Dominador A. Almirante
Labor case digest

UPON audit, it was found that 87 bills amounting to P126,750.93 remained unremitted. As a bill custodian, petitioner Chona Estacio was charged and was dismissed for gross negligence.

Estacio argued that her failure to update the bill custodian records was due to the abnormal weather during July 2002, resulting in the flooding of San Luis and Candaba, Pampanga.

Such negligence could not be categorized as gross in character.

Did the argument find merit?

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Ruling: No.

Petitioner Estacio, despite the opportunities given to her, did not offer any satisfactory explanation or evidence in her defense. Her only reason for failing to comply with the requisite daily accounting and reporting of the bill collections was the terrible weather during the month of July 2002, which resulted in the flooding of the San Luis and Candaba area in Pampanga, hence, keeping her from going to work. Like the investigating committee, the labor arbiter and the Court of Appeals, this Court is unconvinced. Petitioner Estacio was on leave for only five days of July 2002.

She had the occasion to update her records on the bill collections during the other days of July and August 2002, when the weather was fine and she was able to report for work; yet, she still did not do so. She waited until her infraction was discovered during the conduct of the internal audit, only to proffer a feeble excuse.

Petitioner Estacio’s failure to make a complete accounting and reporting of the bill collections plainly demonstrated her disregard for one of her fundamental duties as a bill custodian. It was an omission repeated by petitioner Estacio for several days, spanning several billing periods for July and August 2002; thus, she allowed, during the said period, the accumulation of the amounts unremitted by bill collectors to respondent PELCO 1; until these reached the substantial amount of P123,807.14. All the foregoing considered, the Court can only conclude that there was valid cause to dismiss petitioner Estacio for gross and habitual negligence. (Chona Estacio and Leopoldo Manliclic vs. Pampanga I Electric Cooperative Inc. and Lollano E. Alias, G.R. No. 183196, Aug. 19, 2009).

(Almirante is a former labor arbiter.)