LEGAL NOTE 0030: WHAT IS CUSTODIAL INVESTIGATION?

SOURCE:  2011-0047:  BENJAMIN JESALVA VS. PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES (G.R. NO. 187725,19 JANUARY 2011, NACHURA, J.) SUBJECTS: HOMICIDE; CIRCUMSTANTIAL EVIDENCE; CUSTODIAN INVESTIGATION. (BRIEF TITLE: JESALVA VS. PEOPLE)

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WHAT IS CUSTODIAL INVESTIGATION?

Custodial investigation refers to “any questioning initiated by law enforcement officers after a person has been taken into custody or otherwise deprived of his freedom of action in any significant way.”

WHAT DOES CUSTODIAL INVESTIGATION PRESUPPOSE?

This presupposes that he is suspected of having committed a crime and that the investigator is trying to elicit information or a confession from him.

WHEN DOES THE RULE ON  CUSTODIAL INVESTIGATION BEGIN TO APPLY?

The rule begins to operate at once, as soon as the investigation ceases to be a general inquiry into an unsolved crime, and direction is aimed upon a particular suspect who has been taken into custody and to whom the police would then direct interrogatory questions which tend to elicit incriminating statements.

SUPPOSE THE SUSPECT WENT TO THE POLICE STATION AND NARRATED EVENTS FREELY? IS HE CONSIDERED UNDER POLICE INVESTIGATION?

No.

The assailed statements herein were spontaneously made by petitioner and were not at all elicited through questioning. It was established that petitioner, together with his cousin Fiscal Jayona, personally went to the police station and voluntarily made the statement that Leticia jumped out of his vehicle at around 12:30 a.m. of September 9, 1992. The RTC and the CA did not, therefore, err in holding that the constitutional procedure for custodial investigation is not applicable in the instant case.

LEGAL NOTE 0029: DISMISSAL OF A PROBATIONARY EMPLOYEE. HOW BACKWAGES ARE COMPUTED. AND MORE ISSUES.

 CASE  2011-0047: ROBINSONS GALLERIA/ ROBINSONS SUPERMARKET CORPORATION AND/OR JESS MANUEL VS. IRENE R. RANCHEZ (G.R. NO. 177937, 19 JANUARY 2011, NACHURA, J.) SUBJECTS: PROBATIONARY EMPLOYMENT; CONSTRUCTIVE DISMISSAL; BACKWAGES. (BRIEF TITLE: ROBINSONS GALLERIA VS. RACHEZ)

CASE DIGEST:

THE FACTS;

SANCHEZ WAS A PROBATIONARY EMPLOYEE. SHE REPORTED LOSS OF P20K TO MANAGEMENT. MANAGEMENT REPORTED MATTER TO POLICE. SANCHEZ WAS JAILED FOR TWO WEEKS AND CHARGED FOR QUALIFIED THEFT. SHE FILED CASE FOR ILLEGAL DISMISSAL. LABOR ARBITER DISMISSED COMPLAINT BUT ORDERED REINSTATEMENT. NLRC RULED THAT THERE WAS CONSTRUCTIVE DISMISSAL AND ORDERED REINSTATEMENT AND BACKWAGES. CA AFFIRMED BUT RULED THAT SEPARATION PAY WOULD BE PAID IN LIEU OF REINSTATEMENT.

THE ISSUE:

WHETHER THERE WAS ILLEGAL DIMISSAL. HOW MUCH BACKWAGES SHOULD BE PAID.

THE RULING:

YES. SANCHEZ WAS NOT AFFORDED DUE PROCESS. AS PROBATIONERY EMPLOYEE, SHE COULD BE DISMISSED FOR JUST CAUSE, AUTHORIZED CAUSE OF FOR FAILURE TO MEET THE STANDARDS SET. IF IT WAS DUE TO JUST CAUSE SHE SHOULD HAVE BEEN GIVEN THE OPPORTUNITY TO PRESENT HER SIDE. POLICE INVESTIGATION CANNOT BE A SUBSTITUTE. BACKWAGES SHALL BE COMPUTED FROM THE DATE SHE WAS ILLEGALLY DISMISSED TO THE DATE HER PROBATIONARY EMPLOYMENT ENDS.

OTHER LEGAL ISSUES:

WHEN IS THERE PROBATIONARY EMPLOYMENT?

          There is probationary employment when the employee upon his engagement is made to undergo a trial period during which the employer determines his fitness to qualify for regular employment based on reasonable standards made known to him at the time of engagement.

DOES A PROBATIONARY EMPLOYEE ENJOY SECURITY OF TENURE?

YES.

          A probationary employee, like a regular employee, enjoys Security of tenure.

WHAT ARE THE GROUNDS FOR TERMINATING A PROBATIONARY  EMPLOYEE.

THERE ARE THREE GROUNDS WHILE IN THE CASE OF REGULAR EMPLOYEES, THERE ARE ONLY TWO GROUNDS.

 However, in cases of probationary employment, aside from just or authorized causes of termination, an additional ground is provided under Article 281 of the Labor Code, i.e., the probationary employee may also be terminated for failure to qualify as a regular employee in accordance with reasonable standards made known by the employer to the employee at the time of the engagement.  Thus, the services of an employee who has been engaged on probationary basis may be terminated for any of the following:  (1) a just or (2) an authorized cause; and  (3) when he fails to qualify as a regular employee in accordance with reasonable standards prescribed by the employer. 

WHAT IS THE DUE PROCESS REQUIRED IN TERMINATING AN EMPLOYEE?  

          Article 277(b) of the Labor Code mandates that subject to the constitutional right of workers to security of tenure and their right to be protected against dismissal, except for just and authorized cause and without prejudice to the requirement of notice under Article 283 of the same Code, the employer shall furnish the worker, whose employment is sought to be terminated, a written notice containing a statement  of the causes of termination, and shall afford the latter ample opportunity to be heard and to defend himself with the assistance of a representative if he so desires, in accordance with company rules and regulations pursuant to the guidelines set by the Department of Labor and Employment.

IN THE INSTANT CASE WAS THERE DUE PROCESS FOLLOWED?

NO. 

          In the instant case, based on the facts on record, petitioners failed to accord respondent substantive and procedural due process. The haphazard manner in the investigation of the missing cash, which was left to the determination of the police authorities and the Prosecutor’s Office, left respondent with no choice but to cry foul.  Administrative investigation was not conducted by petitioner Supermarket.  On the same day that the missing money was reported by respondent to her immediate superior, the company already pre-judged her guilt without proper investigation, and instantly reported her to the police as the suspected thief, which resulted in her languishing in jail for two weeks.  

IS DUE PROCESS REQUIREMENTS MANDATORY? BUT THE POLICE INVESTIGATOR HAS RULED THAT THERE WAS PROBABLE CAUSE THAT QUALIFIED THEFT WAS COMMITTED. 

          As correctly pointed out by the NLRC, the due process requirements under the Labor Code are mandatory and may not be supplanted by police investigation or court proceedings. The criminal aspect of the case is considered independent of the administrative aspect. Thus, employers should not rely solely on the findings of the Prosecutor’s Office. They are mandated to conduct their own separate investigation, and to accord the employee every opportunity to defend himself.  Furthermore, respondent was not represented by counsel when she was strip-searched inside the company premises or during the police investigation, and in the preliminary investigation before the Prosecutor’s Office.

HOW WAS RESPONDENT DISMISSED?

SHE WAS CONSTRUCTIVELY DISMISSED. 

          Respondent was constructively dismissed by petitioner Supermarket effective October 30, 1997. It was unreasonable for petitioners to charge her with abandonment for not reporting for work upon her release in jail. It would be the height of callousness to expect her to return to work after suffering in jail for two weeks. Work had been rendered unreasonable, unlikely, and definitely impossible, considering the treatment that was accorded respondent by petitioners.

WHAT IS THE BASIS FOR SEPARATION PAY IN LIEU OF REINSTATEMENT? 

          As to respondent’s monetary claims, Article 279 of the Labor Code provides that an employee who is unjustly dismissed from work shall be entitled to reinstatement without loss of seniority rights and other privileges, to full backwages, inclusive of allowances, and to other benefits or their monetary equivalent computed from the time his compensation was withheld from him up to the time of his actual reinstatement. However, due to the strained relations of the parties, the payment of separation pay has been considered an acceptable alternative to reinstatement, when the latter option is no longer desirable or viable.  On the one hand, such payment liberates the employee from what could be a highly oppressive work environment.  On the other, the payment releases the employer from the grossly unpalatable obligation of maintaining in its employ a worker it could no longer trust.

           Thus, as an illegally or constructively dismissed employee, respondent is entitled to: (1) either reinstatement, if viable, or separation pay, if reinstatement is no longer viable; and (2) backwages. These two reliefs are separate and distinct from each other and are awarded conjunctively.

 In this case, since respondent was a probationary employee at the time she was constructively dismissed by petitioners, she is entitled to separation pay and backwages. Reinstatement of respondent is no longer viable considering the circumstances.

HOW MUCH BACKWAGES BE AWARDED TO RESPONDENT?

FROM THE TIME SHE WAS DISMISSED TO THE TIME HER PROBATIONARY EMPLOYMENT ENDED.

          However, the backwages that should be awarded to respondent shall be reckoned from the time of her constructive dismissal until the date of the termination of her employment, i.e., from October 30, 1997 to March 14, 1998.  The computation should not cover the entire period from the time her compensation was withheld up to the time of her actual reinstatement. This is because respondent was a probationary employee, and the lapse of her probationary employment without her appointment as a regular employee of petitioner Supermarket effectively severed the employer-employee relationship between the parties. 

          In all cases involving employees engaged on probationary basis, the employer shall make known to its employees the standards under which they will qualify as regular employees at the time of their engagement. Where no standards are made known to an employee at the time, he shall be deemed a regular employee, unless the job is self-descriptive, like maid, cook, driver, or messenger.  However, the constitutional policy of providing full protection to labor is not intended to oppress or destroy management. Naturally, petitioner Supermarket cannot be expected to retain respondent as a regular employee considering that she lost P20,299.00  while acting as a cashier during the probationary period. The rules on probationary employment should not be used to exculpate a probationary employee who acts in a manner contrary to basic knowledge and common sense, in regard to which, there is no need to spell out a policy or standard to be met.

*               In lieu of Associate Justice Diosdado M. Peralta per Raffle dated July 6, 2009.

              Penned by Associate Justice Myrna Dimaranan-Vidal, with Associate Justices Bienvenido Reyes and Fernanda Lampas Peralta, concurring; rollo, pp. 67-75.

              Id. at  77-78.

              Labor Arbiter’s decision; CA rollo, p. 50.

              Id. at 47.

              Id. at 48.

              Labor Arbiter’s decision, id.; NLRC decision, id. at 67; CA Decision, rollo, p. 68.

              Labor Arbiter’s decision, CA rollo, p. 48; NLRC decision, CA rollo, p. 70; CA Decision, rollo, p. 68.

              CA Decision; rollo, p. 69.

              CA Decision, id. at 68; NLRC decision, CA rollo, p. 67.

            Penned by Labor Arbiter Melquiades Sol D. del Rosario; CA rollo, pp. 47-53.

            Id. at 52-53.

            Labor Arbiter’s decision; id. at 51-52.

            Penned by Commissioner Vicente S.E. Veloso, with Presiding Commissioner Roy V. Señeres and Commissioner Romeo L. Go, concurring; id. at 65-72.

            Id. at 71.

            Id. at 69.

            Id. at 70.

            Penned by Commissioner Proculo T. Sarmen, with the concurrence of OIC, Office of the Chairman Raul T. Aquino and Commissioner Romeo L. Go; id. at 86-88.

            Rollo, p. 74.

            CA Decision, id. at 68-69; NLRC decision, CA rollo, p. 67.

            CA Decision, rollo, p. 68; NLRC decision, CA rollo, p. 67.

            Omnibus Rules Implementing the Labor Code, Book VI, Rule I, Sec. 6.

            Id.

            Omnibus Rules Implementing the Labor Code, Book VI, Rule I, Sec. 6(c).

            Coca-Cola Bottlers Phils. Inc. v. Daniel, 499 Phil. 491, 511 (2005).   

            Siemens v. Domingo, G.R. No. 150488, July 28, 2008, 560 SCRA 86, 100.

            Omnibus Rules Implementing the Labor Code, Book VI, Rule I, Sec. 6(d).

            Capili v. National Labor Relations Commission, 337 Phil. 210, 216 (1997).

            Aberdeen Court, Inc. v. Agustin, Jr., 495 Phil. 706, 716-717 (2005).

LEGAL NOTE 0028: WHAT ARE THE REQUIREMENTS OF CONSIGNATION? IS SUBSTANTIAL COMPLIANCE SUFFICIENT? AND OTHER MORE ISSUES.

SOURCE: SOLEDAD DALTON VS. FGR REALTY AND DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION, FELIX NG, NENITA NG, AND FLORA R. DAYRIT OR FLORA REGNER (G.R. NO. 172577, 19 JANUARY 2011, CARPIO, J) SUBJECTS: CONSIGNATION; FINDINGS OF COURT BINDING ON SC. (BRIEF TITLE: DALTON VS. FGR REALTY)

CASE DIGEST:

FACTS:

DALTON WAS RENTING A PROPERTY OF DAYRIT. DAYRIT SOLD THE PROPERTY TO FGR REALTY. FGR REALTY WANTED THE LEASE TERMINATED AND SO DID NOT COLLECT RENTAL FROM DALTON. DALTON, WITHOUT INFORMING FGR CONSIGNED HIS RENTS TO RTC. AFTER CONSIGNATION, DALTON DID NOT ALSO INFORM FGR. WHEN FGR LEARNED OF THE CONSIGNATION HE WITHDREW THE RENTALS RESERVING HIS RIGHT TO QUESTION CONSIGNATION. RTC ORDERED DALTON TO VACATE BECAUSE DALTON DID NOT INFORM FGR REALTY OF THE CONSIGNATION BEFORE AND AFTER THE SAME WAS MADE. C.A. AFFIRMED.

ISSUE: WAS CONSIGNATION VALID?

NO. DALTON  DID NOT COMPLY STRICTLY WITH THE REQUIREMENTS OF CONSIGNATION.

DALTON ARGUES THAT THE ISSUE AS TO WHETHER CONSIGNATION WAS VALID OR NOT IS ALREADY MOOT BECAUSE FGR ALREADY WITHREW THE AMOUNT CONSIGNED. IS HIS ARGUMENT VALID?

 NO BECAUSE FGR EXPRESSLY RESERVED THE RIGHT TO QUESTION THE VALIDITY OF THE CONSIGNATION.

SAID THE COURT:

“The Court is not impressed. First, in withdrawing the amounts consigned, Dayrit and FGR expressly reserved the right to question the validity of the consignation. In Riesenbeck v. Court of Appeals,¹⁵ the Court held that:

A sensu contrario, when the creditor’s acceptance of the money consigned is conditional and with reservations, he is not deemed to have waived the claims he reserved against his debtor. Thus, when the amount consigned does not cover the entire obligation, the creditor may accept it, reserving his right to the balance (Tolentino, Civil Code of the Phil., Vol. IV, 1973 Ed., p. 317, citing 3 Llerena 263). The same factual milieu obtains here because the respondent creditor accepted with reservation the amount consigned in court by the petitioner-debtor. Therefore, the creditor is not barred from raising his other claims, as he did in his answer with special defenses and counterclaim against petitioner-debtor.

As respondent-creditor’s acceptance of the amount consigned was with reservations, it did not completely extinguish the entire indebtedness of the petitioner-debtor. It is apposite to note here that consignation is completed at the time the creditor accepts the same without objections, or, if he objects, at the time the court declares that it has been validly made in accordance with law.¹⁶ (Emphasis supplied)

WHAT ARE THE REQUIREMENTS OF CONSIGNATION?.

RTC ENNUMERATED THEM, THUS: 

The requisites of consignation are as follows:

1.      The existence of a valid debt.

2.      Valid prior tender, unless tender is excuse [sic];

3.      Prior notice of consignation (before deposit)

4.      Actual consignation (deposit);

5.      Subsequent notice of consignation;

DALTON CLAIMS CONSIGNATION IS PROPER BECAUSE HE HAS COMPLIED WITH OTHER REQUIREMENTS OF CONSIGNATION AND THUS THERE WAS SUBSTANTIAL COMPLIANCE. IS THIS CORRECT?

NO. STRICT COMPLIANCE IS MANDATORY.

SAID THE COURT: 

Second, compliance with the requisites of a valid consignation is mandatory. Failure to comply strictly with any of the requisites will render the consignation void. Substantial compliance is not enough.

In Insular Life Assurance Company, Ltd. v. Toyota Bel-Air, Inc.,¹⁷ the Court enumerated the requisites of a valid consignation: (1) a debt due; (2) the creditor to whom tender of payment was made refused without just cause to accept the payment, or the creditor was absent, unknown or incapacitated, or several persons claimed the same right to collect, or the title of the obligation was lost; (3) the person interested in the performance of the obligation was given notice before consignation was made; (4) the amount was placed at the disposal of the court; and (5) the person interested in the performance of the obligation was given notice after the consignation was made.

Articles 1257 and 1258 of the Civil Code state, respectively:

Art. 1257. In order that the consignation of the thing due may release the obligor, it must first be announced to the persons interested in the fulfillment of the obligation.

The consignation shall be ineffectual if it is not made strictly in consonance with the provisions which regulate payment.

Art. 1258. Consignation shall be made by depositing the things due at the disposal of judicial authority, before whom the tender of payment shall be proved, in a proper case, and the announcement of the consignation in other cases.

The consignation having been made, the interested parties shall also be notified thereof. (Emphasis supplied)

The giving of notice to the persons interested in the performance of the obligation is mandatory. Failure to notify the persons interested in the performance of the obligation will render the consignation void. In Ramos v. Sarao,¹⁸ the Court held that, “All interested parties are to be notified of the consignation. Compliance with [this requisite] is mandatory.”¹⁹ In Valdellon v. Tengco,²⁰ the Court held that:

Under Art. 1257 of our Civil Code, in order that consignation of the thing due may release the obligor, it must first be announced to the persons interested in the fulfillment of the obligation. The consignation shall be ineffectual if it is not made strictly in consonance with the provisions which regulate payment. In said Article 1258, it is further stated that the consignation having been made, the interested party shall also be notified thereof.²¹ (Emphasis supplied)

In Soco v. Militante, et al.,²² the Court held that:

We hold that the essential requisites of a valid consignation must be complied with fully and strictly in accordance with the law, Articles 1256 to 1261, New Civil Code. That these Articles must be accorded a mandatory construction is clearly evident and plain from the very language of the codal provisions themselves which require absolute compliance with the essential requisites therein provided. Substantial compliance is not enough for that would render only a directory construction to the law. The use of the words “shall” and “must” which are imperative, operating to impose a duty which may be enforced, positively indicate that all the essential requisites of a valid consignation must be complied with. The Civil Code Articles expressly and explicitly direct what must be essentially done in order that consignation shall be valid and effectual.²³ (Emphasis supplied)

 DALTON SAID THE CA ERRED IN RULING SHE FAILED TO PAY RENT. CAN SC REVIEW CA FINDINGS?

NO, BECAUSE FINDINGS OF FACTS OF LOWER COURTS ARE BINDING ON SC.

Dalton claims that the Court of Appeals erred in ruling that she failed to pay rent. The Court is not impressed. Section 1, Rule 45 of the Rules of Court states that petitions for review on certiorari “shall raise only questions of law which must be distinctly set forth.” In Pagsibigan v. People,²⁴ the Court held that:

A petition for review under Rule 45 of the Rules of Court should cover only questions of law. Questions of fact are not reviewable. A question of law exists when the doubt centers on what the law is on a certain set of facts. A question of fact exists when the doubt centers on the truth or falsity of the alleged facts.

There is a question of law if the issue raised is capable of being resolved without need of reviewing the probative value of the evidence. The issue to be resolved must be limited to determining what the law is on a certain set of facts. Once the issue invites a review of the evidence, the question posed is one of fact.²⁵

Whether Dalton failed to pay rent is a question of fact. It is not reviewable.

The factual findings of the lower courts are binding on the Court. The exceptions to this rule are (1) when there is grave abuse of discretion; (2) when the findings are grounded on speculation; (3) when the inference made is manifestly mistaken; (4) when the judgment of the Court of Appeals is based on a misapprehension of facts; (5) when the factual findings are conflicting; (6) when the Court of Appeals went beyond the issues of the case and its findings are contrary to the admissions of the parties; (7) when the Court of Appeals overlooked undisputed facts which, if properly considered, would justify a different conclusion; (8) when the facts set forth by the petitioner are not disputed by the respondent; and (9) when the findings of the Court of Appeals are premised on the absence of evidence and are contradicted by the evidence on record.²⁶ Dalton did not show that any of these circumstances is present.

1 Rollo, pp. 11-22.

2 Id. at 24-31. Penned by Associate Justice Isaias P. Dicdican, with Associate Justices Ramon M. Bato, Jr. and Apolinario D. Bruselas, Jr. concurring.

3 Id. at 39-40.

4 CA rollo, pp. 23-30. Penned by Judge Meinrado P. Paredes.

5 Records, pp. 1-5.

6 Rollo, pp. 47-48.

7 Id. at 49-50.

8 Id. at 51-52.

9 Id. at 53-54.

10 Id. at 57-58.

11 Id. at 59-60.

12 CA rollo, pp. 28-30.

13 Rollo, pp. 27-30.

14 Id. at 18.

15 G.R. No. 90359, 9 June 1992, 209 SCRA 656.

16 Id. at 659.

17 G.R. No. 137884, 28 March 2008, 550 SCRA 70, 89.

18 491 Phil. 288 (2005).

19 Id. at 305.

20 225 Phil. 279 (1986).

21 Id. at 327.

22 208 Phil. 151 (1983).

23 Id. at 153-154.

24 G.R. No. 163868, 4 June 2009, 588 SCRA 249.

25 Id. at 256.

26 Id. at 257.