G.R. No. 234296 , November 27, 2019
ERNESTO P. GUTIERREZ, PETITIONER, VS. NAWRAS MANPOWER SERVICES, INC., AL-ADHAMAIN CO. LTD., AND ELIZABETH BAWA, RESPONDENTS.

FACTS

Petitioner Ernesto P. Gutierrez, an Overseas Filipino Worker, was hired by respondent NAWRAS Manpower Services, Inc. to work as a driver for respondent Al-Adhamain Co. Ltd. in Saudi Arabia under a two-year contract with a monthly salary of SR2,300.00. He was deployed on July 31, 2013. Petitioner claimed he was initially placed on floating status, received his first salary only in November 2013, and was informed in February 2014 that his contract would be terminated. He was repatriated in March 2014 after being told to book his own flight, for which he paid SR3,100.00 but was only reimbursed SR2,000.00. Upon repatriation, he filed a complaint for illegal dismissal with various monetary claims. Respondents averred that petitioner was validly dismissed due to poor performance after a probationary period and several chances to improve. The Labor Arbiter found petitioner illegally dismissed and awarded him a refund of his SR2,300.00 placement fee, 17.5 months’ worth of salary (SR40,250.00) for the unexpired portion of his contract, and a refund of the SR1,100.00 excess airfare, plus 10% attorney’s fees. The NLRC affirmed this decision. The Court of Appeals affirmed the illegal dismissal but modified the awards, reducing the salary to SR13,800.00 based on Section 7 of R.A. 10022 (three months per year of unexpired term), deleting the airfare refund for lack of evidence on the amount paid, and omitting attorney’s fees for lack of basis. Petitioner filed the instant petition, arguing that the reduced salary award based on R.A. 10022 was incorrect as the relevant clause had been declared unconstitutional, and seeking reinstatement of the original awards.

ISSUE

The primary issue is whether the Court of Appeals erred in reducing the monetary awards granted to petitioner, specifically: (1) the salary for the unexpired portion of the contract from SR40,250.00 to SR13,800.00; (2) deleting the award of SR1,100.00 as reimbursement for excess airfare; and (3) deleting the award of 10% attorney’s fees.

RULING

The Supreme Court ruled that the petition was partly meritorious.
1. On the salary for the unexpired portion: The Court reinstated the Labor Arbiter’s award of SR40,250.00. The CA incorrectly applied the clause “or for three (3) months for every year of the unexpired term, whichever is less” from Section 7 of R.A. 10022, as this clause had been declared unconstitutional in Sameer Overseas Placement Agency, Inc. v. Cabiles. Petitioner is entitled to his salaries for the entire unexpired portion of his employment contract.
2. On the airfare reimbursement: The Court reinstated the award of SR1,100.00. Petitioner substantiated his claim of paying SR3,100.00 and being reimbursed only SR2,000.00 with a ticket receipt, and respondents failed to present any proof to counter this claim or prove they paid for the ticket.
3. On attorney’s fees: The Court reinstated the award of 10% attorney’s fees. Under Article 111(a) of the Labor Code, attorney’s fees equivalent to ten percent of the wages recovered are awardable in cases of unlawful withholding of wages, as in this action for recovery of wages due to illegal dismissal. No showing of malice or bad faith is required.
The Court also imposed legal interest on the monetary awards at the rate of six percent (6%) per annum from the finality of the decision until full payment.