3. Dismissing the claim and counter-claim for damages and attorneys fees for lack of
merit.
SO ORDERED.
Petitioner interposed an appeal to the National Labor Relations Commission
(NLRC). However, in an Order[4] dated February 27, 1998, the NLRC dismissed the
appeal for petitioners failure to attach thereto the original copy of the surety bond posted
as well as the joint declaration of the employer, counsel, and the bonding company that
the surety bond is genuine.
Petitioner then filed a motion for reconsideration but was denied by the NLRC in a
Resolution dated May 31, 1998.
Consequently, petitioner filed a petition for certiorari with the Court of Appeals
contending that the NLRC committed grave abuse of discretion in dismissing its appeal.
On May 12, 2000, the Court of Appeals promulgated a Decision dismissing the
petition. Its ratiocination is partly quoted as follows:
The petition is bereft of merit.
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The posting of a surety bond is a jurisdictional requirement. The attachment of proof
that a bond has been posted signifies that such requirement has been satisfied. It is the
proof that serves as basis for the NLRC to acquire jurisdiction on the appeal. It is not
incumbent upon the commission to check on the genuineness of the bond.Rather it is
upon the petitioners to prove its genuineness. A mere xerox copy cannot prove that
the bond posted is genuine.
We are therefore not convinced that the NLRC gravely abused its discretion in
dismissing the appeal. What we rather see is its exercise of prudence in applying the
provisions of the law. Petitioners are, however, not as careful. The negligence on the
part of the counsel in the discharge of his duty cannot be approbated if we are to have
an orderly administration of justice. Their negligence cannot be justified on the
ground that their messenger lacked familiarity with the proper procedure for they
could have checked the records themselves. A lawyer shall not neglect a legal matter
entrusted to him and his negligence in connection therewith shall render him liable
(Canon 18.03, Code of Professional Responsibility)
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