GR 107723; (July, 1997) (Digest)
G.R. No. 107723 July 24, 1997
EMS MANPOWER & PLACEMENT SERVICES, petitioner, vs. NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS COMMISSION and LUISA G. MANUEL, respondents.
FACTS
Private respondent Luisa G. Manuel was hired as a domestic helper in Hong Kong for a two-year period starting from her arrival on August 2, 1989. Her employment contract, secured through petitioner EMS Manpower & Placement Services, provided a monthly salary of HK$2,500.00. She was dismissed and repatriated on October 1, 1989, after repeatedly demanding her weekly rest day, which was denied from the start of her service in violation of her contract. She also complained of being prevented from meeting fellow Filipinos. Upon dismissal, she received only HK$2,500.00 as separation pay and a return flight ticket. She filed a complaint for illegal dismissal and illegal exaction before the POEA. The POEA Administrator dismissed the complaint, finding the employer had complied with the contract by giving separation pay in lieu of notice and shouldering repatriation expenses. On appeal, the NLRC reversed the POEA decision, awarding Luisa Manuel her salaries for the unexpired portion of her contract and attorney’s fees. The NLRC found no just cause for dismissal and deemed the evidence presented by the employer to support the dismissal (a telex alleging the helper hit a child and an affidavit disputing the helper’s claim about congregation) insufficient and unreliable.
ISSUE
Whether Luisa Manuel was illegally dismissed or if her termination was for a just and valid cause.
RULING
The Supreme Court ruled that Luisa Manuel was illegally dismissed. The Court affirmed the NLRC decision, finding no grave abuse of discretion. The evidence presented by the employer (a single, uncorroborated telex and an un-presented affiant’s hearsay affidavit) was deemed insufficient to prove serious misconduct or a just cause for termination. The Court held that the dismissal contravened the constitutional and statutory guarantee of security of tenure. Furthermore, the employment contract itself was defective for failing to stipulate the just causes for termination as required by the Omnibus Rules Implementing the Labor Code. Compliance with contractual clauses on separation pay and repatriation does not legalize a dismissal if there is no just or valid cause. The petition was dismissed and the NLRC decision was affirmed in toto.