet rueinsofarast heprosecuti

onoft heplanet i
cketsofpet it
ioner’
sf amilyisconcerned.Respondentsinsist
thatpeti
tionersubmitt
edt heseticketsandr ei
mbur sedt hecostoft hesamef r
om ther espondentcor por
ati
onwi t
hout
authori
tyorper missi
onf r
om management .Ont heot herhand, peti
tionermer elydeniedhav ingreimbursedthecostsoft he
ti
cketsorofusi ngcompanyf undst obuythem.Wef i
ndt hatpeti
ti
oner ’sdenialcannotpr evailovert
heactualpresent
ationof
theplanet i
cketinthenameofpet iti
onerandhisf amilyandt erminal feestubsbearingt hree(3)diff
erentseri
alnumbersbut
simil
arl
ydat ed.Thepossessi onbyr espondentcor porati
onoft hepl aneticketsofpetiti
oner’swifeandchildclearl
yshows
thatthesamewer esubmi tt
edt omanagementf orr ei
mbur semental ongwiththeot hertransportati
onexpensesofpet i
ti
oner.
Otherwise,ther
ei snowayr espondentcor porati
oncoul dhav egot t
enhol doft hesame.Pet iti
oneroptednottoexplai
nwhy
theseplanet i
cketswereint hepossessionofr espondentcor poration.Hisdeni al
swi thoutaccompany i
ngproofcoupledwi th
hissil
enceont hismat t
ercannotbutbet akenagai nsthim.

Wer ej
ectpeti
ti
oner
’scont
entionthatt
hemat t
erofrei
mbur sementoftheplaneti
cket
sofhisfami
lywasamereaft
ert
hought
,
nothavingbeenrai
sedbyrespondentintheor
igi
nalposit
ionpapersbeforethel
aborarbi
ter
.TheNLRCact
edcorr
ectl
ysi
nce
techni
calrul
esofevi
dencearenotbindinginl
aborcases.Arti
cl
e221oft heLaborCodeprovi
des: j
gc:
chanr
obl
es.
com.
ph

"I
nanypr oceedi
ngbefor
etheCommi ssionoranyoftheLaborArbiters,
therul
esofev idenceprev
ail
ingi
ncourt
soflawor
equityshallnotbecontr
oll
i
nganditisthespir
itandint
ent
ionofthisCodet hattheCommi ssi
onanditsmembersandthe
LaborAr bit
ershall
useeveryandal
lreasonablemeanstoascert
aint hefact
sineachcasespeedi lyandobj
ect
ivel
yand
withoutregardtotechni
cal
it
iesofl
aworpr ocedure,
all
int
heinterestofduepr ocess...."
  chanr
ob1esv
irt
ua11aw1i
brar
y

Thus, i
nBristolLaborat
oriesEmpl oy
ees’Associ at
ionv
.NLRC, 20thisCourtupheldtheNLRCwheni tconsideredaddit
ional
document aryev i
dencesubmi tt
edbyt heparti
esonappeal toprovebreachoftrustandlossofconfi
denceasbasi sforthe
dismissalofthepet i
ti
onertherei
n.Likewise,i
nLopezv .NLRC,21wehel dthat,underArti
cle221oftheLaborCode, t
he
NLRCcoul dv ali
dlyadmitcertai
ndocument sprovi
ngthere-employmentofthepr i
vater
espondental
t houghtheywere
presentedonl yonappeal.Technical
iti
esshouldnotbeper mitt
edtostandinthewayofequi t
abl
yandcompl etel
yresolvi
ng
therightsandobl i
gati
onsoft heparti
es.22

Peti
ti
onerwashir
edbyr
espondentShembergMar
ket
ingCor
por
ati
ononMay27,
1996andwast
ermi
nat
edonSept
ember14,
1996.Art
icl
e281oft
heLaborCodeprovi
des: chanr
ob1esv
irt
ual
1awl
i
brar
y

Probati
onar yemploy
ment .—Pr obat
ionaryemploymentshall
notexceedsi x( 6)monthsfr
om t hedatetheemploy eestar
ted
working,unlessi
tiscoveredbyanappr enti
ceshi
pagreementstipulati
ngal ongerperi
od.Theser vi
cesofanempl oy eewho
hasbeenengagedonapr obat
ionarybasismaybet ermi
natedforaj ustcauseorwhenhef ail
stoquali
fyasar egular
employ eeinaccor
dancewi thr
easonablestandards,madeknownbyt heempl oy
ertotheempl oyeeatthetimeofhis
engagement .Anempl oy
eewhoi sal
lowedt oworkaft
eraprobationaryperiodshallbeconsideredaregularemployee.
Petit
ionervi
gorousl
ycontendsthathewasnotaprobat
ionar
yempl
oyeesi
nceShember
gfai
l
edt
odi
scl
oset
ohi
mthe
reasonablestandar
dsforqual
if
y i
ngasaregul
aremploy
ee.

Thi
sCourtnot
es,
however,t
heev
idenceonrecordclearl
yshowingthatpeti
ti
onerwaswelli
nfor
medoft
hest
andar
dst
obe
metbef
orehecoul
dquali
fyasaregul
aremployee.Thiswasstatedinhisappoi
ntmentpaper
: chanr
ob1esv
irt
ual
1awl
i
brar
y

To:
Flor
enci
odel
aCr
uz

Fr
om :
HRD

Re:
Appoi
ntment

Dat
e:Jul
y8,
1996

Wearehappyt
oinfor
my outhatyouhav
ebeenhir
edasSeniorSal
esManager—VISMINeff
ect
iveMay27,1996.Asa
mat
terofcompanypol
icyyourper
for
manceshal
lbeper
iodi
call
yeval
uat
edinaccor
dancewi
thperf
ormancestandar
dsset
byt
hecompany.

Youwill
berepor
ti
ngdi
rect
lyt
othePresidentandshall
maintai
ncoordi
nat
ingr
elat
ionshi
pwi
tht
heAVP’
sforTRADI
NG,
F&B
Div
isi
on,CUPCO&SHALDANandt hei
rrespecti
vePlantManagers. chanr
ob1esv
irt
ua11aw1i
brar
y

LI
LIBETHY.LLANTO

HRDManager

Not
edby
: chanr
ob1esv
irt
ual
1awl
i
brar
y

ERNESTOU.DACAY,
JR.

Pr
esi
dent

At
tachedt
ohi
sappoi
ntmentpaperwast
hej
obdescr
ipt
ionofsal
esmanagerwhi
chr
ead: chanr
ob1esv
irt
ual
1awl
i
brar
y

JOBDESCRI
PTI
ON

Seni
orSal
esManager

Vi
say
asMi
ndanaoAr
eas

Shember
gMar
ket
ingCor
por
ati
on

Gener
alFunct
ions: chanr
ob1esv
irt
ual
1awl
i
brar
y

Responsi
blein(
sic)organi
zi
ng,
planni
ng,
est
abl
i
shi
ng,
andi
mpl
ement
ingsal
espol
i
ciesandpr
ocedur
esf
ort
hepur
poseof
at
taini
ngsalest
argets.

Speci
fi
cFunct
ions: chanr
ob1esv
irt
ual
1awl
i
brar
y

1.Responsi
blei
n(si
c)t
hepr
opermar
ket
ing,
sal
esanddi
str
ibut
ionofpr
oduct
sint
heassi
gnedar
ea.

2.Handl
est
hemoni
tor
ingofsal
esandseest
oitt
hatt
hemont
hlysal
est
arget
sar
eat
tai
ned.

3.Submi t
smont
hlyr
epor
tofsal
esandcol
l
ect
ionshowi
ngcompar
isonagai
nstt
hebudget
edsal
est
arget
sforev
aluat
ion
purposes.

4.Doessuchot
herf
unct
ionsasmaybedi
rect
edbyt
hePr
esi
dentf
rom t
imet
oti
me.

5.Per
for
mancesubj
ectt
oev
aluat
ionandt
ri
alper
iodf
orsi
x(6)mont
hsormor I
e.(t
ali
cssuppl
i
ed)

Aprobat i
onaryempl oyeeisonewho, foragiv
enper i
odoft i
me,isunderobservat
ionandev aluati
ontodet er
minewhetheror
notheisqual i
fi
edf orpermanentempl oyment.Duri
ngtheprobati
onaryperi
od,theempl oyeri
sgi vent
heoppor tuni
tyt
o
observetheskill
,compet enceandattit
udeoftheempl oyeewhil
ethelatt
erseekst oprovetot heemployerthathehasthe
qual
ifi
cationstomeett her easonabl
estandar
dsf orpermanentemployment.Thelengthoft i
mei simmat eri
ali
ndeter
mi ni
ng
thecorrel
ativ
erightsofbot htheemployerandtheempl oyeeindeal
ingwitheachot herduri
ngsaidperiod.23
Thereisnodi sputethatpetit
ioner,asaprobati
onaryemploy ee,enj
oyedonlytemporaryemploymentst atus.I
ngener alt
erms,
thismeantt hathewast erminableanyti
me, permanentempl oymentnothavingbeenat t
ainedi
nt hemeant ime.The
empl oyercouldwelldeci
dehenol ongerneededtheprobationaryemployee’sservi
cesorhisperformancef el
lshortof
expectations,et
c.Aslongast hetermi
nati
onwasmadebef oretheexpir
ati
onoft hesi
x-monthpr obati
onaryperi
od, t
he
empl oyerwaswel lwit
hinhisr i
ghtstosevertheemployer-
empl oyeerel
ati
onship.Acontraryi
nterpret
ationwoulddefectthe
clearmeani ngoftheterm" probat
ionary
."Inthi
scase,respondentShember ghadgoodr easont oterminatepeti
ti
oner’s
empl oymentandt hatwashi sdishonesty.
chanr
ob1esv
irt
ua11aw1i
brar
y

WHEREFORE,thei
nst
antpet
it
ioni
sher
ebyDI
SMI
SSEDf
orl
ackofmer
itandt
hedeci
siondat
edJul
y11,
2000oft
heCour
tof
Appeal
sisher
ebyAFFI
RMED.

SOORDERED.