GR 122033; (May, 1998) (Digest)
G.R. No. 122033 May 21, 1998
ATLAS CONSOLIDATED MINING & DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION, petitioner, vs. NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS COMMISSION and ISABELO O. VILLACENCIO, respondents.
FACTS
Private respondent Isabelo O. Villacencio worked for petitioner Atlas Consolidated Mining & Development Corporation (ACMDC) from January 23, 1970 to February 2, 1990, rising to the position of general foreman. On September 8, 1989, he was charged before the company’s Special Investigation Board with: (1) withdrawing 192 liters of company-owned gasoline for his personal jeep; (2) using company personnel on company time to assemble his private jeep; and (3) granting authority to non-company personnel to withdraw company stocks. After investigation, he was found guilty of the first two charges and dismissed on February 2, 1990. Villacencio filed a complaint for illegal dismissal. ACMDC also filed a criminal complaint for estafa against him, wherein he was initially convicted by the Municipal Trial Court but later acquitted by the Regional Trial Court. The Labor Arbiter dismissed Villacencio’s complaint, but the NLRC reversed this decision, ordering ACMDC to pay separation pay and later, upon reconsideration, backwages.
ISSUE
Whether or not the National Labor Relations Commission acted with grave abuse of discretion in reversing the Labor Arbiter’s decision and declaring the dismissal of Isabelo O. Villacencio illegal.
RULING
The Supreme Court affirmed the NLRC’s decision, holding that the dismissal was illegal. The Court found the evidence presented by ACMDC insufficient to prove loss of trust and confidence. The Tender’s Logbook entries for gasoline withdrawal lacked Villacencio’s signature, and the testifying witnesses against him (Wilfredo Caba and Bienvenido Villacencio) were shown to have motives for vengeance due to prior disciplinary actions and denied promotions. The logbook was not tamper-proof and could be accessed by others. The gasoline was indicated for the “service jeep,” not clearly for a personal vehicle. Regarding the charge of using company personnel, the Authorization to Work Overtime document appeared regular and was signed by multiple officers, not just Villacencio. The Court ruled that a breach of trust must be willful, and Villacencio’s failure to inspect the logbook due to preoccupation with emergency storm works was not willful. Thus, ACMDC failed to discharge its burden of proving a just cause for dismissal.