G.R. No. L-77290 September 26, 1988
DIVINA JABALLAS, petitioner, vs. CONSTRUCTION & DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION OF THE PHILIPPINES (now PHIL. NATIONAL CONSTRUCTION COMPANY), et al., respondents.

FACTS

Petitioner Divina Jaballas was a toll teller for the Construction and Development Corporation of the Philippines (CDCP, now PNCC). The company had strict rules against the fraudulent reissuance of used toll cards, considering mere possession of such cards by unauthorized personnel as prima facie evidence of dishonesty. On November 17, 1978, used toll cards dated November 9, 1978, were found in the possession of another teller, Corazon Periquet. Since Jaballas had been the exit teller at the Sucat interchange on November 6, 1978, when those specific cards were originally issued at the Nichols entry, the company presumed she had failed to detach the receipt stubs and had allowed the cards to be diverted. She was repeatedly asked to explain and face investigation.
Jaballas denied the charges. She explained that upon arriving at her booth on November 6, she found toll cards from previous shifts scattered about due to heavy traffic. She gathered them but left them in the booth as was customary, for janitors to later collect and burn. She argued the cards found with Periquet could have come from anyone with access to the booth and noted she was assigned elsewhere on November 9, the date stamped on the cards. She failed to attend the investigative hearing due to health reasons and her father’s indisposition. CDCP dismissed her for dishonesty and loss of trust. The Labor Arbiter ruled her dismissal illegal, but the National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC) reversed, upholding the dismissal.

ISSUE

Whether the NLRC committed grave abuse of discretion in upholding the dismissal of petitioner Divina Jaballas based on the evidence presented.

RULING

Yes, the Supreme Court found grave abuse of discretion and reinstated the Labor Arbiter’s decision. The Court held that the company’s evidence was insufficient to prove just cause for dismissal. The legal logic centered on the burden of proof in termination cases and the quality of evidence required. For dismissal based on loss of trust and confidence, the employer must present substantial evidence of the employee’s misconduct. Here, the company’s case rested on a presumption arising from Jaballas’s prior assignment. However, this circumstantial evidence did not conclusively prove she received the specific cards or negligently handled them.
The Court emphasized that the possibility the cards came from other sources—previous shift tellers, janitors, or security guards—was not refuted. Jaballas’s unrebutted explanation about the disorganized state of the booth and the procedural practice of leaving cards for disposal created reasonable doubt about her sole responsibility. The cards being dated November 9, a day she was assigned elsewhere, further weakened the link. The NLRC’s conclusion was not supported by solid evidence but by conjecture, constituting grave abuse of discretion. Consequently, the dismissal was illegal. Jaballas was ordered reinstated with full backwages, limited to three years, and without loss of seniority rights.