Facts:

• Francis C. Cervantes filed a complaint for illegal dismissal against City Service Corporation and Valentin Prieto, Jr. on December 19, 2007.
• The complaint included claims for underpayment of salaries, overtime pay, holiday pay, service incentive leave, separation pay, and moral and exemplary damages.
• On June 30, 2008, the Labor Arbiter dismissed the complaint, citing lack of merit and stating that Cervantes refused to work after reassignment.
• Cervantes appealed to the National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC), which upheld the Labor Arbiter's decision on February 5, 2009.
• A motion for reconsideration was denied on July 22, 2009, prompting Cervantes to file a petition for certiorari with the Court of Appeals (CA) on October 6, 2009.
• The CA dismissed the petition on October 30, 2009, as it was filed out of time, and denied a subsequent motion for reconsideration on March 11, 2010.
• Cervantes then petitioned the Supreme Court to review the CA's resolutions.

Issue:

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Ruling:

• The Supreme Court partially agreed with Cervantes, stating that the filing period for the certiorari petition should start from the date his counsel received the NLRC's resolution on November 19, 2009, making the petition timely.
• However, the Court upheld the dismissal of the petition, agreeing with ...(Unlock)

Ratio:

• The Supreme Court emphasized the importance of proper notice service in legal proceedings, stating that all notices must be sent to the counsel of record when a party is represented.
• The Court clarified that the filing period for a certiorari petition is counted from the counsel's receipt of t...continue reading