Title
GBMLT Manpower Services, Inc. vs. Malinao
Case
G.R. No. 189262
Decision Date
Jul 6, 2015
A teacher deployed to Ethiopia faced demotion, salary cuts, and termination after refusing a new post. Courts ruled no illegal dismissal, upheld her quitclaim, and deemed the employer's appeal timely.
teacher
job abroad
salary

Case Summary (G.R. No. 189262)

Factual Background

Respondent applied to petitioner in May 2005 for deployment as a teacher abroad and was interviewed and endorsed for a post as accounting lecturer in Ethiopia. Petitioner issued a wage response slip indicating a monthly salary of USD 900, and respondent paid placement and processing fees equivalent to one month’s salary. She signed a two-year Contract of Employment for Foreign Academic Personnel approved by the POEA and departed for Ethiopia on 12 December 2005. Upon arrival the Ministry of Education required re-evaluation of her credentials on the ground that she did not have a master’s degree, and she signed a duplicate contract presented in Ethiopia. Respondent discontinued teaching one assigned course on 10 January 2006 and spent the remainder of the semester without a teaching load. In March 2006 the university circulated memoranda lowering academic ranks and reducing salaries of Filipino staff; respondent’s rank and salary were lowered to assistant lecturer at USD 600 but she refused to sign a new contract and protested before the Ministry of Education. At an audience on 27 March 2006 Vice President Tena Alamirew told respondent she was terminated, later apologized, and respondent requested in writing on 28 March 2006 that a notice of termination be issued. Subsequent memoranda questioned respondent’s qualifications and accused her of ineffective teaching; respondent replied defending her qualifications. On 6 April 2006 Vice President Alamirew issued a three-month notice of termination under the contract. Respondent accepted, then later rejected, an offered post in the Internal Audit Department and was repatriated on 27 June 2006.

Labor Arbiter Proceedings and Ruling

Respondent filed a complaint against petitioner and Alemaya University alleging illegal dismissal and money claims. The labor arbiter issued a Decision dated 29 March 2007 finding respondent constructively dismissed and unduly repatriated. The labor arbiter ordered petitioner and Alemaya University to pay in solidum USD 4,500 as unrealized income (with the amount already paid under the quitclaim deducted), Php 30,000 as moral damages, Php 20,000 as exemplary damages, and costs. The labor arbiter found the students’ petition alleging incompetence questionable and noted defects in procedural due process, including the absence of a peer review panel, and concluded that the Quitclaim and Release was unconscionable and could not bar respondent’s claims because it was grossly inadequate compared to entitlements under Section 10, R.A. 8042.

NLRC Proceedings and Ruling

Petitioner appealed to the NLRC and respondent filed an omnibus motion including a motion to dismiss the appeal for untimely posting of the appeal bond and a motion to modify the award. The NLRC, in a Decision dated 30 July 2008, dismissed respondent’s complaint and sustained the validity of the Quitclaim and Release. The NLRC concluded that respondent had accepted a new position offered by the university, that the agreement to continue employment in another capacity prevented the termination from taking effect, and that respondent later terminated the contract when she rejected the new post and requested repatriation. The NLRC held that respondent, a certified public accountant and law graduate, had executed the quitclaim voluntarily and with understanding and that petitioner’s posting of an appeal bond by check was acceptable. The NLRC denied respondent’s motion for reconsideration.

Court of Appeals Proceedings and Ruling

Respondent petitioned the Court of Appeals asserting grave abuse of discretion by the NLRC. The CA, in its Decision dated 29 May 2009, reversed the NLRC and reinstated the labor arbiter’s Decision with modifications. The CA found the USD 900 paid under the Quitclaim and Release unconscionable and insufficient compared to respondent’s alleged entitlement under Section 10, R.A. 8042 and held the quitclaim invalid. The CA concluded that respondent had been illegally dismissed, condemned substitution of contracts by the foreign principal, and ruled that petitioner’s appeal to the NLRC was not perfected on time because the appeal bond check was encashed after the reglementary appeal period. The CA awarded reimbursement of the placement fee with statutory interest, respondent’s airfare from Dire Dawa to Addis Ababa, increased moral and exemplary damages, and attorney’s fees. The CA denied petitioner’s motion for reconsideration.

Issues Presented to the Supreme Court

The Supreme Court framed the dispositive issues as whether respondent was illegally dismissed; whether the Quitclaim and Release was valid; and whether petitioner perfected its appeal to the NLRC within the reglementary period. The mode of review was a Rule 45 petition challenging the CA’s Rule 65 determination of grave abuse of discretion by the NLRC.

Supreme Court’s Mode of Review

The Court reviewed whether the CA correctly determined that the NLRC committed grave abuse of discretion in its rulings. The Court applied the standard articulated in prior jurisprudence governing Rule 45 review of Rule 65 decisions and examined factual findings and legal conclusions of the NLRC and CA for grave abuse.

Supreme Court Ruling on Illegal Dismissal

The Supreme Court held that respondent was not illegally dismissed. It construed Article X of the POEA-approved Contract of Employment, noting express provisions permitting termination by either party for cause and permitting termination by either party without cause upon three months’ written notice. The Court observed that the notice of termination complied with the contract’s three-month requirement. The Court found no bad faith in the university’s conduct, treated the alleged demotion as a misunderstanding regarding academic credential requirements, and considered respondent’s prior refusal to perform an assigned course and the students’ complaints. The Court emphasized that respondent accepted the Internal Audit Department post and that such acceptance evidenced a continuation of employment; when respondent later rejected the post and requested repatriation she exercised her right to terminate the contract. The Court concluded that respondent had effectively terminated the Contract of Employment and therefore could not claim illegal dismissal.

Supreme Court Ruling on the Quitclaim and Release

The Court held that the Quitclaim and Release dated 5 July 2006 was valid and binding. The Court noted that respondent admitted understanding its terms and signed it voluntarily. The Court explained the controlling principle that a waiver or quitclaim executed voluntarily with full comprehension and supported by credible consideration is binding. Because respondent was not illegally dismissed, the Court rejected her claim that the USD 900 consideration was unconscionable relative to an entitlement to salaries for an unexpired co

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