GR 183233; (December, 2009) (Digest)
G.R. No. 183233; December 23, 2009
VIRGILIO G. ANABE, Petitioner, vs. ASIAN CONSTRUCTION (ASIAKONSTRUKT), ZENAIDA P. ANGELES AND N.O. GARCIA, Respondents.
FACTS
Petitioner Virgilio G. Anabe was terminated by respondent Asian Construction (Asiakonstrukt) on October 8, 1999, on the ground of retrenchment. He filed a complaint for illegal dismissal and various money claims. The Labor Arbiter ruled in his favor, finding the dismissal illegal due to Asiakonstrukt’s failure to submit financial statements to substantiate alleged business losses. The NLRC, on appeal, reversed this finding after considering Audited Financial Statements for 1998-2000 submitted by Asiakonstrukt for the first time on appeal. The NLRC held the retrenchment valid, awarded separation pay, and reduced the award for illegal salary deductions, ruling that claims prior to 1997 had prescribed. The Court of Appeals affirmed the NLRC.
ISSUE
The core issues were: (1) whether the NLRC gravely abused its discretion in considering the belatedly submitted financial statements to validate the retrenchment; and (2) whether the prescriptive period for money claims was correctly applied.
RULING
The Supreme Court granted the petition in part. On the first issue, it held that while the NLRC is not strictly bound by technical rules of evidence, the belated submission of financial statements required a clear explanation for the delay to prove the alleged cause for termination. Asiakonstrukt offered no such explanation, and the financial statements were only submitted after an adverse ruling from the Labor Arbiter. This failure to satisfactorily explain the delay cast doubt on the evidence’s veracity and the company’s good faith. Consequently, Asiakonstrukt failed to discharge its burden of proving substantial losses to justify retrenchment, rendering petitioner’s dismissal illegal. The Labor Arbiter’s finding of illegal dismissal was thus reinstated.
On the second issue, the Court affirmed the application of the three-year prescriptive period for money claims under Article 291 of the Labor Code. Since petitioner filed his complaint in February 2000, his claims for illegal salary deductions were recoverable only for the period from 1997 to 1999, correctly computed at ₱88,000.00. The case was remanded to the NLRC for a recomputation of the full monetary awards due to the petitioner, including backwages and other benefits stemming from the illegal dismissal.