Agabon v. National Labor Relations Commission, G.R. No.

158693, November 17, 2004

TERMINATION PROCEEDINGS

FACTS: of the trust reposed in him by his employer or his duly authorized representative;
(d) commission of a crime or offense by the employee against the person of his
 Private respondent Riviera Home Improvements, Inc. is engaged in the business employer or any immediate member of his family or his duly authorized
of selling and installing ornamental and construction materials. It employed representative; and (e) other causes analogous to the foregoing. Abandonment
petitioners Virgilio Agabon and Jenny Agabon as gypsum board and cornice is the deliberate and unjustified refusal of an employee to resume his
installers on January 2, 19922 until February 23, 1999 when they were dismissed employment. It is a form of neglect of duty, hence, a just cause for termination of
for abandonment of work. employment by the employer.
 Petitioners then filed a complaint for illegal dismissal and payment of money
claims and on December 28, 1999, the Labor Arbiter rendered a decision For a valid finding of abandonment, these two factors should be present: (1) the
declaring the dismissals illegal and ordered private respondent to pay the failure to report for work or absence without valid or justifiable reason; and (2) a
monetary claims. On appeal, the NLRC reversed the Labor Arbiter because it clear intention to sever employer-employee relationship, with the second as the
found that the petitioners had abandoned their work, and were not entitled to more determinative factor which is manifested by overt acts from which it may be
backwages and separation pay. The other money claims awarded by the Labor deduced that the employees has no more intention to work.
Arbiter were also denied for lack of evidence.
 Petitioners assert that they were dismissed because the private respondent Petitioners were frequently absent having subcontracted for an installation work
refused to give them assignments unless they agreed to work on a "pakyaw" basis for another company. Subcontracting for another company clearly showed the
when they reported for duty on February 23, 1999. They did not agree on this intention to sever the employer-employee relationship with private respondent.
arrangement because it would mean losing benefits as Social Security System This was not the first time they did this. In January 1996, they did not report for
(SSS) members. Petitioners also claim that private respondent did not comply work because they were working for another company. Private respondent at that
with the twin requirements of notice and hearing. time warned petitioners that they would be dismissed if this happened again.
Petitioners disregarded the warning and exhibited a clear intention to sever their
ISSUES:
employer-employee relationship. In Sandoval Shipyard v. Clave, it was held that
1. Whether or not Petitioners were illegally dismissed an employee who deliberately absented from work without leave or permission
2. Whether or not the procedures for dismissal were observed (this refers to the from his employer, for the purpose of looking for a job elsewhere, is considered
Omnibus Rules Implementing the Labor Code) to have abandoned his job.

RULING: 2. No. After establishing that the terminations were for a just and valid cause, we
now determine if the procedures for dismissal were observed. The procedure for
1. No. Petitioners were not illegally dismissed but had abandoned their work. In fact, terminating an employee is found in Book VI, Rule I, Section 2(d) of the Omnibus
private respondent sent two letters to the last known addresses of the petitioners Rules Implementing the Labor Code:
advising them to report for work. Private respondent's manager even talked to Standards of due process: requirements of notice. – In all cases of termination of
petitioner Virgilio Agabon by telephone to tell him about the new assignment at employment, the following standards of due process shall be substantially
Pacific Plaza Towers involving 40,000 square meters of cornice installation work. observed:
However, petitioners did not report for work because they had subcontracted to I. For termination of employment based on just causes as defined in Article 282
perform installation work for another company. Petitioners also demanded for an of the Code:
increase in their wage. When this was not granted, petitioners stopped reporting (a) A written notice served on the employee specifying the ground or grounds for
for work and filed the illegal dismissal case. termination, and giving to said employee reasonable opportunity within which to
explain his side;
To dismiss an employee, the law requires not only the existence of a just and (b) A hearing or conference during which the employee concerned, with the
valid cause but also enjoins the employer to give the employee the opportunity to assistance of counsel if the employee so desires, is given opportunity to respond
be heard and to defend himself. Article 282 of the Labor Code enumerates the to the charge, present his evidence or rebut the evidence presented against him;
just causes for termination by the employer: (a) serious misconduct or willful and
disobedience by the employee of the lawful orders of his employer or the latter's
representative in connection with the employee's work; (b) gross and habitual
neglect by the employee of his duties; (c) fraud or willful breach by the employee
 Agabon v. National Labor Relations Commission, G.R. No. 158693, November 17, 2004

TERMINATION PROCEEDINGS

(c) A written notice of termination served on the employee indicating that upon and paramount objective of the state of promoting the health, comfort, and quiet
due consideration of all the circumstances, grounds have been established to of all persons, and of bringing about "the greatest good to the greatest number."
justify his termination.
Petition was denied and found that petitioners' Jenny and Virgilio Agabon do
The dismissal is for just or authorized cause but due process was not observed. abandoned their work, and ordering private respondent to pay each of the
While the procedural infirmity cannot be cured, it should not invalidate the petitioners holiday pay, service incentive leave pay, thirteenth month pay and
dismissal. However, the employer should be held liable for non-compliance with nominal damages for non-compliance with statutory due process.
the procedural requirements of due process. The dismissal should be upheld
because it was established that the petitioners abandoned their jobs to work for
another company. Private respondent, however, did not follow the notice
requirements and instead argued that sending notices to the last known
addresses would have been useless because they did not reside there anymore.
Unfortunately for the private respondent, this is not a valid excuse because the
law mandates the twin notice requirements to the employee's last known address.

To be sure, the Due Process Clause in Article III, Section 1 of the Constitution
embodies a system of rights based on moral principles so deeply imbedded in the
traditions and feelings of our people as to be deemed fundamental to a civilized
society as conceived by our entire history. Due process is that which comports
with the deepest notions of what is fair and right and just.26 It is a constitutional
restraint on the legislative as well as on the executive and judicial powers of the
government provided by the Bill of Rights.

Due process under the Labor Code, like Constitutional due process, has two
aspects: substantive, i.e., the valid and authorized causes of employment
termination under the Labor Code; and procedural, i.e., the manner of dismissal.
After carefully analyzing the consequences of the divergent doctrines in the law
on employment termination, we believe that in cases involving dismissals for
cause but without observance of the twin requirements of notice and hearing, the
better rule is to abandon the Serrano doctrine and to follow Wenphil by holding
that the dismissal was for just cause but imposing sanctions on the employer.
Such sanctions, however, must be stiffer than that imposed in Wenphil. By doing
so, this Court would be able to achieve a fair result by dispensing justice not just
to employees, but to employers as well. The unfairness of declaring illegal or
ineffectual dismissals for valid or authorized causes but not complying with
statutory due process may have far-reaching consequences.

An employee who is clearly guilty of conduct violative of Article 282 should not be
protected by the Social Justice Clause of the Constitution. Social justice, as the
term suggests, should be used only to correct an injustice. As the eminent Justice
Jose P. Laurel observed, social justice must be founded on the recognition of the
necessity of interdependence among diverse units of a society and of the
protection that should be equally and evenly extended to all groups as a
combined force in our social and economic life, consistent with the fundamental