Case Digest (G.R. No. 184116)
Facts:
Century Iron Works, Inc. and Benito Chua, petitioners, filed a petition for review on certiorari (G.R. No. 184116) which was promulgated June 19, 2013 by the Supreme Court Second Division, Brion, J., writing for the Court. The respondent is Eleto B. Banas.Banas was employed by Century Iron from July 5, 2000 until his dismissal effective June 18, 2002. After Century Iron received complaints from gas suppliers about missing empty gas cylinders, the company investigated and charged Banas with failure to report the missing cylinders. Century Iron issued memoranda requiring explanations and convened a hearing; on June 17, 2002 Personnel Officer Virgilio T. Banaga terminated Banas for loss of trust and confidence and gross and habitual neglect of duty. Banas responded by filing a complaint for illegal dismissal with prayer for reinstatement and money claims.
At the labor level, Labor Arbiter Joel S. Lustria, in a decision dated January 31, 2005, found that Banas was illegally dismissed, characterizing him as an inventory clerk (not a supervisory comptroller) and concluding that Century Iron deprived him of due process. The National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC) affirmed the Labor Arbiter in toto. After the NLRC denied Century Iron’s motion for reconsideration, Century Iron filed a petition for certiorari under Rule 65 with the Court of Appeals (CA).
The Court of Appeals, in a decision dated January 31, 2008, affirmed the lower tribunals’ factual finding that Banas was an inventory clerk but modified the outcome by concluding that Banas had been afforded due process. After the CA denied Century Iron’s motion for reconsideration, Century Iron filed the present petition with the Supreme Court on August 29, 2008, captioned as a petition for review on certiorari under Rule 45. The parties litigated contentions whether questions of fact were reviewable, whether ...(Pro-only)
Issues:
- May questions of fact be inquired into in a petition for certiorari under Rule 65 (and what is the proper scope of review in a Rule 45 petition that reviews a Rule 65 judgment)?
- Was Banas occupying a position of trust and confidence or routinely charged with the care and custody of Century Iron’s money or property?
- Was Banas’ termination for just and valid causes: (a) can loss of confidence justify dismissal of a rank‑and‑file employee not routinely charged with care and custody of money/property; and (b) was Banas...(Pro-only)
Ruling:
- (Pro-only)
Ratio:
- (Pro-only)
Doctrine:
- (Pro-only)