GR L 74610; (September, 1988) (Digest)
G.R. Nos. L-74610-11 September 30, 1988
ALGA MOHER INTERNATIONAL PLACEMENT SERVICES, petitioner, vs. HON. DIEGO P. ATIENZA, CLETO T. VILLATUYA, GERONIMO Q. QUADRA, as Commissioners of the NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS COMMISSION, First Division; HON. PATRICIA A. STO. TOMAS as ADMINISTRATOR of the PHILIPPINE OVERSEAS EMPLOYMENT ADMINISTRATION; and RAMON C. PONCE and CLAUDIO M. MIRAFLOR, respondents.
FACTS
Petitioner Alga Moher International Placement Services, a licensed recruitment agency, acted as the local agent for foreign employer Modern System Contracting Establishment. Through Alga Moher, private respondents Ramon Ponce and Claudio Miraflor were recruited, paid placement fees, and entered into separate two-year employment contracts for specific positions in Saudi Arabia. Shortly after deployment, they were reassigned to different jobs—Ponce from driver to cook, then to construction worker, and Miraflor from airconditioning technician to construction worker. They reported this breach to Alga Moher. Subsequently, Modern System terminated their contracts, detained them, and repatriated them after making unauthorized salary deductions.
Upon return, Ponce and Miraflor filed complaints for illegal dismissal and breach of contract against both Modern System and Alga Moher before the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA). The POEA ruled in favor of the workers, ordering the respondents to pay salaries for the unexpired contract portions and attorney’s fees. The National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC) affirmed this decision. Alga Moher alone elevated the case to the Supreme Court, contesting its liability and the finding of illegal dismissal.
ISSUE
The primary issues are: (1) whether Alga Moher, as the local recruitment agent, is jointly and severally liable with the foreign principal for the breach of contract and illegal dismissal of the overseas workers; and (2) whether the private respondents were illegally dismissed despite being probationary employees.
RULING
The Supreme Court dismissed the petition and affirmed the NLRC decision with a modification on the payment of attorney’s fees. The Court held Alga Moher solidarily liable with Modern System. As the duly authorized local agent, Alga Moher recruited the workers and facilitated their employment. Its defense of non-involvement was belatedly raised and contradicted by the evidence, including its own witnesses’ affidavits. The Court emphasized that recruitment agencies act as extensions of foreign employers and cannot evade responsibility for contracts they negotiate.
On the issue of dismissal, the Court ruled it was illegal. The reassignment of workers to positions substantially different from their contracted jobs constituted a breach of contract. Their termination, which followed their complaint about this breach, was not for a just or authorized cause. The fact that they were still within a probationary period was immaterial. Probationary employees enjoy security of tenure and can only be dismissed for cause under Article 279 of the Labor Code. Their dismissal deprived them of the opportunity to complete their two-year contracts. The award of salaries for the unexpired portion was therefore proper. The Court modified the attorney’s fees award to specify payment in Philippine currency at the prevailing exchange rate.