G.R. No. 147790 ; June 27, 2006
GENUINO ICE COMPANY, INC. vs. ALFONSO S. MAGPANTAY

FACTS

Alfonso Magpantay was employed by Genuino Ice Company, Inc. from March 1988 to December 1995. He filed a complaint for illegal dismissal, alleging termination without due process via a memorandum and subsequent barring from company premises. The petitioner countered that the dismissal was for a valid cause, specifically that Magpantay led an illegal strike at its sister company, Genuino Agro Industrial Development Corporation, in November 1995, causing operational losses. The Labor Arbiter and the NLRC both dismissed the complaint, upholding the validity of the dismissal.
Magpantay elevated the case to the Court of Appeals via a special civil action for certiorari. A critical procedural issue arose regarding the timeliness of this petition. The petitioner contended it was filed 85 days late, based on a registry return receipt showing service of the NLRC’s denial of reconsideration on September 15, 1999. The respondent argued that service was ineffective as the receipt was signed by an unauthorized person from a different department, and his counsel only actually received the resolution on December 20, 1999.

ISSUE

The primary issues were: (1) whether the petition for certiorari before the CA was filed on time; and (2) whether Magpantay was illegally dismissed.

RULING

The Supreme Court ruled for the respondent, Alfonso Magpantay. On the procedural issue, the Court upheld the CA’s finding that the petition was timely filed. It emphasized the rule under the NLRC Rules that service of notices and resolutions must be made on the party’s counsel or authorized representative. The registry return card indicated receipt by “Mirela G. Ducut” of the “Computer Services Department,” not by the FEU Legal Aid Bureau counsel or an authorized representative thereof. The petitioner failed to rebut the presumption that this individual was unauthorized. Therefore, the period to appeal was correctly reckoned from counsel’s actual receipt on December 20, 1999, making the petition timely.
On the substantive issue of illegal dismissal, the Court found no valid cause for termination. The alleged misconduct—leading a strike—was committed against a separate and distinct corporate entity, the sister company. The petitioner failed to substantiate its claim that Magpantay’s actions constituted disloyalty or willful breach of trust directed against his actual employer, Genuino Ice Company. The Court stressed that the separate juridical personalities of the corporations could not be disregarded. Furthermore, the petitioner’s shifting and inconsistent allegations of grounds for dismissal (from illegal strike to serious misconduct, neglect, and finally insubordination) undermined its position. Consequently, the dismissal was declared illegal for lack of a just or authorized cause. The award of separation pay and full backwages was affirmed.