GR 213137; (March, 2017) (Digest)
G.R. No. 213137 . March 1, 2017.
FLORDALIZA LLANES GRANDE, Petitioner, vs. PHILIPPINE NAUTICAL TRAINING COLLEGE, Respondent.
FACTS
Petitioner Flordaliza Grande was employed by respondent Philippine Nautical Training College (PNTC) in various capacities, ultimately holding the positions of Director for Research and Course Department and Assistant Vice-President for Training. In February 2011, several employees in the Registration Department, including the VP for Training, were preventively suspended due to anomalies. On March 1, 2011, Frederick Pios, PNTC’s VP for Corporate Affairs, called Grande for a meeting. Pios relayed the message from the school president that Grande must resign in view of the discovered anomalies reportedly involving her, with an assurance of absolution if she complied. Grande then prepared and submitted a resignation letter effective the next day.
On the evening of March 1, Grande, accompanied by counsel, filed a police blotter for unjust vexation, detailing that she was forced to resign after being accused of unfounded anomalies. The following day, March 2, she filed a complaint for illegal dismissal. The Labor Arbiter and the NLRC ruled in her favor, finding her resignation was not voluntary but a product of coercion. The Court of Appeals initially affirmed but later reversed on reconsideration, holding the resignation was voluntary.
ISSUE
Whether petitioner Grande was illegally dismissed, having been forced to resign, or whether she voluntarily resigned from her employment.
RULING
The Supreme Court ruled that petitioner was illegally dismissed. The Court reinstated the findings of the Labor Arbiter and the NLRC, reversing the amended decision of the Court of Appeals. The legal logic centers on the principle that resignation must be voluntary and made with an intent to relinquish the position. The burden of proof to show voluntariness rests on the employer. Here, respondent PNTC failed to discharge this burden.
The circumstances clearly indicate coercion. Grande was suddenly confronted with serious but unspecified accusations of anomalies and given an ultimatum to resign with a promise of absolution. Her immediate acts of filing a police blotter detailing the coercion and subsequently filing an illegal dismissal complaint the very next day are consistent with a person protesting an involuntary separation. These actions negate any genuine intent to resign. The haste with which the resignation was procured, coupled with the employer’s failure to conduct any investigation or hearing regarding the alleged anomalies, demonstrates that the resignation was not a free and voluntary act but was exacted under pressure. Consequently, her forced resignation constituted a constructive dismissal, which is illegal. The Court awarded her full backwages, separation pay in lieu of reinstatement, and attorney’s fees.