Case Digest (G.R. No. 170388)
Facts:
This is Colegio del Santisimo Rosario and Sr. Zenaida S. Mofada, OP v. Emmanuel Rojo, G.R. No. 170388, September 04, 2013, Supreme Court Second Division, Del Castillo, J., writing for the Court.
Petitioner Colegio del Santisimo Rosario (CSR) employed respondent Emmanuel Rojo as a high school teacher on a probationary basis for the school years 1992–1993, 1993–1994 and 1994–1995. On April 5, 1995, CSR, through Sr. Zenaida S. Mofada, OP, decided not to renew respondent’s contract which, petitioners contend, merely expired on March 31, 1995.
On July 13, 1995, respondent filed a complaint for illegal dismissal. He alleged that having served three consecutive school years—what he relied upon as the probationary period under the applicable Manual for private schools—he should have been considered a regular employee. Petitioners countered that the contract was a fixed-term agreement that expired and that paragraph 75 of the 1970 Manual (relied upon by respondent) referred to 36 months (not three 10-month school years), so respondent had not yet completed the required 36 months.
The Labor Arbiter (LA) granted respondent’s complaint, ruling that three school years meant three years of ten months and that respondent had thus become regular; the LA also found bad faith in petitioners’ treatment of the non-renewal and awarded severance-related compensation, moral and exemplary damages, and attorneys’ fees. On appeal, the National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC) affirmed the LA’s decision with modification: it declared the dismissal illegal, ordered reinstatement with full backwages if feasible (or separation pay plus backwages if reinstatement was not feasible), and directed computation of backwages.
Petitioners filed a petition for certiorari with the Court of Appeals (CA) arguing grave abuse of discretion, principally that completion of the third school year did not automatically confer regular status absent a positive act by the employer to retain the teacher. In an August 31, 2005 decision (denied on reconsideration November 10, 2005), the CA denied the petition, applying jurisprudence that a full-time teacher who has rendered three consecutive years of satisfactory service becomes regular, and noting the absence of evidence that CSR had made reasonable performance standards known or presented performance evaluations.
Petitioners elevated the case to the Supreme Court by a Petition for Review on Certiora...(Pro-only)
Issues:
- Whether a teacher hired on probationary basis for three consecutive school years automatically attains regular employment status upon completion of the third year, notwithstanding authorities like Colegio San Agustin v. NLRC and DOLE-DECS-CHED-TESDA Order No. 01, s. 1996, which emphasize that teachers are made regular if allowed to work ...(Pro-only)
Ruling:
- (Pro-only)
Ratio:
- (Pro-only)
Doctrine:
- (Pro-only)