G.R. No. 149180 ; February 14, 2005
Hodieng Concrete Products and/or Henry Go and Eric B. Go, petitioners, vs. Dante Emilia, respondent.

FACTS

Respondent Dante Emilia filed a complaint for illegal dismissal and non-payment of benefits against petitioner company Hodieng Concrete Products and its owners. He alleged he was employed in 1985, eventually becoming a regular truck driver. After inquiring about statutory benefits, he was terminated on January 2, 1997. Petitioners contested this, claiming Emilia was initially a helper, was involved in a 1991 accident, and later re-hired in 1995. They asserted he abandoned his work in 1997 to join another company.
The Labor Arbiter ruled in favor of Emilia, finding illegal dismissal and awarding backwages, separation pay, and other benefits. The National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC) affirmed this decision. The Court of Appeals subsequently affirmed the NLRC with modification, deleting the award for attorney’s fees, prompting the petitioners to elevate the case to the Supreme Court via a petition for review on certiorari.

ISSUE

Whether the Court of Appeals erred in affirming the finding that respondent was illegally dismissed and that petitioners failed to prove he abandoned his work.

RULING

The Supreme Court denied the petition and affirmed the appellate court’s decision with modification on the computation of separation pay. The Court upheld the finding of illegal dismissal, ruling that petitioners failed to substantiate their claim of abandonment. For abandonment to be a valid cause for dismissal, two elements must concur: the employee’s clear intention to sever the employment relationship, and an overt act from which such intention can be inferred. The burden of proof rests on the employer.
Here, petitioners presented only self-serving affidavits without corroborative evidence to prove Emilia’s unequivocal intent to abandon his job. His act of immediately filing an illegal dismissal complaint strongly negated any such intention. Consequently, his termination was illegal for lack of just or authorized cause and due process. As a regular employee illegally dismissed, Emilia was entitled to full backwages and reinstatement. However, due to the strained relations between the parties, the Court deemed separation pay more equitable than reinstatement. The Court modified the award by computing the separation pay based on Emilia’s daily wage of ₱180.00 over his twelve years of service, resulting in an award of ₱56,520.00, in addition to full backwages and other benefits from the time of dismissal until finality of the decision.