21, 1987 and to the southwestern regional convention in Pismo Beach, California,
U.S.A., from July 25-26, 1987. Anay accepted the invitation with the consent of Marjorie
Tocao who, as president and general manager of Geminesse Enterprise, even wrote a
letter to the Visa Section of the U.S. Embassy in Manila on July 13, 1987. A portion of
the letter reads:
Ms. Nenita D. Anay (sic), who has been patronizing and supporting West Bend Co.
for twenty (20) years now, acquired the distributorship of Royal Queen cookware for
Geminesse Enterprise, is the Vice President Sales Marketing and a business partner of
our company, will attend in response to the invitation. (Italics supplied.)[3]
Anay arrived from the U.S.A. in mid-August 1987, and immediately undertook the
task of saving the business on account of the unsatisfactory sales record in the Makati
and Cubao offices. On August 31, 1987, she received a plaque of appreciation from the
administrative and sales people through Marjorie Tocao [4] for her excellent job
performance. On October 7, 1987, in the presence of Anay, Belo signed a
memo[5] entitling her to a thirty-seven percent (37%) commission for her personal sales
"up Dec 31/87. Belo explained to her that said commission was apart from her ten
percent (10%) share in the profits. On October 9, 1987, Anay learned that Marjorie
Tocao had signed a letter[6] addressed to the Cubao sales office to the effect that she
was no longer the vice-president of Geminesse Enterprise. The following day, October
10, she received a note from Lina T. Cruz, marketing manager, that Marjorie Tocao had
barred her from holding office and conducting demonstrations in both Makati and Cubao
offices.[7] Anay attempted to contact Belo. She wrote him twice to demand her overriding
commission for the period of January 8, 1988 to February 5, 1988 and the audit of the
company to determine her share in the net profits. When her letters were not answered,
Anay consulted her lawyer, who, in turn, wrote Belo a letter. Still, that letter was not
answered.
Anay still received her five percent (5%) overriding commission up to December
1987. The following year, 1988, she did not receive the same commission although the
company netted a gross sales of P13,300,360.00.
On April 5, 1988, Nenita A. Anay filed Civil Case No. 88-509, a complaint for sum of
money with damages[8] against Marjorie D. Tocao and William Belo before the Regional
Trial Court of Makati, Branch 140.
In her complaint, Anay prayed that defendants be ordered to pay her, jointly and
severally, the following: (1) P32,00.00 as unpaid overriding commission from January 8,
1988 to February 5, 1988; (2) P100,000.00 as moral damages, and (3) P100,000.00 as
exemplary damages. The plaintiff also prayed for an audit of the finances of Geminesse
Enterprise from the inception of its business operation until she was illegally dismissed
to determine her ten percent (10%) share in the net profits. She further prayed that she
be paid the five percent (5%) overriding commission on the remaining 150 West Bend
cookware sets before her dismissal.
In their answer,[9] Marjorie Tocao and Belo asserted that the alleged agreement with
Anay that was neither reduced in writing, nor ratified, was either unenforceable or void