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for several hours before attending a meeting. In that meeting, the Vice President for
Administration Dr. Belaineh and two staff members from the department conversed in
Amharic, which she did not understand. She was also assigned to work under the
acting head, who was merely a holder of a diploma in accounting. Respondent
manifested that "[she does] not deserve to be insulted."[37]
Respondent was repatriated on 27 June 2006.[38] She later signed a Quitclaim and
Release dated 5 July 2006 in favor of petitioner. The waiver reads as follows:
That for and in consideration of the sum of NINE HUNDRED DOLLARS ($900
USD), and for other invaluable considerations extended to me by GBMLT
MANPOWER SERVICES, INC., receipt of which is hereby acknowledged to my
full and complete satisfaction, I hereby forever release and discharge said
GBMLT MANPOWER SERVICES, INC., all its Officers and Directors, from any
and all claims by way of unpaid salaries, wages, and all other monetary
claims or otherwise due me in connection with my deployment as
lecturer/teacher in Ethiopia.
I hereby state further x x x that this Quitclaim and Release is executed on
my own free will and that I have no more claims [or] right of action [of]
whatever nature and kind, whether past, present and/or contingent against
GBMLT MANPOWER SERVICES, INC.[,] its Officers and Directors as a
consequence of such deployment.[39]
On 18 July 2006, respondent filed a complaint before the labor arbiter against
petitioner as local agency and Alemaya University as foreign principal.[40] She sought
full payment of the unexpired portion of the two-year contract, moral and exemplary
damages, and attorney's fees.
Ruling of the Labor Arbiter
In a Decision[41] dated 29 March 2007, the labor arbiter found respondent to have
been unduly repatriated in breach of the employment contract.[42] Petitioner and
Alemaya University were ordered to pay her in solidum the amounts of USD 4,500 as
unrealized income - from which the amount paid to her under the Quitclaim and
Release had already been deducted - Php 30,000 as moral damages, Php 20,000 as
exemplary damages, plus costs.[43]
According to the labor arbiter, respondent did not hide the fact that she had no
master's degree "in the strict sense of the word,"[44] because she was a holder of a
bachelor of laws degree. Some law schools in the Philippines actually confer the degree
of Juris Doctor on their graduates because a four-year undergraduate degree is one of
the qualifications for acceptance.[45] Thus, it was incumbent upon Alemaya University
to allow respondent to finish her two-year employment contract instead of forcing her
to sign a new contract with lower pay, just because she did not have a master's degree.
[46]
elibrary.judiciary.gov.ph/thebookshelf/showdocsfriendly/1/60760
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