GR 85014; (March, 1991) (Digest)
G.R. No. 85014; March 22, 1991
Kwikway Engineering Works, petitioner, vs. National Labor Relations Commission and Rosalinda Vargas, respondents.
FACTS
Petitioner Kwikway Engineering Works employed respondent Rosalinda Vargas as a bookkeeper and secretary at its Cubao branch. Her duties included preparing check vouchers, indicating payee names and amounts, before presentation for signing. On March 20, 1986, the new branch manager discovered several blank vouchers already signed by mechanic agents, a deviation from standard procedure. When confronted, the cashier, Marina Corpus, implicated Vargas, who claimed the practice was known to and allowed by the former manager—a claim later denied. Following an investigation, Vargas and Corpus were placed under indefinite preventive suspension on November 24, 1986, on grounds of loss of trust and confidence. In April 1986, Vargas was offered and accepted resignation with separation pay. However, she later contested her dismissal.
ISSUE
The issues are: (1) whether Vargas’s dismissal was for a just cause, and (2) whether she was afforded due process.
RULING
The Supreme Court ruled that the dismissal was for a just cause but was procedurally defective. On the substantive aspect, loss of trust and confidence is a valid ground for dismissing employees holding positions of responsibility, such as a bookkeeper handling company funds. Jurisprudence establishes that proof beyond reasonable doubt is not required; a reasonable basis for the belief suffices. Vargas admitted her failure to follow proper accounting procedures, which enabled the cashier to commit fraud. Her knowledge of the cashier’s dishonesty and her failure to report it constituted a breach of the trust inherent in her position, justifying dismissal.
However, the employer failed to comply with procedural due process. The indefinite preventive suspension imposed on Vargas, without a written notice of charges and a meaningful opportunity to be heard, violated the Labor Code. Such indefinite suspension effectively amounted to a dismissal without due process. Consequently, while the dismissal was substantively valid, the employer is liable for indemnity due to the procedural lapse. The NLRC’s order for reinstatement with backwages was set aside. Petitioner was ordered to pay Vargas an indemnity of P1,000.00 as damages for the denial of due process.