4/9/2020 E-Library - Information At Your Fingertips: Printer Friendly portion of which provides: Sec. 10. Money Claims. – x x x In case of termination of overseas employment without just, valid or authorized cause as defined by law or contract, x x x In the case at bar, notwithstanding the fact that respondent’s termination from his employment was procedurally infirm, having not complied with the notice requirement, nevertheless the same remains to be for a just, valid and authorized cause, i.e., retrenchment as a valid exercise of management prerogative. To stress, despite the employer’s failure to comply with the one-month notice to the DOLE prior to respondent’s termination, it is only a procedural infirmity which does not render the retrenchment illegal. In Agabon v. NLRC,[35] this Court ruled that when the dismissal is for a just cause, the absence of proper notice should not nullify the dismissal or render it illegal or ineffectual. Instead, the employer should indemnify the employee for violation of his statutory rights.[36] Consequently, it is Article 283 of the Labor Code and not Section 10 of R.A. No. 8042 that is controlling. Thus, respondent is entitled to payment of separation pay equivalent to one (1) month pay, or at least one-half (1/2) month pay for every year of service, whichever is higher. Considering that respondent was employed by Petrocon for a period of eight (8) months, he is entitled to receive one (1) month pay as separation pay. In addition, pursuant to current jurisprudence,[37] for failure to fully comply with the statutory due process of sufficient notice, respondent is entitled to nominal damages in the amount P50,000.00. WHEREFORE, premises considered, the petition is DENIED. The Decision dated January 8, 2004 and the Resolution dated May 12, 2004 of the Court of Appeals are AFFIRMED with MODIFICATIONS. Petitioner is ORDERED to pay Roel P. Logarta one (1) month salary as separation pay and P50,000.00 as nominal damages. SO ORDERED. Velasco, Jr., (Chairperson), Abad, Mendoza, and Perlas-Bernabe, JJ., concur. [1] Penned by Associate Justice Salvador J. Valdez, Jr., with Associate Justices Buenaventura J. Guerrero and Juan Q. Enriquez, Jr., concurring; rollo, pp. 30-38. [2] Id. at 40-43. [3] Rollo, p. 51. [4] Id. at 53. elibrary.judiciary.gov.ph/thebookshelf/showdocsfriendly/1/54674 9/11