Anastacio D. Abad was the Senior Assistant Manager of petitioner Philippine
Commercial International Bank when he was dismissed from his work Abad received a Memorandum from petitioner Bank concerning the irregular clearing of PNB-Naval Check of Sixtu Chu, Abad submitted his Answer categorically denying that he instructed his subordinates to validate the out-of-town checks of Sixtu Chu During the actual investigation conducted by petitioner Bank, several transactions violative of the Banks Policies and Rules and Regulations were uncovered by the Fact- Finding Committee Consequently the Fact-Finding Officer of petitioner Bank issued another Memorandum to Abad asking the latter to explain the newly discovered irregularities Not satisfied with the explanations of Abad, petitioner Bank served another Memorandum terminating his employment effective immediately upon receipt of the same Abad then filed a complaint for illegal dismissal with non-payment of overtime pay, premium pay for holiday, and rest day, separation pay, retirement benefits, damages and attorneys fees The Labor Arbiter declared the dismissal to be legal and directed PCIB to indemnify Abad in the amount of Php 10, 000, Abad appealed from this decision before the NLRC The NLRC affirmed the decision and modified the award of indemnity to Php 21,209, Abad elevated the case before the CA in a petition for certiorari The CA sustained the ruling that the dismissal was valid because PCIB lost its trust and confidence in Abad, the CA awarded separation pay equivalent to month pay for every year of service in accordance with the social justice policy Hence this petition
ISSUE:
Did the CA err in awarding Abad months pay for every year of service?
HELD:
No. The CA did not err in awarding separation pay.
The Court held that separation pay was correctly awarded despite the lawful dismissal. Separation pay depends on the cause of dismissal and the circumstances of the case. The dismissal should not be due to serious misconduct or to causes reflective of moral character. The dismissal in this case was due to loss of trust and confidence and not serious misconduct The dismissal was also not reflective of Abads moral character, as he did not show any indication that hid actions were perpetrated for his self-interest
How to Raise your Credit Score: Proven Strategies to Repair Your Credit Score, Increase Your Credit Score, Overcome Credit Card Debt and Increase Your Credit Limit Volume 3