G.R. No. 228449 - GRACE R. ALUAG, V. BIR MULTI-PURPOSE COOPERATIVE, NORMA L. LIPANA, AND ESTELITA V. DATU.

Ruling

accordingly, reinstated the Decision [6] dated May 26, 2014 of the Labor Arbiter (LA) finding petitioner Grace R. Aluag (Aluag) to have been validly dismissed from service by respondent BIR Multi-Purpose Cooperative (BIRMPC). The Facts This case arose from a complaint [7] for, inter alia , illegal dismissal filed by Aluag against BIRMPC and its officers, respondents Norma L. Lipana and Estelita V. Datu (respondents). Aluag alleged that she was employed as BIRMPC's cashier from November 16, 1994 until her termination on October 31, 2013. [8] Her duties, among others, were to receive remittances and payments, deposit all collections daily, record fixed deposits, determine cash positions, issue checks for loans, collect cash receipts, and perform such other duties that the general manager may assign to her. [9] She claimed that from the time of her employment, she was tasked to give only verbal weekly reports on BIRMPC's funds until 2010 when she was required to put them into writing. In 2011, BIRMPC's loan processors started accepting post-dated checks with the prior approval of the general manager, who then was Gerardo Flores (Flores). [10] She added that in July 2013, upon Flores' instruction, she submitted a report of bounced checks and deposited the remaining checks in her possession. [11] On July 16, 2013 or ten (10) days before she gave birth, Aluag received a letter [12] from BIRMPC's Board of Directors temporarily relieving her from her position pending an investigation against her and two (2) loan processors involving several suspicious loans, requiring her to submit an answer within ten (10) days. [13] She complied only after she gave birth or on July 29, 2013, wherein she admitted that she: ( a ) was tasked to have all collections deposited everyday; ( b ) received verified post-dated checks for safekeeping and deposit to the bank when due; and ( c ) opted not to deposit matured checks upon request of the debtors. [14] She then went on a maternity leave from July 30 to September 30, 2013, during which period, she received another letter from BIRMPC preventively suspending her from August 1 to October 31, 2013. [15] Claiming that the suspension was illegal, she filed a complaint for illegal suspension with the NLRC. While the case was pending, Aluag received another letter [16] dated October 31, 2013 terminating her employment; hence, she amended the complaint to one for illegal dismissal. [17] For their part, respondents averred that Aluag was legally dismissed on the ground of loss of trust and confidence. They narrated that while reviewing loan documents in June 2013, they found rampant violations of BIRMPC's by-laws, rules, and regulations. When they interviewed Aluag, the latter admitted the infractions, but claimed that Flores had full knowledge of them. [18] Thereafter, respondents sent letters to Aluag and other concerned employees to explain why no charges should be filed against them and, later on, placed them under preventive s