GR 121275; (August, 1997) (Digest)
G.R. No. 121275 August 7, 1997
CENTRO ESCOLAR UNIVERSITY, petitioner, vs. FIRST DIVISION OF THE NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS COMMISSION and MARIA C. ALBA, respondents.
FACTS
Maria C. Alba was employed by Centro Escolar University (CEU) in 1971, rising to the position of Administrator of the Health Services Department by 1984. On December 5, 1990, she was preventively suspended following a complaint from her staff. An investigating committee later recommended the clinic be headed by a medical officer. University officials subsequently advised Alba to go on an extended leave without pay and then retire. When she refused to retire and reported for work in July 1991, she was given a retirement form. After she requested the convening of an administrative council, her preventive suspension was extended, and she was finally terminated on September 18, 1991. Alba filed a complaint for illegal dismissal and other monetary claims.
The Labor Arbiter dismissed the complaint, finding the dismissal was for a just cause and with due process. On appeal, the National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC) reversed the Labor Arbiter, declaring Alba’s dismissal illegal and ordering her reinstatement with full backwages, damages, and attorney’s fees. CEU received a copy of this NLRC decision on October 27, 1994.
ISSUE
Whether the Supreme Court can review the NLRC decision via a petition for certiorari under Rule 65.
RULING
The Supreme Court dismissed the petition. The Court held that a motion for reconsideration is an indispensable prerequisite for the filing of a petition for certiorari under Rule 65, as it affords the tribunal an opportunity to correct its own errors. In this case, the NLRC decision became final and executory due to CEU’s failure to timely file a motion for reconsideration. Section 14, Rule VII of the NLRC Rules provides a ten-calendar day period to file such a motion from receipt of the decision. CEU received the decision on October 27, 1994, making the deadline November 7, 1994. However, CEU only mailed its motion for reconsideration on November 26, 1994, which was not only late but also never received by the NLRC. A motion filed out of time renders the decision final and executory.
Consequently, the assailed NLRC decision had attained finality. Since a final and executory decision can no longer be disturbed, the Supreme Court was precluded from examining its merits to determine the presence of grave abuse of discretion. The failure to file a timely motion for reconsideration is a fatal procedural infirmity that bars recourse to certiorari. The dismissal of the petition effectively affirmed the final and executory NLRC decision in favor of Maria C. Alba.