G.R. No. 142244. November 18, 2002] ATLAS FARMS, INC., petitioner, vs.

ner, vs. NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS COMMISSION, JAIME O. DELA

PEA and MARCIAL I. ABION, respondents.
FACTS:
Private respondent Jaime O. dela Pea was employed as a veterinary aide by petitioner in December 1975. He was among several employees
terminated in July 1989. On July 8, 1989, he was re-hired by petitioner and given the additional job of feedmill operator. He was instructed to train
selected workers to operate the feedmill.
Pea was allegedly caught urinating and defecating on company premises not intended for the purpose. The farm manager of petitioner issued a
formal notice directing him to explain within 24 hours why disciplinary action should not be taken against him for violating company rules and
regulations. Pea refused, however, to receive the formal notice. He never bothered to explain, either verbally or in writing, according to
petitioner. Thus, on March 20, 1993, a notice of termination with payment of his monetary benefits was sent to him. He duly acknowledged receipt of
his separation pay of P13,918.67.
Co-respondent Marcial I. Abion
[5]
was a carpenter/mason and a maintenance man whose employment by petitioner commenced on October 8,
1990. Allegedly, he caused the clogging of the fishpond drainage resulting in damages worth several hundred thousand pesos when he improperly
disposed of the cut grass and other waste materials into the ponds drainage system. Petitioner sent a written notice to Abion, requiring him to explain
what happened, otherwise, disciplinary action would be taken against him. He refused to receive the notice and give an explanation, according to
petitioner. Consequently, the company terminated his services on October 27, 1992. He acknowledged receipt of a written notice of dismissal, with his
separation pay.
Pea and Abion filed separate complaints for illegal dismissal that were later consolidated. Both claimed that their termination from service was
due to petitioners suspicion that they were the leaders in a plan to form a union to compete and replace the existing management-dominated union.
The labor arbiter dismissed their complaints on the ground that the grievance machinery in the collective bargaining agreement (CBA) had not yet
been exhausted. Private respondents availed of the grievance process, but later on refiled the case before the NLRC in Region IV. They alleged lack
of sympathy on petitioners part to engage in conciliation proceedings.

ISSUES:
1) Whether private respondents were legally and validly dismissed;
2) Whether the labor arbiter and the NLRC had jurisdiction to decide complaints for illegal dismissal

RULING:
The burden of proving that the dismissal of private respondents was legal and valid falls upon petitioner. The NLRC found that petitioner failed to
substantiate its claim that both private respondents committed certain acts that violated company rules and regulations,
[11]
hence we find no factual basis
to say that private respondents dismissal was in order. We see no compelling reason to deviate from the NLRC ruling that their dismissal was illegal,
absent a showing that it reached its conclusion arbitrarily.
[12]
Moreover, factual findings of agencies exercising quasi-judicial functions are accorded not
only respect but even finality, aside from the consideration here that this Court is not a trier of facts.
[13]

Anent the second issue, Article 217 of the Labor Code provides that labor arbiters have original and exclusive jurisdiction over termination
disputes. A possible exception is provided in Article 261 of the Labor Code.
But as held in Vivero vs. CA,
[14]
petitioner cannot arrogate into the powers of Voluntary Arbitrators the original and exclusive jurisdiction of Labor
Arbiters over unfair labor practices, termination disputes, and claims for damages, in the absence of an express agreement between the parties in order
for Article 262 of the Labor Code [Jurisdiction over other labor disputes] to apply in the case at bar.
One significant fact in the present petition also needs stressing. Pursuant to Article 260
21
of the Labor Code, the parties to a CBA shall name or
designate their respective representatives to the grievance machinery and if the grievance is unsettled in that level, it shall automatically be referred to
the voluntary arbitrators designated in advance by the parties to a CBA. Consequently only disputes involving the union and the company shall be
referred to the grievance machinery or voluntary arbitrators. In these termination cases of private respondents, the union had no participation, it having
failed to object to the dismissal of the employees concerned by the petitioner. It is obvious that arbitration without the unions active participation on
behalf of the dismissed employees would be pointless, or even prejudicial to their cause.
The NLRC found that petitioner did not comply with the requirements of a valid dismissal. For a dismissal to be valid, the employer must show
that: (1) the employee was accorded due process, and (2) the dismissal must be for any of the valid causes provided for by law.
[22]
No evidence was
shown that private respondents refused, as alleged, to receive the notices requiring them to show cause why no disciplinary action should be taken
against them. Without proof of notice, private respondents who were subsequently dismissed without hearing were also deprived of a chance to air their
side at the level of the grievance machinery. Given the fact of dismissal, it can be said that the cases were effectively removed from the jurisdiction of
the voluntary arbitrator, thus placing them within the jurisdiction of the labor arbiter. Where the dispute is just in the interpretation, implementation or
enforcement stage, it may be referred to the grievance machinery set up in the CBA, or brought to voluntary arbitration. But, where there was already
actual termination, with alleged violation of the employees rights, it is already cognizable by the labor arbiter.
[23]

In sum, we conclude that the labor arbiter and then the NLRC had jurisdiction over the cases involving private respondents dismissal, and no error
was committed by the appellate court in upholding their assumption of jurisdiction.