Anderson vs NLRC : 111212 : January 22, 1996 : J Mendoza : Second...
http://sc.judiciary.gov.ph/jurisprudence/1996/jan1996/111212.htm
(3) Not upholding that the finding of the POEA that the dismissal of the petitioner from the
service for alleged loss of confidence was illegal.
(4) Failing to squarely pass upon the issues raised by the petitioner in his motion for
reconsideration of the NLRC decision allegedly because the motion failed to raise palpable or
patent errors of the public respondent NLRC.
As a preliminary matter it may be stated that while generally the findings of fact of the NLRC
are given great weight in this Court, the rule will not abide where the substantiality of the
evidence requires a reversal or modification. Here the question is whether the evidence
submitted by private respondents is substantial to support petitioners dismissal. In reversing the
decision of the POEA,
which found that petitioner had been illegally dismissed, and instead dismissing petitioners
complaint, the NLRC gave undue weight to petitioners failure to refute the allegations in the
affidavit of Kamal Al Bitar, concluding that petitioner was dismissed because of loss of
confidence by the management.
There is no dispute that loss of confidence constitutes a just cause for terminating an
[4]
Proof beyond reasonable doubt is not even required to
employer-employee relationship.
[5]
terminate employment on this ground.
But the loss of confidence cited in this case to justify
[6]
the dismissal of petitioner is not based on any act of dishonesty or disloyalty
on the part of
petitioner but on alleged lack of leadership, and technical know-how and on the allegation that
worse, he exhibited a negative attitude toward his work.
Kamal Al Bitars affidavit cites no specific acts or omissions constituting unsatisfactory
[7]
performance by petitioner of his work. What qualities of leadership and technical knowledge
petitioner was required to possess as supervisor of a fiberglass company has not been
specified. On the contrary, what is established is that before petitioner was hired, Kamal Al Bitar
required him to demonstrate his knowledge and skill and it was only after he had done so was
he hired for the job of supervisor of the fiberglass division. In fact petitioner had already been on
the job for nine months when Kamal Al Bitar terminated petitioners employment. On the other
hand, what negative attitude petitioner had shown toward his work is anybodys guess. There are
no specific instances cited to show petitioners negative attitude toward his work.
Indeed, Kamal Al Bitars affidavit contained nothing but general, vague and amorphous
allegations of petitioners unfitness for the job. The NLRC, while citing the affidavit, did not
specify why in its opinion petitioners dismissal was justified. Instead it stressed petitioners failure
to answer the affidavit. The NLRC did not consider the affidavit by evaluating its merit.
That the affidavit was submitted by private respondents only on appeal, without any
explanation why they could not have, submitted it earlier (it was actually submitted only in their
second supplemental memorandum on appeal) indicates that it was nothing but an attempt by
private respondents to give verisimilitude to their even more general allegation in the POEA that
they dismissed petitioner for loss of confidence and for his lack of leadership and motivation for
the job.
[8]
It is true that in the cases cited by private respondents this Court upheld the power of the
NLRC to admit on appeal additional evidence to show just cause for dismissal. In those cases,
however, the delay in the submission of the additional evidence was explained. What is more,
the additional evidence clearly proved the employers allegation of just cause for dismissing the
[9]
employee. In the first case, the affidavits of two witnesses corroborated the entry in the ships
log book that the employee, who was a boatswain on an interocean vessel, was guilty of
assaulting another crew member. In the second case, Columbia Dev. Corp. v. Minister of
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