Saturday, January 20, 2007 Actual damages By Dominador A. Almirante Labor case digest
IN a case for illegal dismissal filed by petitioner Dr. Ernesto Maquiling, it was held that he was dismissed from employment for just cause. He was, however, awarded an indemnity of P30,000 for inadequate observance of due process.
Is he entitled to his claim for actual or compensatory damages?
It may be also argued that actual or compensatory damages may be recovered in employment termination cases. Actual or compensatory damages are not available as a matter of right to an employee dismissed for just cause but denied statutory due process. The award must be based on clear factual and legal bases and correspond to such pecuniary loss suffered by the employee, as duly proven. Evidently, there is less degree of discretion to award actual or compensatory damages.
In the instant cases, the records fail to show that Maquiling suffered pecuniary loss by reason of his dismissal from service. It must be noted that he was dismissed for just cause but the procedural aspect of dismissal was not complied with.
Such non-compliance did not automatically result to any pecuniary loss. Any such loss must be proved by Maquiling to be entitled to an award for actual damages. Besides, the two-notice rule was not at all disregarded although it was observed defectively by PTS. Thus, actual damages may not be awarded. (Dr. Ernesto I. Maquiling versus Philippine Tuberculosis Society Inc. G.R. No. 143384. (Feb. 4, 2005).
