G.R. No. 179563 - BACOLOD-TALISAY REALTY AND DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION, MR. MARIO GONZAGA IN HIS CAPACITY AS PRESIDENT OF BACOLOD REALTY AND DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION, AND MR. ERNESTO ALLEN LACSON, JR. IN HIS CAPACITY AS ADMINISTRATOR OF BACOLOD REALTY AND DEVELOPMENT, CORPORATION, VS. ROMEO DELA CRUZ.

Ruling

accordingly reversed the NLRC decision, disposing as follows: WHEREFORE , the petition is GRANTED . Accordingly, the subject resolutions of the National Labor Relations Commission are REVERSED and SET ASIDE . Petitioner is entitled to reinstatement without loss of seniority rights and benefits and to payment of backwages which shall not exceed three (3) years. [8] (Emphasis in the original; underscoring supplied) Hence, the present petition, [9] petitioners faulting the Court of Appeals I x x x IN NOT DECIDING THAT PETITIONER SHOULD ONLY BE HELD LIABLE FOR NOMINAL DAMAGES PURSUANT TO THE AGABON DOCTRINE AND OTHER SUBSEQUENT CASES BUT THE DISMISSAL OF THE RESPONDENT SHOULD BE HELD AS VALID, THE CASE BEING ATTENDED BY JUST CAUSE FOR TERMINATION OF EMPLOYMENT. II x x x BY RULING THAT AN APPEAL CAN BE HAD WITH THE NLRC EVEN THOUGH NO VERIFICATION AND CERTIFICATION OF NON-FORUM SHOPPING WAS ATTACHED TO THE APPEAL, AND EVEN THOUGH NO REASONS OR EXCUSE WAS ADVANCED BY THE RESPONDENT FOR THE NON-SUBMISSION OF THE VERIFICATION AND CERTIFICATION OF NON-FORUM SHOPPING. III x x x IN REVERSING THE DECISION OF THE NLRC AND THE LABOR ARBITER A QUO ON THE BASIS OF MERE SPECULATION, CONJECTURE AND MERE SELF-SERVING STATEMENTS OF THE RESPONDENT. [10] (Underscoring supplied) That the Court of Appeals went on to give due course to respondent's petition despite the lack of verification in respondent's appeal before the NLRC is not erroneous. Lack of verification is not a fatal defect. Verification is only a formal, not a jurisdictional requirement. [11] It could easily be corrected by directing compliance therewith, [12] its purpose being simply to secure an assurance that the allegations of the petition (or complaint) have been made in good faith, or are true and correct, not merely speculative. [13] The Court of Appeals, in finding for respondent, noted that the proper procedure in dismissing him was not observed; ergo, it ordered his "reinstatement . . . " Oddly, the appellate court did not determine whether there was just case for respondent's dismissal. For it is only when an employee's dismissal is not justified that reinstatement is, among other things, if still feasible, in order . This brings the Court to pass on the merits of the case. This Court finds that petitioners were able to establish with substantial evidence that just cause existed for the termination of respondent's employment. Consider the following documentary evidence they presented: Excerpt from the official log book of the barangay council of Barangay Concepcion, Talisay, Negros Occidental dated May 30, 1997 documenting the statements of Federico Serie and Jonathan Quilla during a confrontation before the barangay counsel; [14] Petitioner Lacson's affidavit; [15] Joint Affidavit of petitioner Mario Gonzaga and the vice-president and secretary of BTRD; [16] Joint affidavit of Federico Serie, Jr. (Serie), Jonathan Quilla (Quilla), Eddie Sausa (Sausa), and Roberto Tortogo (Tortogo) claiming that