Almirante: Voluntary resignation

Friday, February 10, 2012

Dominador A. Almirante
Labor case digest

PETITIONER Ma. Joy Teresa O. Bilbao was a flight attendant of respondent Saudi Arabian Airlines assigned to work at the Manila office. Together with 10 others, she was transferred to Jeddah.

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Petitioner initially complied with the transfer order but later opted to resign and relinquish her post by tendering a resignation letter.

In complaint for reinstatement and payment of back wages, damages and attorney’s fees, petitioner alleged that her resignation was not voluntary. She narrated that she was made to sign a pre-typed resignation letter and was reminded that the same was better than termination which would tarnish her record of employment. Does the claim find merit?

Ruling: No.

After a review of the case, the Supreme Court upheld the findings of the Court of Appeals that Bilbao voluntarily resigned from her employment with Saudia. Her resignation letter and undertaking that evidenced her receipt of separation pay, when taken together with her educational attainment and the circumstances surrounding the filing of the complaint for illegal dismissal, compose substantial proof of Bilbao’s voluntary resignation.

Resignation is the voluntary act of an employee who is in a situation where one believes that personal reasons cannot be sacrificed in favor of the exigency of the service, and one has no other choice but to dissociate oneself from employment. It is a formal pronouncement or relinquishment of an office, with the intention of relinquishing the office accompanied by the act of relinquishment. As the intent to relinquish must concur with the overt act of relinquishment, the acts of the employee before and after the alleged resignation must be considered in determining whether he or she, in fact, intended to sever his or her employment.

In the instant case, Bilbao tendered her resignation letter a week after her transfer to the Jeddah office. In the said letter, Bilbao expressed her gratitude for the support which Saudia had given her for her eighteen years of service. Clearly, her use of words of appreciation and gratitude negates the notion that she was forced and coerced to resign. Besides, the resignation letter was hand-written by Bilbao on a Saudia form and was in English, a language she is conversant in. (Ma. Joy Teresa O. Bilbao vs. Saudi Arabian Airlines, G.R. No. 183915, Dec. 14, 2011).