St. Paul College v. Mancol

PERALTA, J.:

This is to resolve the Petition for Review on Certiorari under Rule 45 of the Rules of Court dated March 7, 2016 of petitioners St. Paul College, Pasig and Sister Teresita Baricaua, SPC that seeks to reverse and set aside the Decision1 dated April 16, 2015 and the Resolution2 dated January 8, 2016, of the Court of Appeals (CA) in CA-G.R. SP No. 124501 finding respondents Anna Liza L. Mancol and Jennifer Cecile Valera constructively dismissed by the petitioners. The facts follow.

Respondents Mancol and Valera were both hired as pre-school teachers of petitioner St. Paul College, Pasig (SPCP), Mancol having been employed on June 1, 2004 with a monthly basic salary of ₱20,311.50 and Valera having been employed sometime in 2003 with a basic monthly salary of ₱22,044.00. Mancol, on May 18, 2010, filed a leave of absence for the period May 21 to June 18, 2010 as she was to undergo a fertility check-up in Canada.

When she returned to the Philippines, Mancol received a letter dated June 10, 2010 from the Directress of SPCP, petitioner Sister Baricaua, requiring her to explain why she should not be dismissed for taking a leave of absence without approval. On June 21, 2010, Mancol reported back to SPCP, but she was allegedly barred by SPCP and Sister Baricaua from teaching in her class, entering her classroom, being introduced to her students, preparing teaching aids and materials, and going to other offices within the campus. Thus, Mancol alleged that all these acts constitute constructive dismissal.

Valera, on the other hand, took a leave of absence without pay from April 13 to June 11, 2010 to undergo surgical operation for scoliosis. On June 15, 2010, Valera received a letter from Sister Baricaua advising her to file a leave of absence (Sick Leave) for the entire school year 2010-2011; otherwise, she will be reassigned to a higher grade level where the students are more independent learners. The letter also required her to submit a waiver absolving SPCP from any liability in case of any untoward incident that may take place while ·in the performance of her teaching duties as well as notarized certification of her physician as to her fitness to resume work.

Valera, thus, averred that she was constructively dismissed when petitioners stripped her of her teaching load and being forced to take a leave of absence for the school year 2010-2011. The parties having failed to strike an amicable settlement during the scheduled mandatory conference, respondents filed on June 22, 2010, a complaint for constructive dismissal, non-payment of overtime pay, holiday pay, holiday premium, rest day premium, service incentive leave, 13th month pay, nightshift differential overload pay, damages and attorney's fees against SPCP and Sister Baricaua in her personal and official capacity as Directress of SPCP. To substantiate their money claims, Mancol and Valera's similar allegations are as follow: [Petitioners were] required to work for 40 hours a week or 8 hours of work daily (inclusive of lunch break) from Mondays thru Fridays.

As pre-school teacher[s], [their] official time was from 7:15 am to 3:30 pm daily, which is actually 8 hours and 15 minutes of work daily. However, (they were] not paid an overtime pay equivalent to 15 minutes every day. But the working hours of [petitioners] and other preschool teachers do not end at 3:30 [pm] daily.

They extend for at least another 1 ½ hours every day therefrom, or until 5 :00 pm, on account of daily meetings required and called by the principal or by her authority under the threat of salary deductions against teachers who refuse or fail to attend the same.

Unfortunately, [petitioners were] not paid overtime pay for work rendered beyond 3:30 pm, which is equivalent to about 90 minutes every day, exclusive of the daily 15 minutes overtime already mentioned above. Meetings or conferences were likewise called by the principal or by her authority daily during lunch break such that [petitioners] and other preschool teachers were left with no choice but to eat their lunch only after said meetings or conferences, which usually end around 1: 15 pm. [Petitioners] and other preschool teachers were likewise required to report for work on weekends for either half day (4 hours minimum) or whole day (8 hours minimum) but without pay.

In 2007, this happened on March 3-4 (Saturday & Sunday - Field Demonstrations, whole day); March 10 (Saturday - Thanksgiving Mass, half day); June 16 (Saturday - Pondo ng Pinoy Seminar, whole day); August 11 (Saturday - Parents' Recollection, half day); October 27-28 (Saturday & Sunday - Seminar, whole day); and November 10 (Saturday-Family Day, half day). In 2008, this happened on January 26 (Saturday, Field Demonstration, whole day); June 7 (Saturday - Parents' Orientation, half day); and October 18 (Saturday - Family Day, half day). In 2009, this happened on February 15 (Sunday-Preschool Field Demonstration, whole day); March 15 (Sunday - Kinder 2 Thanksgiving Mass, half day); June 13 (Saturday - Parents' Orientation, half day); July 25 (Saturday - Seminar Workshop with Scholastic, whole day); .August 1 (Saturday, Parents' Recollection, half day); August 19 (Saturday - PTC, half day); February 13 (Saturday - School Fair, whole day); February 14 (Saturday - Preschool Field Demonstration, whole day) and March 13 (Saturday - Kinder 2 Thanksgiving Mass, half day).

Last school year (SY 2009-2010) [SPCP] required [petitioners] and other school teachers to teach in the grade school allegedly because preschool teachers were not rendering the required number of teaching hours/loads on the basis of DepEd Order No. 57, s.2007. A copy of [the] secretary's certification issued by respondents' corporate secretary is hereto attached as Annex "B". On the contrary, however, [petitioners] and other preschool teachers were already rendering actual teaching hours/loads beyond the required teaching hours/load prescribed by the Faculty Manual of 2004.

This is also not to mention that DepEd Order No. 57, s.2007 apply only to public institutions, not to respondent SPCP which is a private institution. The Faculty Manual of 2004 provides for an 18 to 20 hours of actual teaching in a 40-hour work week, which starts at 7:30 am, and beyond that is already considered an extra load with corresponding extraload pay. As regards proctoring, the same Faculty Manual classified it as "inherent"

in a teaching load and does not require extra remuneration. And being "inherent" and also on the basis of its nature, proctoring forms part of actual teaching load.

As such, if proctoring is rendered outside of, or in addition to, the 18 to 20 actual teaching hours, then it is properly considered as actual teaching load. This is especially true to preschool teachers who conduct proctoring beyond the 18 to 20 hours of actual teaching. For purposes of extra-load pay, the Faculty Manual of 2004 provides for a formula: [(Basic/Minimum hours)] x extra hours of the minimum].

The basic monthly salary of complainant Mancol is Php 20,311.50 and the minimum hours is 20 hours per Faculty Manual of 2004. Below are the extra hours/load rendered by the complainant Mancol in both preschool and grade school. In preschool, [petitioners] rendered about 3.5 hours of actual teaching [hours]/load (8 am - 11:30 am) during Mondays thru Thursdays; 4 hours of actual teaching/load (7:30 am - 11 :30 am) during Fridays; 45 minutes of proctoring (7:30 am - 8:00 am and 11 :30 am - 11 :45 am) during Mondays thru Thursdays; and 30 minutes of proctoring (7: 15 am - 7:30 am and 11 :30 am - 11 :45 am) during Fridays.

In short, in preschool, complainant Mancol has indubitably rendered about 21.5 hours of actual teaching/load in a week, or an excess of 1.5 hours from that of 18-20 hours prescribed under the Faculty Manual of 2004, without being paid thereof for extra load. Thus, for rendering 21.5 hours of actual teaching [hours]/load, or 1.5 hours in excess of that prescribed in the Faculty Manual of 2004, complainant Mancol is entitled to: [(20,311.50/20) x 1.5] = Php 1,523.36 overload pay per week since 2004; [while Valera is entitled to: [(22,044.00/20) x 1.5] = Php 1,653 .30 overload pay per week since 2004). Also, in requiring [petitioners] to teach at grade school which was already in excess of the 18-20 hours of actual teaching hours/load prescribed in the Faculty Manual of 2004, [petitioners were] entitled to overload pay equivalent to the excess thereof for school year 2009-2010.

To simplify, [petitioners have] double teaching loads during Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays (from 12:35 nn to 1:55 pm equivalent to 240 minutes, or 4 hours); and single loads during Tuesdays and Fridays (from 1:15 nn to 1:55 pm for Tuesday and 12:35 nn to 1:15 [pm] for Friday; equivalent to 80 minutes, or 1.33 hours). As such, in a 5-day work week in grade school, complainant Mancol rendered about 320 minutes, or 5.33 hours of actual teaching [hours]/load. The aforementioned teaching hours/loads in grade school do not reflect the additional time (approximately about 30 minutes every day after class) spent by [petitioners] and other preschool teachers for their respective grade school students for checking papers and proctoring, among others.

Thus, for rendering about 5.33 hours of actual teaching load in grade school for school year 2009-2010, complainant Mancol is entitled to a weekly overload pay of Php5,413.01, in this wise: [(20,311.50/20) x 5.33] = Php5,413.0l; [while complainant Valera is entitled to a weekly overload pay of Php5,413.01 in this wise [22,044.00/20) x 5.33] = Php5,874.73]. There are four (4) weeks in a month and ten (10) months per school year. Thus, respondents should be held liable for the payment of overload pays mentioned above for forty (40) weeks in a school year.

3 Herein petitioners deny having terminated Mancol and Valera either actually or constructively. For Mancol, they aver that she was merely meted a penalty of suspension for one (1) week for taking a leave of absence without the approval of the Directress as explicitly provided in the employee handbook. As for Valera, they insist that she was never dismissed from work but was only advised to take either one (1) year sick leave for her to fully recover from her spine operation or to be assigned to a higher grade level.

On the issue of money claims, they aver that the same was already dismissed by the DOLE-NCR Regional Director for lack of basis. The Labor Arbiter, in a Decision4 dated January 31, 2011, ruled that respondents were constructively dismissed from their employment and ordered their immediate reinstatement and payment of monetary awards, thus:

WHEREFORE, premises considered, respondents St. Paul College of Pasig, Inc. (sic) and Sister Teresita Baricaua are found jointly and solidarily liable for constructively dismissing complainants Anna Liza L. Mancol and Jennifer Cecile Valera and are hereby ordered to immediately reinstate both of them to their former positions or equivalent positions under the same terms and conditions prevailing prior to their dismissal or at the option of the respondents, to reinstate their names in the payroll also under the same terms and conditions prevailing prior to their constructive dismissal. Respondents St. Paul College of Pasig, Inc. (sic) and Sister Teresita Baricaua are also ordered to pay complainant Mancol the following: (1) full backwages from the time she was constructively dismissed, or from 21 June 2010, until the time of actual reinstatement, which to date amounts to ₱163,438.30 (2) overtime pay equivalent to 15 minutes every day, and 90 minutes overtime every day on account of mandatory meetings and conferences held beyond 3:30 pm, or a total of 105 minutes every day since 22 June 2007 until 21 June 2010 amounting to ₱166,617.76; (3) overtime pay for work done on weekends based on the records of this case since 22 June 2007, amounting to ₱13,802.59; (4) a weekly overload pay of Php1,523.36 counted from 22 June 2007, representing the amount equivalent to 1.5 hours of actual teaching/load per week rendered in preschool, amounting to ₱178,233.12; (5) a weekly overload pay of ₱5,413.01 for school year 2009-2010, representing the amount equivalent to 5.33 hours of actual teaching/load per week in grade school, amounting to ₱216,520.40; (6) holiday pay amounting to ₱30,467.25; (7) 13th month pay amounting to ₱50,778.75; and (8) service incentive leave pay amounting to ₱11,540.63. The computation are as follows: Backwages: Basic salary: P20,311.50 6/21/10 - 1/31/11 ₱20,311.50 x 7 .3 mos. 13ih month pay (1/12) SILP: P20,311.50/22 x 5 x 7.3/12 = P148,273.95 12,356.18 2,808.19