SECOND DIVISION [G.R. No. 97399. December 3, 1999] SECON PHILIPPINES, LTD., petitioner, vs. NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS COMMISSION (NLRC) and ERNESTO B. GRULLA, respondents. DECISION QUISUMBING, J.: This special civil action for certiorari seeks to annul the Resolution of NLRC promulgated on December 10, 1990, in POEA Case Nos. (L) 86-03-184, and its Resolution dated January 28, 1991, which denied petitioners motion for reconsideration. On July 1, 1985, petitioner hired private respondent as group leader for its construction project in Iraq. The duration of the contract is twelve months but private respondent will be under probation for two months. Before leaving for Iraq, private respondent was told that a representative of petitioner would meet him at the jobsite to provide him specifications of his duties. On July 9, 1985, private respondent together with twenty seven contract workers left Manila for Iraq. Upon arrival at the jobsite, nobody was around to apprise private respondent of his duties as a group leader. Nevertheless, he proceeded to perform his work at the jobsite. In August 4, 1985, a representative of SECON International asked private respondent to attest that their salaries for May, 1985, were already paid to their respective allottees in the Philippines. Private respondent refused to do so in the absence of any confirmation from Manila. On August 6, 1985, or about only one month in the job, he was surprised to be repatriated to the Philippines. Upon his return to the country, private respondent was served in September, 1985, a notice of termination dated August 25, 1985, informing him that he was repatriated for not passing the probationary period as he did not qualify for the position he was assigned to. i[1] Feeling aggrieved, private respondent filed on March 8, 1986, before the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA)ii[2] a complaint for illegal dismissal with prayer for reinstatement and payment of backwages. In a decision rendered on December 29, 1989, the POEA ruled in favor of private respondent. The labor agency found that petitioner failed to prove that private respondent did not meet the performance standards set by the employer, and that such standards were made known to private respondent at the time of engagement. The POEA decreed as follows: WHEREFORE, premises considered, judgment is hereby rendered ordering respondent to pay unto the complainant the sum of US$5,865.32 representing the unexpired portion of his contract and the further sum of US$398.50 as earned wages. SO ORDERED.iii[3]