Morales v. Harbour Centre Port Terminal

PEREZ, J.:

Assailed in this petition for review on certiorari filed pursuant to Rule 45 of the 1997 Rules of Civil Procedure is the Decision1 dated 19 June 2006 rendered by the Special Tenth Division of the Court of Appeals in CA-G.R. SP No. 92491,2 the dispositive portion of which states: WHEREFORE, premises considered, the Petition is GRANTED and the assailed NLRC decision is hereby SET ASIDE. In lieu thereof, the decision of the Labor Arbiter is ordered REINSTATED. No costs.

SO ORDERED.3 The Facts On 16 May 2000, petitioner Jonathan V. Morales (Morales) was hired by respondent Harbour Centre Port Terminal, Inc. (HCPTI) as an Accountant and Acting Finance Officer, with a monthly salary of ₱18,000.00.4 Regularized on 17 November 2000,5 Morales was promoted to Division Manager of the Accounting Department, for which he was compensated a monthly salary of ₱33,700.00, plus allowances starting 1 July 2002.6 Subsequent to HCPTI's transfer to its new offices at Vitas, Tondo, Manila on 2 January 2003, Morales received an inter-office memorandum dated 27 March 2003, reassigning him to Operations Cost Accounting, tasked with the duty of "monitoring and evaluating all consumables requests, gears and equipment" related to the corporation's operations and of interacting with its sub-contractor, Bulk Fleet Marine Corporation. The memorandum was issued by Danilo V. Singson (Singson), HCPTI's new Administration Manager, duly noted by Johnny U. Filart (Filart), its new Vice President for Administration and Finance, and approved by its President and Chief Executive Officer, Vicente T. Suazo, Jr.7 On 31 March 2003, Morales wrote Singson, protesting that his reassignment was a clear demotion since the position to which he was transferred was not even included in HCPTI's plantilla.

In response to Morales' grievance that he had been effectively placed on floating status,8 Singson issued a 4 April 2003 inter-office memorandum to the effect that "transfer of employees is a management prerogative" and that HCPTI had "the right and responsibility to find the perfect balance between the skills and abilities of employees to the needs of the business."9 For the whole of the ensuing month Morales was absent from work and/or tardy. Singson issued to Morales a 29 April 2003 inter-office memorandum denominated as a First Warning.

The memorandum reminded Morales that, as an employee of HCPTI, he was subject to its rules and regulations and could be disciplinarily dealt with pursuant to its Code of Conduct.10 In view of the absences Morales continued to incur, HCPTI issued a Second Warning dated 6 May 200311 and a Notice to Report for Work and Final Warning dated 22 May 2003.12 In the meantime, Morales filed a complaint dated 25 April 2003 against HCPTI, Filart and Singson, for constructive dismissal, moral and exemplary damages as well as attorney's fees. In support of the complaint which was docketed as NLRC-NCR Case No. 00-04-05061-2003 before the arbitral level of the National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC),13 Morales alleged that subsequent to its transfer to its new offices, HCPTI had suspended all the privileges enjoyed by its Managers, Division Chiefs and Section Heads; that upon the instruction of Filart, Paulo Christian Suarez, HCPTI's Corporate Treasurer, informed him on 7 March 2003 that he was going to be terminated and had only three (3) weeks to look for another job; that having confirmed his impending termination on 27 March 2003, Filart decided to "temper"

the same by instead reassigning him to Operations Cost Accounting; and, that his reassignment to a position which was not included in HCPTI's plantilla was a demotion and operated as a termination from employment as of said date.

Maintaining that he suffered great humiliation when, in addition to being deprived of his office and its equipments, he received no further instructions from Filart and Singson regarding his new position, Morales claimed that he was left no other choice but file his complaint for constructive dismissal.14 Served with summons on 7 May 2003,15 HCPTI, Filart and Singson filed their position paper, arguing that Morales abandoned his employment and was not constructively dismissed. Calling attention to the supposed fact that Morales' negligence had resulted in HCPTI's payment of ₱3,350,000.00 in taxes from which it was exempt as a PEZA-registered company, said respondents averred that, confronted by Filart sometime in March 2003 regarding the lapses in his work performance, Morales admitted his inability to handle his tasks at the corporation's Accounting Department; that as a consequence, HCPTI reassigned Morales from managerial accounting to operations cost accounting as an exercise of its management prerogative to assign its employees to jobs for which they are best suited; and, that despite the justification in Singson's 4 April 2003 reply to his 31 March 2003 protest against his reassignment, Morales chose to stop reporting for work.

Faulting Morales with unjustified refusal to heed the repeated warnings and notices directing him to report for work, HCPTI, Filart and Singson prayed for the dismissal of the complaint and the grant of their counterclaim for attorney's fees.16 In receipt of the parties' replies17 and rejoinders,18 Labor Arbiter Facundo L. Leda went on to render a Decision dated 21 November 2003, dismissing for lack of merit Morales' complaint for constructive dismissal. In discounting said employees' illegal dismissal from service, the Labor Arbiter ruled that Morales' reassignment was a valid exercise of HCPTI's management prerogative which cannot be construed as constructive dismissal absent showing that the same was done in bad faith and resulted in the diminution of his salary and benefits.19 On appeal, the foregoing decision was, however, reversed and set aside in the 29 July 2005 Decision rendered by the NLRC's Third Division in NLRC NCR CA No. 038548-04.

Finding that Morales' reassignment was a clear demotion despite lack of showing of diminution of salaries and benefits,20 the NLRC disposed of the appeal in the following wise: WHEREFORE, the decision dated 21 November 2003 is VACATED and SET ASIDE. The respondent company is ordered to pay complainant the following: 1. Backwages: (28 March 2003 to 21 Nov.

2003) a. Salary: ₱33,700 x 7.77 mos. = ₱261,849.00 b.

13th month pay: ₱261,849/12 21,820.75