G.R. No. 164317 - Ching vs. Secretary of Justice

Petitioner Elsa S. Malig-on was hired by respondent Equitable General Services, Inc. on March 4, 1996 as a janitress.
Her compensation was fixed at P250.00 per day for a nine-hour workday.

On February 15, 2002, Malig-on was informed by her immediate supervisor that she would be reassigned to another client; however, the reassignment never materialized despite several follow-ups by her.
After approximately eight months of waiting, on October 15, 2002, the company instructed her to file a resignation letter as a precondition for the promised reassignment.
Under pressure, she complied and submitted her resignation letter.

Despite filing her resignation, Malig-on later initiated a complaint against the company, alleging illegal dismissal.
The company maintained that Malig-on had simply abandoned her work on February 16, 2002 without any explanation, as supported by two formal letters dated August 23, 2002 and September 2, 2002 requesting her explanation regarding her unexplained absence.
On October 15, 2002, she officially submitted her resignation letter at the company's office.

The Labor Arbiter (LA) initially rendered a decision on January 26, 2004, validating Malig-on’s resignation while awarding her only the emergency cost of living allowance and the balance of her 13th month pay.
The National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC) subsequently reversed the LA’s decision on February 28, 2005, ruling that the company had constructively dismissed her and ordering both her reinstatement and full backwages from the time of her alleged illegal dismissal up to the finality of the decision.
The respondent company appealed to the Court of Appeals (CA), which, on July 16, 2008, reversed the NLRC ruling by reinstating the decision of the LA, thereby supporting the view of voluntary resignation.

Whether the CA erred in holding that petitioner Malig-on abandoned her work and eventually resigned voluntarily, as opposed to being constructively dismissed by the respondent company.

Whether the circumstances surrounding her filing of the resignation letter were consistent with a genuine and voluntary act of resignation.
Whether the procedural lapses of the employer in notifying and investigating her unexplained absence constitute grounds to find constructive dismissal.