Republic of the Philippines
SUPREME COURT
Manila
THIRD DIVISION
G.R. No. 178352 June 17, 2008
VIRGILIO S. DELIMA, petitioner,
vs.
SUSAN MERCAIDA GOIS, respondent.
D E C I S I O N
YNARES-SANTIAGO, J.:
This petition for review under Rule 45 of the Rules of Court assails the December 21, 2006 Decision1 of the Court of Appeals which annulled and set aside the May 31, 2006 and August 22, 2006 Resolutions of the National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC) in NLRC Case No. V-000188-2006 and ordered herein petitioner to return the cash bond released to him. Also assailed is the February 5, 2007 Resolution2 denying the Motion for Reconsideration.
The antecedent facts are as follows:
A case for illegal dismissal was filed by petitioner Virgilio S. Delima against Golden Union Aquamarine Corporation (Golden), Prospero Gois and herein respondent Susan Mercaida Gois before the Regional Arbitration Branch No. VIII of the National Labor Relations Commission on October 29, 2004, docketed as NLRC RAB VIII Case No. 10-0231-04.
On April 29, 2005, Labor Arbiter Philip B. Montaces rendered a decision, the dispositive portion of which reads:
WHEREFORE, premises considered, judgment is hereby rendered–
1. Finding illegality in the dismissal of complainant Virgilio Delima from his employment;
2. Ordering respondent Golden Union Aquamarine Corporation to pay complainant the following:
a. Backwages (July 30, 2004 to April 29, 2005 =
9 mos.; P5,350.50 x 9 months) …………..….. |
P 48,154.50 |
b. Separation Pay (P5,350.50 x 4 years)………… |
21,402.00 |
c. Salary Differentials ………………… |
32,679.00 |
d. Service Incentive Leave Pay ………………… |
2,820.00 |
Sub-Total ………………… |
P105,055.50 |
e. Attorney’s fee (10%) ………………… |
10,505.55 |
T O T A L ………………… |
P115,561.05
========= |
3. Dismissing all other claims for lack of merit.
SO ORDERED.3
Golden failed to appeal the aforesaid decision; hence, it became final and executory. A writ of execution was issued and an Isuzu Jeep with plate number PGE-531 was attached.
Thereafter, respondent Gois filed an Affidavit of Third Party Claim claiming that the attachment of the vehicle was irregular because said vehicle was registered in her name and not Golden’s; and that she was not a party to the illegal dismissal case filed by Delima against Golden.4
In an Order5 dated December 29, 2005, the Labor Arbiter denied respondent’s third-party claim on grounds that respondent was named in the complaint as one of the respondents; that summons were served upon her and Prospero Gois; that both verified Golden’s Position Paper and alleged therein that they are the respondents; and that respondent is one of the incorporators/officers of the corporation.
Gois filed an appeal before the NLRC. At the same time, she filed a motion before the Labor Arbiter to release the motor vehicle after substituting the same with a cash bond in the amount of P115,561.05.
On January 16, 2006, an Order was issued by the Labor Arbiter which states:
Filed by Third Party Claimant SUSAN M. GOIS is a Motion to Release Motor Vehicle after substituting same with a cash bond of P115,561.05 under O.R. No. 8307036 which amount is equivalent to the judgment award in the instant case, in the meantime that she has appealed the Order denying her Third Party Claim.
Finding said Motion in order and with merit, Sheriff Felicisimo T. Basilio is directed to release from his custody the Isuzu jeep with Plate No. PGE-532 and return same to SUSAN M. GOIS.
SO ORDERED.6
Meanwhile, on May 31, 2006, the NLRC issued a Resolution7 which dismissed respondent’s appeal for lack of merit. A Motion for Reconsideration8 was filed but it was denied on August 22, 2006.9 On September 12, 2006, the NLRC Resolution became final and executory; subsequently, an Entry of Judgment10 was issued on September 29, 2006.
On October 13, 2006, Gois filed a petition for certiorari11 before the Court of Appeals as well as a Supplement to Petition12 on October 27, 2006. Gois alleged that the NLRC committed grave abuse of discretion when it dismissed her appeal. She claimed that by denying her third-party claim, she was in effect condemned to pay a judgment debt issued against a corporation of which she is neither a president nor a majority owner but merely a stockholder. She further argued that her personality is separate and distinct from that of Golden; thus, the judgment ordering the corporation to pay the petitioner could not be satisfied out of her personal assets.
On December 21, 2006, the appellate court rendered a Decision in favor of respondent, which reads in part:
In the decision dated April 29, 2005 rendered by Labor Arbiter Montaces, the dispositive portion confined itself in directing Golden Union Aquamarine Corporation only, no more and no less, to pay private respondent the award stated therein, but did not mention that the liability is joint and solidary with petitioner Susan Gois although the complaint filed by the private respondent included petitioner as among the respondents therein.
It bears stress also that corporate officers cannot be held liable for damages on account of the employee’s dismissal because the employer corporation has a personality separate and distinct from its officers who merely acted as its agents. They are only solidarily liable with the corporation for the termination of employment of employees if the same was done with malice or in bad faith. In the case at bench, it was not clearly shown and established that the termination of private respondent from employment was tainted with evident malice and bad faith. As elucidated in the case of Reahs Corporation vs. NLRC, the main doctrine of separate personality of a corporation should remain as the guiding rule in determining corporate liability to its employees, and that, at the very least, to justify solidary liability, "there must be an allegation or showing that the officers of the corporation deliberately or maliciously designed to evade the financial obligation of the corporation to its employees."
Further, as wisely put by the petitioner, while it may be true that the subject vehicle was used by the corporation in transporting the products bought by the corporation from Eastern Samar to Manila, it does not necessarily follow that it is owned by the corporation as in fact petitioner was able to duly establish that the said vehicle is hers and is registered under her name. Nor does it imply that the corporation is free to dispose of the same and neither does it imply that the said vehicle may and can be levied by respondent NLRC to satisfy a judgment against the corporation.
WHEREFORE, in view of the foregoing premises, judgment is hereby rendered by us GRANTING the petition filed in this case, ANNULLING and SETTING ASIDE the Resolutions dated May 31, 2006 and August 22, 2006, respectively, issued by the respondent National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC), 4th Division in NLRC Case No. V-000188-2006 and ORDERING private respondent to return to petitioner the cash bond earlier released to him.
SO ORDERED.13
Petitioner filed a Motion for Reconsideration14 which was denied. Hence, the present petition raising the following issues:
WHETHER OR NOT THE HONORABLE COURT OF APPEALS, NINETEENTH (19th) DIVISION, ERRED:
1. WHEN IT OMMITED PRIVATE RESPONDENT AS ONE OF THE PRINCIPAL RESPONDENTS IN THE ORIGINAL COMPLAINT AS ILLUSTRATED IN ITS BRIEF STATEMENT OF FACTS;
2. WHEN IT CONSIDERED THAT THE VEHICLE PRINCIPALLY USED IN THE BUSINESS OPERATIONS OF THE CORPORATION, WHICH WAS REGISTERED UNDER THE NAME OF PRIVATE RESPONDENT WHO WAS ALSO THE CORPORATION PRESIDENT, CANNOT BE SUBJECT OF GARNISHMENT;
3. WHEN IT ANNULLED AND SET ASIDE A FINAL AND EXECUTED ORDER/RESOLUTION OF THE NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS COMMISSION.15
A corporation has a personality distinct and separate from its individual stockholders or members and from that of its officers who manage and run its affairs. The rule is that obligations incurred by the corporation, acting through its directors, officers and employees, are its sole liabilities. Thus, property belonging to a corporation cannot be attached to satisfy the debt of a stockholder and vice versa, the latter having only an indirect interest in the assets and business of the former.16
Since the Decision of the Labor Arbiter dated April 29, 2005 directed only Golden to pay the petitioner the sum of P115,561.05 and the same was not joint and solidary obligation with Gois, then the latter could not be held personally liable since Golden has a separate and distinct personality of its own. It remains undisputed that the subject vehicle was owned by Gois, hence it should not be attached to answer for the liabilities of the corporation. Unless they have exceeded their authority, corporate officers are, as a general rule, not personally liable for their official acts, because a corporation, by legal fiction, has a personality separate and distinct from its officers, stockholders and members. No evidence was presented to show that the termination of the petitioner was done with malice or in bad faith for it to hold the corporate officers, such as Gois, solidarily liable with the corporation.
We note that the Resolution of the NLRC dismissing respondent’s appeal was entered in the Book of Entries of Judgment on September 29, 2006 after it allegedly became final and executory on September 12, 2006.
It will be recalled, however, that the NLRC issued the Resolution dismissing the appeal of the respondent on May 31, 2006. A motion for reconsideration was filed on July 24, 2006 but it was denied by the NLRC on August 22, 2006. Copy of the denial was received by the respondent on September 1, 2006.17 Thus, respondent has sixty (60) days from receipt of the denial of the motion for reconsideration or until October 31, 2006, within which to file the petition for certiorari under Section 4 of Rule 65 of the Rules of Court. Thus, the petition for certiorari filed by respondent before the Court of Appeals on October 13, 2006 was timely.18 Consequently, the NLRC erred in declaring its May 31, 2006 Resolution final and executory.
A decision issued by a court is final and executory when such decision disposes of the subject matter in its entirety or terminates a particular proceeding or action, leaving nothing else to be done but to enforce by execution what has been determined by the court, such as when after the lapse of the reglementary period to appeal, no appeal has been perfected.19
In the instant case, it is undisputed that when the entry of judgment was issued by the NLRC on September 12, 2006 and entered in the Book of Entries of Judgment on September 29, 2006, the reglementary period to file a petition for certiorari has not yet lapsed. In fact, when the petition for certiorari was filed on October 13, 2006, the same was still within the reglementary period. It bears stressing that a petition for certiorari under Rule 65 must be filed "not later than 60 days from notice of the judgment, order or resolution" sought to be annulled.20
The period or manner of "appeal" from the NLRC to the Court of Appeals is governed by Rule 65 pursuant to the ruling of this Court in the case of St. Martin Funeral Home v. National Labor Relations Commission.21 Section 4 of Rule 65, as amended, states that the "petition may be filed not later than sixty (60) days from notice of the judgment, or resolution sought to be assailed."22
Corollarily, Section 4, Rule III of the New Rules of Procedure of the NLRC expressly mandates that "(f)or the purpose(s) of computing the period of appeal, the same shall be counted from receipt of such decisions, awards or orders by the counsel of record." Although this rule explicitly contemplates an appeal before the Labor Arbiter and the NLRC, we do not see any cogent reason why the same rule should not apply to petitions for certiorari filed with the Court of Appeals from decisions of the NLRC.23
We note that in the dispositive portion of its Decision, the appellate court ordered petitioner to return to respondent the cash bond earlier released to him. However, petitioner admitted that the monies were spent to defray the medical expenses of his ailing mother. Considering that petitioner is legally entitled to receive said amount, Golden must reimburse respondent Gois the amount of P115,561.05. To rule otherwise would result in unjust enrichment of Golden. The corporation has benefited from the payment made by Gois because it was relieved from its obligation to pay to petitioner the judgment debt.
WHEREFORE, the petition is PARTLY GRANTED. The assailed Decision of the Court of Appeals dated December 21, 2006 annulling and setting aside the May 31, 2006 and August 22, 2006 Resolutions of the National Labor Relations Commission; and its Resolution dated February 5, 2007 are AFFIRMED with the MODIFICATION that Golden Union Aquamarine Corporation is ordered to REIMBURSE respondent Susan M. Gois the amount of P115,561.05.
SO ORDERED.
CONSUELO YNARES-SANTIAGO
Associate Justice
WE CONCUR:
MA. ALICIA AUSTRIA-MARTINEZ
Associate Justice |
MINITA V. CHICO-NAZARIO
Associate Justice |
RUBEN T. REYES
Associate Justice |
* ARTURO D. BRION
Associate Justice |
A T T E S T A T I O N
I attest that the conclusions in the above Decision had been reached in consultation before the case was assigned to the writer of the opinion of the Court’s Division.
CONSUELO YNARES-SANTIAGO
Associate Justice
Chairperson, Third Division
C E R T I F I C A T I O N
Pursuant to Section 13, Article VIII of the Constitution and the Division Chairperson’s Attestation, I certify that the conclusions in the above Decision had been reached in consultation before the case was assigned to the writer of the opinion of the Court’s Division.
REYNATO S. PUNO
Chief Justice
Footnotes
* Designated in lieu of Associate Justice Antonio Eduardo B. Nachura, who is on official leave under the Court’s Wellness Program, per Special Order No. 507 dated May 28, 2008, signed by Chief Justice Reynato S. Puno.
1 Rollo, pp. 19-25. Penned by Associate Justice Isaias P. Dicdican and concurred in by Associate Justices Pampio A. Abarintos and Romeo F. Barza.
2 Id. at 33-34.
3 CA rollo, p. 22.
4 Id. at 25.
5 Id. at 28-29.
6 Id. at 39.
7 Id. at 41-43.
8 Id. at 44-46.
9 Id. at 14-16.
10 Id. at 50.
11 Id. at 2-13.
12 Id. at 47-49.
13 Id. at 77-78.
14 Id. at 26-32.
15 Rollo, p. 9.
16 Malonso v. Principe, A.C. No. 6289, December 16, 2004, 447 SCRA 1, 16.
17 CA rollo, p. 4.
18 Id. at 2-13.
19 Juco v. Heirs of Tomas Siy Chung Fu, G.R. No. 150233, February 16, 2005, 451 SCRA 464, 474.
20 David v. Cordova, G.R. No. 152992, July 28, 2005, 464 SCRA 384.
21 G.R. No. 130866, September 16, 1998, 295 SCRA 494.
22 Ginete v. Sunrise Manning Agency, G.R. No. 142023, June 21, 2001, 359 SCRA 404, 407-408.
23 Id. at 408.
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