Case Digest (G.R. No. 206690)
Facts:
Barrio Fiesta Restaurant, Liberty Ilagan, Sunshine Ongpauco-Ikeda and Marico Cristobal v. Helen C. Beronia, G.R. No. 206690, July 11, 2016, the Supreme Court Second Division, Brion, J., writing for the Court.On August 17, 2009, respondent Helen C. Beronia filed a complaint for illegal dismissal against petitioners Barrio Fiesta Restaurant, its owner Liberty Ilagan, General Manager Sunshine Ongpauco-Ikeda, and Personnel Officer Marico Cristobal, seeking backwages, damages and attorneys’ fees. Beronia alleged long employment as cashier/receptionist beginning in 1988 and recounted an incident on September 5, 2008 where an earlier cashier failed to record a P582 (later cited as P594) sales transaction; Beronia later admitted applying that overage to offset shortages she had incurred on separate occasions, a practice she claimed was customary among cashiers.
The petitioners maintained that Beronia’s admitted “offsetting” and earlier incidents (including unauthorized release of cash to a third party in 2006 and prior disciplinary suspensions for tardiness and interpersonal misconduct) evidenced serious misconduct and loss of trust warranting dismissal. After Cristobal demanded a written explanation, petitioners served a termination memorandum dated October 17, 2008; Beronia stopped reporting November 15, 2008, was later rehired on a fixed contract as acting supervisor from February 4 to July 30, 2009, and was not rehired after that contract expired.
Before the Labor Arbiter, Labor Arbiter Virginia T. Luyas-Azarraga ruled on May 31, 2010 that Beronia was illegally dismissed and ordered separation pay in lieu of reinstatement and backwages, finding lack of proof of bad faith and noting the petitioners’ later rehiring of Beronia. The National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC) reversed in its December 7, 2010 decision, holding that a cashier’s position is one of trust and that Beronia’s admitted offsetting—coupled with prior warnings—justified dismissal. The NLRC denied reconsideration on February 24, 2011.
Beronia filed a petition for certiorari with the Court of Appeals (CA). The CA, after several procedural notices and noting petitioners’ failure to timely file a comment, issued a June 21, 2012 decision reinstating the labor arbiter and finding Beronia illegally dismissed for lack of proof of company prohibition against offsetting, absence of proof of bad faith, and the inconsistency of rehiring her to train cashiers. Petitioners filed a belated motion for reconsideration on November 29, 2012; the CA denied it in an April 5, 2013 resolution as 138 days late.
Petitioners then elevated the case to the Supreme Court by a petiti...(Pro-only)
Issues:
- Did the Court of Appeals reversibly err in denying the petitioners’ motion for reconsideration as belatedly filed?
- Did the Court of Appeals err in reinstating the Labor Arbiter’s finding that Beronia was illegally dismissed and that she was de...(Pro-only)
Ruling:
- (Pro-only)
Ratio:
- (Pro-only)
Doctrine:
- (Pro-only)