Cambil v. Kabalikat Para Sa Maunlad Na Buhay

INTING, J.:

This is a Petition for Review on Certiorari1 assailing the Decision2 dated January 31, 2019 of the Court of Appeals (CA) in CA-G.R. SP No. 154165. The CA granted the Petition for Certiorari3 filed by Kabalikat Para sa Maunlad na Buhay, Inc. (KMBI), and reversed and set aside the Decision4 dated September 29, 2017 and the Resolution5 dated October 30, 2017 of the National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC) in NLRC LAC No. 08-002652-17 (RAB-IV-09-01272-16-C). The Antecedents On May 30, 2016, Cattleya R. Cambil (petitioner) was hired by KMBI as Program Officer for Credit Group - Upper Cavite Branch on a probationary basis.6 In order to familiarize petitioner with her duties, KMBI instructed her to attend a one-week training called Basic Operations Training Program from June 1 to 7, 20167 and provided her with the following employment packets on June 2, 2016:8 (1) Appointment Letter;9 (2) Performance Standards;10 (3) KMBI Code of Ethics;11 (4) Job Description;12 and (5) Code of Conduct.13 Her Appointment Letter reads: Dear Ms. Cambil, Welcome to the team.

You are hereby notified of your employment with KMBI as Program Officer for Credit Operations Group - Upper Cavite Branch. Your appointment to said position would be on probationary status starting from May 30, 2016 to November 26, 2016. As such, you will be receiving monthly wage of Ten Thousand Six Hundred Pesos (Php 10,600.00).

In accepting this appointment, you are accepting the following conditions: 1. You will endeavor in every way to advance the interest of KMBI, to observe all rules and regulations made by KMBI, and carry out the orders and instructions of your superior consistent with the established policies and procedures of KMBI. 2.

In case you are found to have violated any of the provisions under the prohibition section of the KMBI Personnel Policy Manual, of which were discussed with you, your term of service will be immediately terminated following the administrative investigation policy of KMBI. 3. You are required to be working during duty hours.

Service must be never left unattended. 4. You are not to have any outside practice and/or employment unless expressly agreed.

5. You are willing to be assigned in any of the existing branches of KMBI. 6.

In the event of your resignation from the organization, you are required to comply with all the requirements for the processing of your clearance. In case of your failure to comply with the proper processing of your monetary and property clearance within a reasonable period of time, you are giving the organization the right to offset your claims against your liability in the organization. 7.

During this period, KMBI reserves the right to terminate your services. Also, attached is a copy of our Company's Code of Ethics and Code of Conduct for Program Officer, which you are expected to abide by during your tenure of employment in KMBI. Sincerely, [Signed] SHARON O. DIONCO Officer-in-Charge Human Capital Department [Signed] Conforme: Cattleya R. Cambil Date: 02/06/201614 Eventually, KMBI terminated petitioner's services.

The parties had conflicting dates as to when KMBI terminated petitioner's contract. According to petitioner, she was terminated on July 22, 2016;15 but for KMBI, petitioner was terminated on August 1, 2016.16 Petitioner narrated the following: She reported for work on July 19, 2016 despite not feeling well. Her condition got worse, and thus, she texted her co-program officer Arlene Perey that she was going straight home.17 Upon the advice of Dr. Dante E.M. Belleza,18 she did not report for work for the next two days.19 She returned to work on July 22, 2016 and immediately presented herself to her supervisor, Mark Edwin Espos (Espos).

To her surprise, Espos told her that her services had been terminated.

During the lunch period that day, petitioner talked to Espos again but to no avail. Before she went home, Espos told her that she will receive a text if she needed to report for work on Monday, July 25, 2016. She waited for the text message, but she did not receive a single text message from Espos.

From July 25 to 28, 2016, KMBI did not allow her to go to her centers and did not give her any task.20 KMBI narrated its own version of events as follows: KMBI directed petitioner to accomplish the self-evaluation section of the Performance Evaluation Report on July 22, 2016 after she left her station on July 19, 2016 without informing any of her superiors.21 Thereafter, Espos evaluated petitioner's performance on July 25, 2016 and gave her an overall rating of 67.50%.22 Consequently, Branch Manager Susana Hembrador (Hembrador), through an Interoffice Memo23 addressed to Joel D. Clavecilla, KMBI's Acting Area Manager, recommended that petitioner's probationary contract be terminated. In its Position Paper,24 KMBI maintained that petitioner's probationary contract was terminated due to her failure to meet the prescribed rating and standards made known to her at the start of her employment.25 It stressed that petitioner did not create new centers during her probationary employment-all of petitioner's five centers were turned over to her by other program officers.

In addition, there were no new loan disbursements on her record.26 To counter petitioner's allegation that she was not allowed to go to her centers and was not given any task starting July 25, 2016, KMBI presented her attendance record for the month of July 2016 which showed that she reported for work from July 25 until July 28, 2016. In the output column of her attendance record from July 25 to 27, 2016, petitioner wrote "center meeting and collection" with the remarks "DONE."27 KMBI admitted, however, that petitioner's salary was put on hold since July 25, 2015 pursuant to KMBI's organization manual in view of the pending recommendation for the termination of her contract.28 On July 28, 2016, petitioner received a show cause letter29 dated July 20, 2016, viz.: SUBJECT : Abandonment of Work