Title
Banco Filipino Savings and Mortgage Bank vs. Lazaro
Case
G.R. No. 185346
Decision Date
Jun 27, 2012
Miguelito Lazaro contested Banco Filipino's retirement pay computation, claiming 27 years of service and higher salary. Court granted differential for liquidation period but denied attorney’s fees, profit shares, and damages due to lack of legal basis.
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Case Digest (G.R. No. 185346)

Facts:

  1. Employment History:

    • Miguelito M. Lazaro began working for Banco Filipino on 1 February 1968 as a probationary employee. He rose to the position of assistant manager and continued working until the bank was closed by the Central Bank of the Philippines on 25 January 1985.
    • After the bank's closure, Lazaro was reemployed on 16 April 1992 as part of a task force assigned to collect delinquent accounts.
    • Following the Supreme Court's ruling that the bank's closure was illegal, Banco Filipino reopened in June 1992. Lazaro continued working until his retirement on 1 December 1995 as an assistant vice-president.
  2. Retirement Benefits:

    • Lazaro was paid retirement benefits for 20 years and 7 months of service, based on his final salary of ₱38,000 per month.
    • Lazaro contested this, claiming he should be credited with 27 years and 10 months of service and that his retirement pay should be based on a salary of ₱50,000, reflecting a salary increase granted to senior officers in December 1995.
  3. Additional Claims:

    • Lazaro demanded 10% attorney’s fees from foreclosure proceedings he handled and a 10% profit share from 1984 to 1995.
    • Banco Filipino denied these claims, arguing that Lazaro was already compensated for his work as legal counsel and that profit shares required Monetary Board approval.
  4. Labor Arbiter and NLRC Decisions:

    • The Labor Arbiter (LA) denied Lazaro’s claims, and the National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC) affirmed this decision.
  5. Court of Appeals Decision:

    • The CA granted Lazaro a retirement pay differential for the 7 years the bank was under liquidation but denied his claims for attorney’s fees, profit shares, and a higher salary base for retirement pay.

Issue:

  1. Whether the CA erred in granting Lazaro a retirement pay differential for the 7-year liquidation period.
  2. Whether the CA erred in dismissing Lazaro’s claims for attorney’s fees and profit shares.
  3. Whether the CA erred in not addressing Lazaro’s claims for a one-day salary differential and damages (moral, exemplary, attorney’s fees, and expenses of suit).

Ruling:

  • (Subscriber-Only)

Ratio:

  • (Subscriber-Only)


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