Title
Moral vs. Momentum Properties Management Corp.
Case
G.R. No. 226240
Decision Date
Mar 6, 2019
Probationary employee dismissed via text for failing regularization standards; SC upheld validity but awarded nominal damages for procedural flaw.
probationary employee
illegal dismissal
employer

Case Summary (G.R. No. 226240)

Factual Background

Myra M. Moral was hired on 26 June 2013 as a probationary Leasing Assistant by Momentum Properties Management Corporation for a six-month probationary period ending on 26 December 2013. The written Employment Agreement set forth the probationary status, the schedule of appraisals at the third and fifth months, and the requirement that the employee be apprised of the standards for regularization at engagement. During the fifth month, petitioner underwent aptitude examinations administered by the HR Department and a Performance Appraisal Report prepared by her immediate supervisor, which yielded predominantly below-average or questionable marks. Petitioner ceased reporting for work on 27 December 2013 and received text messages from her supervisor instructing her not to report and to process clearance and backpay. On 7 January 2014, the HR Manager issued a Notice of Absence without Official Leave (NAWOL) requiring an explanation.

Proceedings before the Labor Arbiter

Petitioner filed a complaint for illegal dismissal on 5 March 2014. After conciliation and submission of position papers, the Labor Arbiter issued a decision on 31 July 2014 declaring that petitioner was illegally dismissed. The Labor Arbiter rejected respondent’s abandonment defense, concluded that respondent failed to show proper notice and justifiable cause, and awarded backwages, separation pay in lieu of reinstatement, moral and exemplary damages, and attorney’s fees. The Labor Arbiter declined to hold respondent’s CEO jointly liable for bad faith due to lack of evidence.

NLRC Proceedings and Ruling

On appeal, the National Labor Relations Commission modified the Labor Arbiter’s decision by deleting the awards of moral and exemplary damages and reducing the total monetary award to P154,308.00. The NLRC found that respondent failed to prove that it did not dismiss petitioner and gave probative weight to the text messages indicating that petitioner was told not to report and to process clearance and backpay. The NLRC held that petitioner did not establish by clear and convincing evidence that her termination was motivated by arbitrary, malicious, or ill-willed conduct warranting moral and exemplary damages. The NLRC denied respondent’s motion for reconsideration on 18 November 2014.

Court of Appeals Ruling

The Court of Appeals granted respondent’s petition for certiorari and annulled and set aside the NLRC Decision and Resolution dated 30 September 2014 and 18 November 2014. The Court of Appeals concluded that although petitioner was a probationary employee who failed to meet respondent’s regularization standards, the mode of communicating the termination—by a series of text messages—failed to observe procedural due process. The CA treated the NAWOL issued on 7 January 2014 as an afterthought and, on account of procedural infirmity, awarded nominal damages of P30,000.00 to petitioner.

Issue Presented

The dispositive question before the Supreme Court was whether petitioner was illegally dismissed by respondent.

Standard of Review and Why Re-examination Was Appropriate

The Supreme Court observed that appellate review under Rule 45 is generally confined to questions of law, but recited recognized exceptions that permit re-examination of factual findings. The Court found that the case qualified for such an exception because the Labor Arbiter and the NLRC, on one hand, and the Court of Appeals, on the other hand, reached divergent factual conclusions regarding termination. Accordingly, the Court reviewed the factual record to determine whether the Court of Appeals had sufficient basis to annul and set aside the NLRC rulings.

The Court’s Findings on Probationary Employment and Termination on Merits

The Supreme Court found as a factual and legal matter that petitioner was a probationary employee and that the Employment Agreement unmistakably disclosed the six-month probationary status and the schedule and standards of appraisal. The Court examined the empirical evidence: petitioner’s raw scores in the PTI-Numerical and PTI-Verbal Examinations, the written memorandum containing grammatical errors, and the detailed Performance Appraisal Report reflecting predominantly BA (below average) ratings in quantitative and qualitative factors, resulting in an overall BA rating. The Court held that respondent validly exercised its prerogative to refuse regularization where the employer made known the reasonable standards at engagement and the employee failed to meet those standards. The Court therefore concluded that the termination was substantially attributable to petitioner’s failure to qualify for regular employment rather than to an unlawful dismissal on other grounds.

The Court’s Findings on Procedural Due Process and Damages

Although the Court concluded that the dismissal was substantively justified by petitioner’s failure to meet regularization standards, it found procedural infirmity in how resp

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