G.R. No. 195109 - ANDY D. BALITE, DELFIN M. ANZALDO AND MONALIZA DL. BIHASA, VS. SS VENTURES INTERNATIONAL, INC., SUNG SIK LEE AND EVELYN RAYALA .D E C I S I O N - Supreme Court E-Library

Ruling

WHEREFORE, premises considered, [petitioners] are hereby found to have been illegally dismissed even as respondents are held liable therefore. Consequently, respondent corporation is hereby ordered to reinstate [petitioners] to their former positions without loss of seniority rights and other privileges with backwages initially computed at this time and reflected below. The reinstatement aspect of this decision is immediately executory and thus respondents are hereby required to submit a report of compliance therewith within ten (10) days from receipt thereof. Respondent corporation is likewise ordered to pay [petitioners] their 13 th month pay and 10% attorneys fees. Backwages 13 th month pay Attorneys fees 1. Andy Balite P162,969.04 P 17,511.00 P 18,048.00 2. Delfin Anzaldo 158,299.44 17,511.00 17,511.00 3. Monaliza Bihasa 116,506.62 17,511.00 13,401.75 All other claims are dismissed for lack of factual or legal basis. [4] Aggrieved, respondents interposed an appeal by filing a Notice of Appeal and paying the corresponding appeal fee. However, instead of filing the required appeal bond equivalent to the total amount of the monetary award which is P490,308.00, respondents filed a Motion to Reduce the Appeal Bond to P100,000.00 and appended therein a managers check bearing the said amount. Respondents cited financial difficulty as justification for their inability to post the appeal bond in full owing to the partial shutdown of respondent companys operations. In a Resolution [5] dated 27 November 2008, the NLRC dismissed the appeal filed by the respondents for non-perfection. The NLRC ruled that posting of an appeal bond equivalent to the monetary award is indispensable for the perfection of the appeal and the reduction of the appeal bond, absent any showing of meritorious ground to justify the same, is not warranted in the instant case. Similarly ill-fated was respondents Motion for Reconsideration which was denied by the NLRC in a Resolution [6] dated 30 April 2009. On certiorari , the Court of Appeals reversed the NLRC Decision and allowed the relaxation of the rule on posting of the appeal bond. According to the appellate court, there was substantial compliance with the rules for the perfection of an appeal because respondents seasonably filed their Memorandum of Appeal and posted an appeal bond in the amount of P100,000.00. While the amount of the appeal bond posted was not equivalent to the monetary award, the Court of Appeals ruled that respondents were able to sufficiently prove their incapability to post the required amount of bond. [7] The Court of Appeals disposed in this wise: WHEREFORE, premises considered , finding grave abuse of discretion on the part of the [NLRC], the instant petition is GRANTED . The [NLRCs] Resolutions dated November 27, 2008 and April 30, 2009, respectively, are hereby SET ASIDE . [The NLRC] is hereby directed to decide petitioners appeal on the merits. [8] In a Resolution [9] dated 30 December 2010, th