G.R. No. 86000 - Gold City Integrated Port Services vs. National Labor Relations Commission

Private respondent Jose Bacalso was employed by petitioner Gold City Integrated Port Services, Inc. as an admeasurer.
Management suspected Bacalso of undermeasuring cargo, specifically pallets of bananas.
On January 23, 1987, the cargo control officer ordered two other admeasurers to re-measure three pallets of bananas previously measured by Bacalso.
The re-measurement revealed that Bacalso had undermeasured the cargo by 1.427 cubic meters.

Feeling insulted by the re-measurement, Bacalso confronted Nigel Mabalacad, one of the admeasurers involved in the re-check, in the presence of Chief Admeasurer Rolando Guangco.
Despite Guangco’s order to maintain proper conduct, Bacalso ignored the directive, leading to a fistfight with Mabalacad inside the office.
The altercation was eventually broken up by co-workers.

Bacalso was charged with assaulting a co-employee and falsifying company reports and records regarding his assigned duties.
He was preventively suspended pending an investigation by the union-management grievance committee.
The grievance committee, after receiving a letter dated March 20, 1987, referred the matter to management, proposing a penalty of forty-five (45) days suspension.
Management, considering Bacalso’s alleged inability to get along with co-workers and customers, deemed suspension an inadequate sanction.
On April 11, 1987, Bacalso received a notice of termination citing assault on a co-employee and insubordination.

Bacalso filed a complaint for illegal dismissal with the Regional Arbitration Branch No. 10 of the Department of Labor and Employment on May 25, 1987.
While he admitted to assaulting a co-worker, Bacalso disputed the charge of insubordination, arguing that he had not wilfully disobeyed any direct order and that assault alone was punishable by a mere fifteen (15) days suspension under the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).
Bacalso sought reinstatement, backwages, and damages.

The Labor Arbiter ruled in favor of Bacalso, holding that his dismissal was illegal because the insubordination charge was unsupported, and noted that assault should only warrant a fifteen (15) days suspension.
Due to strained relations, the Arbiter did not order reinstatement but awarded separation pay and attorney’s fees.
On appeal, the National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC) modified the decision by ordering Bacalso’s reinstatement with backwages, reasoning that Guangco’s order was connected to work and that Bacalso’s conduct did not justify dismissal.

Petitioner Gold City filed a petition for certiorari, emphasizing management’s prerogative to enforce discipline based on the CBA and rules of conduct.
Bacalso contended that he was denied due process as he was not fully informed of all charges against him—specifically, he was originally charged with falsification but later dismissed for insubordination without given opportunity to be heard on the latter.
The case raised two major issues: whether Bacalso was denied procedural due process and whether his dismissal was justified under the law.

Whether Bacalso was denied due process in the course of his dismissal because he was not informed of all the infractions that formed the basis of the dismissal.
Whether charging Bacalso with insubordination at the time of termination—when his earlier investigation only focused on assault and falsification—deprived him of the opportunity to adequately defend himself against the new charge.

Whether Bacalso’s alleged conduct, specifically the physical altercation and his disregard for the order of his immediate superior, constituted serious misconduct or wilful disobedience justifying dismissal under Article 282 of the Labor Code.
Whether the imposition of dismissal was a proportionate penalty, given that assaulting a co-worker under the CBA was meted out with a lighter sanction (fifteen-day suspension) and considering the overall circumstances of the incident.