Case Digest (G.R. No. L-49549)
Facts:
Evelyn Chua-Qua v. Hon. Jacobo C. Clave, in his capacity as Presidential Executive Assistant, and Tay Tung High School, Inc., G.R. No. L-49549, August 30, 1990, Supreme Court Second Division, Regalado, J., writing for the Court.Petitioner Evelyn Chua-Qua was a long-time teacher at Tay Tung High School, Inc. in Bacolod City, employed since 1963 and in 1976 serving as class adviser of a sixth-grade section where Bobby Qua was enrolled. As part of the school’s remedial-instruction policy, petitioner gave Qua remedial lessons at school; during this period they developed a relationship and were married civilly on December 24, 1975 (petitioner was thirty; Qua sixteen, with parental advice/consent) and later by religious rites on January 10, 1976.
On February 4, 1976, Tay Tung filed with the Department of Labor’s sub-regional office an application for clearance to terminate petitioner’s employment, alleging “abusive and unethical conduct unbecoming of a dignified school teacher” and that her continued employment would demoralize the school. Petitioner was suspended without pay on March 12, 1976. Executive Labor Arbiter Jose Y. Aguirre, Jr., without a formal hearing, relied on affidavits submitted by the school and, on September 17, 1976, granted the clearance to terminate, finding an amorous relationship and inferring immoral conduct though acknowledging no direct evidence.
Petitioner appealed to the National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC) on October 7, 1976. On December 27, 1976 the NLRC unanimously reversed the labor arbiter, finding no evidence of immoral or scandalous acts and ordering reinstatement with backwages. The Minister of Labor then reversed the NLRC on March 30, 1977 but awarded petitioner six months’ salary as financial assistance. Petitioner appealed to the Office of the President; Presidential Executive Assistant Jacobo C. Clave reversed the Minister’s reversal on September 1, 1978 and ordered reinstatement with full back wages.
After a motion for reconsideration by Tay Tung, public respondent Clave reconsidered and on December 6, 1978 modified his own September 1 decision by allowing Tay Tung to terminate petitioner’s services while granting her six months’ separation pay. Petitioner filed a petition for certiorari in the Supreme Court, challenging (1) that dismissal was actually based solely on her marriage to her pupil and thus illegal; (2) denial of due process because the la...(Subscriber-Only)
Issues:
- Was petitioner’s right to due process violated by the admission and consideration of affidavits and disposition without a formal hearing?
- Was there substantial evidence to justify petitioner’s dismissal for immorality, serious misconduct, or breach of trust (grounds under Article 283 of the Labor Code), and did public respondent commit grave abuse of discretion in reversing...(Subscriber-Only)
Ruling:
- (Subscriber-Only)
Ratio:
- (Subscriber-Only)
Doctrine:
- (Subscriber-Only)