Title
Thomasites Center for International Studies vs. Rodriguez
Case
G.R. No. 203642
Decision Date
Jan 27, 2016
Three teachers hired by TCIS were illegally dismissed after disputes with American colleagues. Despite procedural missteps by TCIS, the Supreme Court upheld their reinstatement and backwages, affirming valid summons and due process violations.
illegal dismissal
money claims
labor arbiter
A

Case Summary (G.R. No. 203642)

Factual Background

On July 29, 2004, Rodriguez, Rillera, and Padrigon were hired by Dr. Jae Won Park and Dr. Cho, as President and Academic Dean of TCIS, to develop school academic programs, design curricula, create materials for the school website, recruit staff, draft documents for Technical Education and Skills Development Authority accreditation, help supervise the construction of the school building in Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority, and draft school rules and regulations and student and faculty handbooks. The parties executed no written contracts. However, the respondents were promised a monthly salary of P25,000.00 plus shares of stock.

After classes opened on December 20, 2004 at the Crown Peak Hotel in Subic Bay, disagreements arose between the respondents and American teachers over salaries. On January 7, 2005, during a meeting called by Dr. Cho, the American teachers threatened to resign unless the respondents were terminated. That afternoon, the respondents were served with letters of termination effective January 8, 2005, signed by Dr. Cho. The stated reason was the restructuring of the company and the consequent evaluation of its staffing requirements.

NLRC Suits for Illegal Dismissal and Money Claims

On January 24, 2005, Rodriguez and Rillera filed NLRC Case No. RAB-III-01-8376-05 for illegal dismissal and money claims against TCIS and Dr. Cho. On the same date, Padrigon filed NLRC Case No. RAB-III-01-8401-05, also for illegal dismissal and money claims against TCIS and Dr. Cho.

TCIS and Dr. Cho were served with summons through Dr. Cho by registry mail, with instructions to file a position paper within ten days from receipt. TCIS and Dr. Cho did not file a position paper, but counsel appeared for them at the hearings held on February 15, 2005, March 15, 2005, and April 19, 2005.

Labor Arbiter’s Decision and Award

On May 8, 2006, the Labor Arbiter (LA) found the respondents illegally dismissed and ordered TCIS and Dr. Cho to reinstate the respondents with full backwages totaling P1,125,000.00, plus 10% attorney’s fees. Dr. Cho received a copy of the decision on June 21, 2006.

On August 11, 2006, the respondents moved for issuance of a writ of execution. During the September 22, 2006 pre-execution conference, Atty. Joy P. Bayona entered her appearance as counsel for TCIS and Dr. Cho. Subsequent conferences were held on October 2, 2006, October 23, 2006, November 24, 2006, and December 15, 2006. At the hearing on December 18, 2006, however, the law firm of Andres Marcelo Pedernal Guerrero and Paras entered its appearance for TCIS and filed a petition for relief from judgment.

On January 30, 2007, the LA directed issuance of a writ of execution. The LA merely noted the petition for relief due to wrong venue, lack of jurisdiction, and because it was a prohibited pleading.

TCIS’s Petition for Relief to the NLRC

On February 19, 2007, TCIS re-filed its petition for relief, this time before the NLRC, including a prayer for a Temporary Restraining Order and/or writ of preliminary injunction to enjoin execution. TCIS asserted that the LA did not acquire jurisdiction because the summons and notices were addressed to Dr. Cho, who allegedly did not represent TCIS. TCIS also claimed that Atty. Bayona’s appearance at the pre-execution conference was signed only by Dr. Cho in his capacity as a respondent therein and academic dean, and that TCIS allegedly received no notice of the proceedings. TCIS further maintained that although the NLRC is not bound by technical procedural rules, its due process was violated because it was denied the opportunity to file its position paper.

TCIS also argued that it faced a shut-down and would suffer irreparable damage unless execution was enjoined. At the same time, it expressed willingness to post a bond to guarantee payment of whatever damages the NLRC might award.

NLRC Denial and Court of Appeals Dismissal

On September 30, 2011, the NLRC denied TCIS’s petition. It held that TCIS had other adequate remedies such as a motion for new trial or an appeal. The NLRC also determined that TCIS failed to show that it was prevented from availing of such remedies by fraud, accident, mistake, or excusable negligence. It further ruled that TCIS could not use the equitable remedy of petition for relief as a mechanism to revive an appeal that it lost through negligence.

On petition for certiorari, the Court of Appeals dismissed TCIS’s petition outright on May 24, 2012, citing TCIS’s failure to indicate the material dates to show the timeliness of the petition. The CA also noted defects in the attachment of supporting parts of the record, including an incomplete copy of the NLRC decision and the absence of copies of the complaint, position papers, appeal memorandum, motion for reconsideration, and other relevant portions.

The CA later denied TCIS’s motion for reconsideration on September 26, 2012 for lack of meritorious grounds.

Issues Raised by TCIS

In its petition for review, TCIS invoked, in substance, three principal assertions: first, that the NLRC erred by applying procedural rules rigidly and dismissing its certiorari on technical grounds; second, that the NLRC gravely erred in holding that the summons were valid despite being directed to Dr. Cho; and third, that the NLRC gravely erred in holding that the respondents were illegally dismissed.

The Court’s Ruling on the Petition for Relief and Jurisdictional and Procedural Contentions

The Court denied the petition.

On TCIS’s reliance on liberal treatment of procedural rules, the Court discussed the policy against dismissals that place a premium on technicalities at the expense of a just resolution. In Jaro v. CA, the Court had admonished a similar approach and had recognized substantial compliance in the later submission of missing documents with a motion for reconsideration. The Court also referenced Cusi-Hernandez vs. Diaz and Piglas-Kamao vs. NLRC, where it had allowed remand due to premature dismissals and emphasized the policy to encourage full adjudication of the merits.

However, the Court explained that the denial in the present case rested on substantive and timing requirements governing petitions for relief from judgment, not merely on documentary annexes in a certiorari petition.

For the nature of the remedy, the Court cited Philippine Amanah Bank (now Al-Amanah Islamic Investment Bank of the Philippines, also known as Islamic Bank) v. Contreras, which held that relief from judgment is an equitable remedy available only in exceptional cases where a party was prevented by fraud, accident, mistake, or excusable negligence, and where no other adequate remedy is available. When another remedy such as a motion for new trial or an appeal exists, and the party was not prevented from using it, relief from judgment cannot be availed of because it would otherwise amount to reviving a lost right of appeal due to inexcusable negligence or counsel’s procedural mistake.

The Court further referred to Tuason v. CA to describe relief from judgment as an equitable remedy allowed only when no other adequate remedy exists. It emphasized that strict observance of the reglementary periods is required under Section 3, Rule 38 of the Rules of Court: the petition must be filed within sixty (60) days from knowledge of the judgment, order, or proceeding sought to be set aside, and also within six (6) months from the entry of such judgment, order, or proceeding. The Court explained that strict compliance is required to preserve the finality of judgments and to prevent litigation from losing its definite end point.

Applying these principles, the Court agreed with the NLRC that TCIS’s petition for relief was filed beyond the sixty-day period. The Court treated the earli

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