G.R. No. 170139 , August 5, 2014.
Sameer Overseas Placement Agency, Inc. v. Joy C. Cabiles.

FACTS

Petitioner Sameer Overseas Placement Agency, Inc. recruited respondent Joy C. Cabiles for a quality control job in Taiwan. She signed a one-year employment contract with a monthly salary of NT$15,360.00 and was deployed to work for TaiwanWacoal, Co. Ltd. on June 26, 1997. In Taiwan, she was assigned to work as a cutter, not as quality control. On July 14, 1997, she was terminated without prior notice and instructed to prepare for immediate repatriation. She received only NT$9,000.00 for her work period, with NT$3,000.00 deducted for her repatriation airfare. Joy filed a complaint for illegal dismissal against Sameer and Wacoal, seeking reimbursement of a claimed placement fee of ₱70,000.00, the withheld amount, salary for 23 months, and damages. Sameer alleged termination was due to inefficiency and failure to comply with work requirements, denied charging an excessive placement fee, and presented a receipt for ₱20,360.00. It also claimed that Wacoal’s accreditation had been transferred to Pacific Manpower & Management Services, Inc., which should assume liability. The Labor Arbiter dismissed the complaint. The National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC) reversed, finding illegal dismissal and awarding three months’ salary (NT$46,080.00), reimbursement of the NT$3,000.00 withheld, and attorney’s fees. The Court of Appeals affirmed the NLRC’s findings on illegal dismissal and awards but remanded the issue of Sameer’s third-party complaint against Pacific Manpower to the NLRC. Sameer filed the present petition.

ISSUE

Whether the Court of Appeals erred in affirming the NLRC’s ruling that respondent was illegally dismissed and in awarding her three months’ salary, reimbursement of repatriation cost, and attorney’s fees.

RULING

The Supreme Court denied the petition and affirmed the Court of Appeals’ decision. The Court held that Sameer failed to prove a just cause for termination and that procedural due process was not observed. The burden of proof for a valid dismissal rests on the employer, and Sameer did not present sufficient evidence of respondent’s inefficiency or negligence. The principle of lex loci contractus applies; the employment contract was perfected in the Philippines, thus Philippine labor laws, including the constitutional guarantee of security of tenure, govern. The foreign employer’s alleged finding of inefficiency, without substantiation, does not constitute a valid cause. The award of three months’ salary equivalent to NT$46,080.00 as indemnity for violation of due process, reimbursement of the illegally deducted NT$3,000.00 for repatriation, and attorney’s fees was proper. The Court also upheld the remand to the NLRC for proceedings on Sameer’s third-party complaint against Pacific Manpower.