GR 242875; (August, 2019) (Digest)
G.R. No. 242875 . August 28, 2019.
AUGORIO A. DELA ROSA, PETITIONER, VS. ABS-CBN CORPORATION, RESPONDENT.
FACTS
Petitioner Augorio Dela Rosa was hired by respondent ABS-CBN Corporation as a video editor in 2002 and was allegedly rehired repeatedly under fixed-term contracts. In 2013, an incident occurred where petitioner, while reportedly intoxicated, placed his hands inside a female co-worker’s pants and touched her buttocks. After administrative proceedings, respondent, in a September 2015 memorandum, found petitioner guilty of serious misconduct and decided to impose the penalty of dismissal. However, respondent stated it could no longer effect the dismissal because the program contract covering the incident had expired, and his current contract did not cover the offense. The decision was merely made part of his records. Petitioner filed a complaint for illegal dismissal.
ISSUE
Whether the Court of Appeals erred in ruling that petitioner was a regular employee who was validly dismissed for a just cause.
RULING
No, the CA did not err. The Supreme Court affirmed the CA’s ruling. First, the Court held petitioner was a regular employee. His repeated rehiring for the same necessary activity over years, despite the nomenclature of fixed-term contracts, indicated regular employment, as the contracts were a subterfuge to circumvent his security of tenure. Second, the Court found petitioner was validly dismissed for just cause. His acts of reporting for work under the influence of alcohol and committing a lewd act against a co-worker constitute serious misconduct, a valid ground for termination under Article 297(a) of the Labor Code. The employer substantially complied with procedural due process by issuing a show-cause memorandum, conducting hearings where petitioner participated, and serving a notice of termination explaining the grounds. The fact that the dismissal decision was issued after the specific contract expired and recorded instead of executed does not negate the existence of a valid cause for termination. The employer’s subsequent reliance on the contract’s expiration in the labor proceedings does not preclude a finding of dismissal for cause, as the legality of dismissal rests on the existence of a just or authorized cause and compliance with due process, both of which were present.