Republic of the
Supreme Court
FIRST DIVISION
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JAMES BEN L. JERUSALEM |
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G.R. No. 169564 |
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Petitioner,
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Present: |
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-versus- |
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VELASCO, JR., |
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LEONARDO-DE CASTRO, |
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KEPPEL MONTE BANK, HOE ENG |
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PEREZ, JJ. |
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HOCK, SUNNY |
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PICART, |
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Promulgated: |
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Respondents. |
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April 6, 2011 |
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D E C I S I O N
For breach of trust and confidence to become a valid ground for the
dismissal of an employee, the cause of loss of trust and confidence must be
related to the performance of the employee’s duties.
This Petition for Review
on Certiorari[1] assails the Decision[2] dated June 22, 2005 of the
Court of Appeals (CA) in CA-G.R. SP No. 86988, which granted the petition for certiorari
and reversed and set aside the Decision[3] dated June 25, 2004 of the
National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC) in NLRC NCR CA No. 029793-01
(NCR-00-10-05292-00). Also assailed is
the CA Resolution[4]
dated
Factual
Antecedents
James Ben L.
Jerusalem (James) was employed by Keppel Monte Bank (Keppel) on
In or about May
1999, James received from Jorge Javier (Jorge) a sealed envelope said to be
containing VISA Card application forms. Jorge is a Keppel Visa Card Holder since
December 1998. James immediately handed
over the envelope with accomplished application forms to the VISA Credit Card
Unit. All in all, the VISA credit card
applications referred by Jorge which James forwarded to the VISA Credit Card
Unit numbered 67, all of which were subsequently approved. As it turned out, all the accounts under these
approved applications became past due.
On July 20,
2000, Marciana sent a letter[5]
to Jorge asking the latter to assist the bank in the collection of his referred
VISA accounts which have already an accumulated principal balance of P6,281,443.90
excluding interest and service fees in the amount of P1,157,490.08. On the same date, James upon knowing the
status of the accounts referred by Jorge, sent a Memorandum[6]
to Roberto recommending the filing of a criminal case for estafa against Jorge.
He further recommended that a
coordination with the other banks where Jorge has deposits should be made
promptly so that they can ask said banks to freeze Jorge’s accounts. James even warned Keppel that immediate action
should be taken while Jorge is still in the country.
On
On
On
On
On August 23,
2000, James submitted his written explanation[10]
to Sunny. He pointed out that he had no
participation in the processing of the VISA card applications since he was no
longer connected with the VISA Credit Card Unit at the time of such
transactions. He explained that he can
only endorse the applications referred by Jorge to the VISA Credit Card Unit
because he was already transferred to Jewelry Department, as Head.
On September 26,
2000, the Manager for Human Resources Department, Josefina Picart, handed to
James a Notice of Termination[11]
informing the latter that he was found guilty of breach of trust and confidence
for knowingly and maliciously referring, endorsing and vouching for VISA card
applicants who later turned out to be impostors resulting in financial loss to
Keppel. This prompted James to file
before the Labor Arbiter a complaint for illegal dismissal, illegal
confiscation of car with prayer for the payment of vacation/sick leaves, 13th
month pay, damages, attorney’s fees and full backwages against Keppel on
Ruling of the Labor Arbiter
On
The dispositive
portion of the Labor Arbiter’s Decision reads:
VIEWED IN THE LIGHT OF THE FOREGOING, the
dismissal being illegal, the complainant should be paid his backwages from the
time of his illegal termination up to the date of this decision in the amount
of P584,204.54; in lieu of reinstatement, the complainant is further ordered
paid his separation pay equivalent to one (1) month pay for every year of
service, in the amount of P150,000.00; the amounts of P100,000.00
and P50,000.00 pesos as payment for moral and exemplary damages
respectively; and ten (10%) percent of the total monetary award as and for
attorney’s fees, or the aggregate amount of P957,624.99.
Respondents are further ordered to deliver to
complainant his car, Toyota Corona with plate number THE 735 without prejudice
to the payment of the remaining balance thereon.
SO ORDERED.[13]
Keppel sought recourse to the NLRC which issued a Decision[14] dated
June 25, 2004 affirming the Decision of the Labor Arbiter with the modification
that the award of moral and exemplary damages be deleted and that the
attorney’s fees be based on the 13th month pay and service incentive
leave pay.
Keppel filed a Motion for Reconsideration[15] which
was denied by the NLRC in a Resolution[16] dated
Aggrieved, Keppel filed with the CA
a Petition for Certiorari.[17]
Ruling of the Court of Appeals
The CA found
merit in the petition and granted the same through a Decision[18]
dated June 22, 2005, the dispositve portion of which reads:
WHEREFORE,
the petition is GRANTED. The assailed
decision and resolution of the public respondent are hereby SET ASIDE, and a
new judgment is entered DISMISSING the private respondent’s complaint for lack
of merit.
SO ORDERED.[19]
Petitioner moved for reconsideration[20]
but to no avail.[21] Hence, this appeal raising the following
issues:
Issues
A. THE
COURT OF APPEALS SERIOUSLY ERRED WHEN IT REVERSED THE CONCURRING FINDINGS OF
THE LABOR ARBITER AND THE NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS COMMISSION THAT RESPONDENTS’
DISMISSAL OF PETITIONER BASED ON ALLEGED LOSS OF TRUST AND CONFIDENCE HAS NO
BASIS AT ALL AND THEREBY DECLARING THE DISMISSAL OF PETITIONER AS JUSTIFIED.
B. THE
COURT OF APPEALS GRAVELY ERRED IN DECLARING PETITIONER’S DISMISSAL AS LEGAL AND
EFFECTIVELY DELETING THE MONETARY AWARDS BY THE LABOR ARBITER AND NLRC.
C. THE
COURT OF APPEALS SERIOUSLY ERRED IN REVERSING THE DECISION OF THE LABOR ARBITER
AND X X X [THE] RESOLUTION OF THE NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS COMMISSION BY USING
A SUPREME COURT RULING WHICH IS NOT APPLICABLE TO THE INSTANT CASE.[22]
The above issues can be summed up to
the sole issue of whether Keppel legally terminated
James’s employment on the ground of willful breach of trust and confidence.
Petitioner’s
Arguments
Petitioner
believes that the Labor Arbiter and the NLRC, who are deemed to have acquired
expertise in matters within their respective jurisdictions, correctly held that
there was no basis to justify the alleged loss of trust and confidence of
respondents on petitioner.
He avers that a dismissal based on
loss of trust and confidence should be proven by substantial evidence and
founded on clearly established facts. As
culled from the records and as correctly cited by the lower tribunals,
respondents have not been able to show any concrete proof that petitioner
had participated in the
approval of the
subject credit cards and that his only participation was his act of forwarding
the applications to the VISA Credit Card Unit of which he is no longer the
head.
Furthermore, the loss of trust and
confidence in addition to being willful and without justifiable excuse must
also be work-related rendering the employee concerned unfit to continue working.
In this case, petitioner points out that
he was not anymore connected with the VISA Credit Card Unit when the alleged
credit card scam happened and claims that he had nothing to do with the
approval of the said card applications. Hence, he should not be made answerable for
the erroneous judgment of the officers of the VISA Credit Card Unit.
Respondents’
Arguments
Loss of trust and confidence is a
valid ground for dismissing an employee, provided that same arises from proven
facts. Termination of employment on this
ground does not require proof beyond reasonable doubt of the employee’s
conduct. It is sufficient that there is
some basis for the loss of trust or that the employer has reasonable ground to
believe that the employee is responsible for the misconduct which renders him
unworthy of the trust and confidence demanded of his position.
In this case, respondents believe
that the testimonies of Marciana and Rosario who were former subordinates of James
in the VISA Credit Card Unit deserve full faith and credence in the absence of
any evidence that they were impelled by improper motives. The two corroborated each other in saying that
no credit investigation and residence checking were conducted on the
applications endorsed by Jorge because there was a specific instruction from James
for them not to conduct the said investigations and validation as he was
personally vouching for the existence and validity of the said accounts.
The dismissal of James is therefore
valid in view of the overwhelming and unrebutted evidence presented against
him. It is the prerogative of management to dismiss petitioner, who is a
managerial employee, for loss of trust and confidence.
Our Ruling
The petition is
impressed with merit.
Article 282 of the Labor Code states:
ART. 282. TERMINATION BY EMPLOYER. – An
employer may terminate an employment for any of the following causes:
(a) Serious
misconduct or willful disobedience by the employee of the lawful orders of his
employer or representative in connection with his work;
(b) Gross
and habitual neglect by the employee of his duties;
(c) Fraud
or willful breach by the employee of the trust reposed in him by his employer
or duly authorized representative;
(d) Commission
of a crime or offense by the employee against the person of his employer or any
immediate member of his family or his duly authorized representative; and
(e) Other
causes analogous to the foregoing.
Article 282(c) of the
Labor Code prescribes two separate and distinct grounds for termination of
employment, namely: (1) fraud; or (2) willful breach by the employee of the
trust reposed in him by his employer or duly authorized representative.
“Law and jurisprudence
have long recognized the right of employers to dismiss employees by reason of
loss of trust and confidence.”[23] As provided for in Article 282, an employer
may terminate an employee’s employment for fraud or willful breach of trust
reposed in him. “But, in order to
constitute a just cause for dismissal, the act complained of must be ‘work-related’
such as would show the employee concerned to be unfit to continue working for
the employer.”[24]
Keppel has the burden of proof to
discharge its allegations.
“Unlike in other cases where the
complainant has the burden of proof to discharge its allegations, the burden of
establishing facts as bases for an employer’s loss of confidence in an employee
– facts which reasonably generate belief by the employer that the employee was
connected with some misconduct and the nature of his participation therein is
such as to render him unworthy of trust and confidence demanded of his position
– is on the employer.”[25]
While it is true that loss of trust
and confidence is one of the just causes for termination, such loss of trust
and confidence must, however, have some basis. Proof beyond reasonable doubt is
not required. It is sufficient that
there must only be some basis for such loss of confidence or that there is
reasonable ground to believe, if not to entertain, the moral conviction that
the concerned employee is responsible for the misconduct and that the nature of
his participation therein rendered him absolutely unworthy of trust and
confidence demanded by his position.[26]
Keppel failed in discharging the
burden of proof that the dismissal of James is for a just cause.
The first
requisite for dismissal on the ground of loss of trust and confidence is that
the employee concerned must be holding a position of trust and confidence. In this case, there is no doubt that
James held a position of trust and confidence as Assistant Vice-President of
the Jewelry Department.
“The second
requisite is that there must be an act that would justify the loss of trust and
confidence. Loss of trust and
confidence, to be a valid cause for dismissal, must be based on a willful
breach of trust and founded on clearly established facts. The basis for the dismissal must be clearly
and convincingly established but proof beyond reasonable doubt is not
necessary.”[27] Keppel’s evidence against James fails to meet
this standard.
Worthy to note is the pertinent portion of the Decision of Labor Arbiter Daisy G. Cauton-Barcelona, to wit:
Looking closely at the circumstances obtaining
herein, we note that respondent bank has not been able to show any concrete
proof that indeed complainant had participated in the approval of the
questioned VISA CARD accounts. The records [are] bereft of any concrete showing
that complainant directed Ms. Gerena to approve the applications without
passing through the process. The alleged marginal notations in the applications
were admittedly scribbled by Ms. Gerena. Even assuming that there are such
notations on the applications i.e., “c/o James Jerusalem”, still, such
notations to us can not be construed as a directive coming from complainant to
specifically do away with existing policy on the approval of applications for
VISA Card.
Of course, we concede to the fact that respondent had
sustained losses on account of the so-called “credit card scam” in the amount
of P7,961,619.82 all coming from the accounts referred x x x by Mr.
Jorge Javier, but no amount of mind boggling can we infer that the mere act of
handing the already accomplished forms for VISA CREDIT Card could be
interpreted as “Favorable endorsement” with instructions not to conduct the
usual credit investigation/verification of applicants. To lay the blame upon
the complainant would be at the height of injustice considering that at that
time, he no longer has the authority to pass upon such applications. To
attribute such huge financial losses to one who is no longer connected with the
VISA Card department would be stretching too far, the import of the term “some
basis.” We simply could not see our way through how respondent bank could have
inferred that complainant made such instruction upon Ms. Gerena to forego the
usual process and have the applications approved without any direct evidence
showing to be so.[28]
Also significant is the findings of
the NLRC that petitioner had not committed any acts inimical to the interest of
Keppel. The NLRC stated, viz:
The lines having been
drawn between the VISA Card Unit and the Jewelry Department, the complainant
who is assigned with the latter as Vice-President can not be made responsible
for the misdeeds of those in the former. Moreover, the act of betrayal of trust
if any, must have been committed by the employee in connection with the
performance of his function or position. Verily, in this case, complainant who
has nothing to do with the approval of VISA Cards, should not be made
answerable to the imprudence and indiscretion of Ms. Gerena and Ms. Ronquillo.[29]
“Loss of confidence as a just cause for termination of employment is
premised on the fact that the employee concerned holds a position of
responsibility or trust and confidence. He
must be invested with confidence on delicate matters, such as custody handling
or care and protection of the property and assets of the employer. And, in order to constitute a just cause for
dismissal, the act complained of must be work-related and shows that the
employee concerned is unfit to continue to work for the employer.”[30]
From the findings of both the
Labor Arbiter and the NLRC it is clear that James did nothing wrong when he
handed over to Marciana the envelope containing the applications of persons
under the referred accounts of Jorge who were later found to be fictitious. As the records now stand, James was no longer
connected with the VISA Credit Card Unit when the 67 applications for VISA card
were approved. At such time, he was
already the Head of the Marketing and Operations of the Jewelry Department. His act therefore of forwarding the already
accomplished applications to the VISA Credit Card Unit is proper as he is not
in any position to act on them. The
processing and verification of the identities of the applicants would have been
done by the proper department, which is the VISA Credit Card Unit. Therefore, it is incumbent upon Marciana as
Unit Head to have performed her duties. As
correctly observed by the Labor Arbiter, Keppel had gone too far in blaming
James for the shortcomings and imprudence of Marciana. The invocation of Keppel of the loss of trust
and confidence as ground for James’s termination has therefore no basis at all.
Having shown
that Keppel failed to discharge its burden of proving that James’s dismissal is
for a just cause, we have no other recourse but to declare that such dismissal
based on the ground of loss of trust and confidence was illegal. This is in consonance with the constitutional
guarantee of security of tenure.
WHEREFORE, the instant Petition for Review on Certiorari is GRANTED. The Decision dated
SO ORDERED.
MARIANO C.
Associate Justice
WE
CONCUR:
RENATO C. CORONA
Chief Justice
Chairperson
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PRESBITERO J. VELASCO, JR. Associate Justice |
TERESITA J. LEONARDO-DE CASTRO Associate Justice |
JOSE
Associate Justice
C E R T I F I C A T I O N
Pursuant
to Section 13, Article VIII of the Constitution, it is hereby certified that
the conclusions in the above Decision had been reached in consultation before
the case was assigned to the writer of the opinion of the Court’s Division.
RENATO C. CORONA
Chief Justice
[1] Rollo, pp. 17-47.
[2] CA rollo, pp. 444-456; penned by Associate Justice Delilah Vidallon Magtolis and concurred in by Associate Justices Perlita J. Tria Tirona and Jose C. Reyes, Jr.
[3]
[4]
[5]
[6]
[7]
[8]
[9]
[10]
[11]
[12]
[13]
[14]
[15]
[16]
[17]
[18]
[19]
[20] See petitioner’s Motion for Reconsideration, id. at 461-473.
[21] See Resolution dated
[22] Rollo,
p. 30.
[23] Etcuban, Jr. v. Sulpicio Lines, Inc., 489 Phil. 483, 496 (2005).
[24]
[25] Felix v. National Labor Relations Commission, 485 Phil. 140, 153 (2004).
[26]
[27] Abel v. Philex Mining Corporation, G.R. No. 178976, July 31, 2009, 594 SCRA 683, 694.
[28] CA rollo, pp. 264-265.
[29]
[30] Sulpicio Lines, Inc. v. Gulde, 427 Phil. 805, 810 (2002).