SM Agri and General Machineries v. National Labor Relations Commission
MODIFICATIONFacts
1. The Antecedents: Private respondent Vivencio Abo was employed by SM Industries, later renamed SM Agricultural and General Machineries, from August 2, 1976, until his termination on May 31, 1982. Abo was employed as an Officer-in-Charge (OIC) of a branch office. The petitioner contended that Abo's termination was lawful due to his willful disobedience in refusing to submit sales, collection reports, and monthly allowances since January 1981. Abo, however, filed a complaint for unlawful dismissal and damages. 2. Procedural History: The Labor Arbiter ruled in favor of Vivencio Abo on March 29, 1984, ordering SM Agri and General Machineries to reinstate Abo with backwages, pay unpaid salary and allowances, and provide 13th-month pay and service incentive leave. The petitioner received this decision on April 10, 1984, and filed an appeal via registered mail on April 23, 1984. The National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC) dismissed the appeal on November 29, 1985, deeming it filed out of time, as it was filed thirteen days after receipt of the decision, exceeding the ten-day reglementary period. The NLRC denied the petitioner's motion for reconsideration on April 7, 1986. 3. The Petition: The petitioner filed a petition for certiorari with a prayer for a writ of preliminary injunction, assailing the NLRC's resolutions dismissing its appeal. The core issue is whether the NLRC committed grave abuse of discretion in dismissing the appeal due to tardiness. The petitioner argued that the ten-day period for appeal expired on April 20, 1984, which was Good Friday, a legal holiday. Citing Section 31, Article VIII of the Revised Administrative Code, the petitioner contended that when the last day for filing falls on a holiday, the act may be done on the next succeeding business day, which was April 23, 1984. The petitioner argued that the NLRC erred in strictly applying the ten-day calendar day rule without considering the holiday falling on the last day of the appeal period.
Issue(s)
Whether the NLRC committed grave abuse of discretion in dismissing petitioner's appeal on the ground of tardiness, considering the legal holidays that coincided with the appeal period. Whether the appeal filed on April 23, 1984, was filed within the reglementary period prescribed by law, and whether the Vir-Jen Shipping doctrine applies to the present case.
Ruling
The petition is GRANTED. The resolutions of the NLRC dated November 29, 1985, and April 7, 1986, are ANNULLED and SET ASIDE. The NLRC is ordered to give due course to petitioner's appeal for resolution on the merits.
Ratio Decidendi
On the issue of tardiness, the application of legal holidays, and grave abuse of discretion: The Court sustained petitioner's argument that when the last day for filing an appeal falls on a legal holiday, the act may be done on the next succeeding business day, as per Section 31, Article VIII of the Revised Administrative Code. Since April 20, 1984 (the last day of the appeal period) was Good Friday, and April 21, 1984, was also a non-working public holiday, the appeal filed on April 23, 1984, was timely. The NLRC committed grave abuse of discretion in dismissing the appeal solely on the ground of tardiness without considering the effect of the legal holiday. This strict adherence to the 10-day period without applying the exception led to a miscarriage of justice. Distinguishing the present case from Vir-Jen Shipping regarding the computation of the appeal period: While the Court reiterated that the 10-day period in Article 223 of the Labor Code refers to calendar days, the ruling in Vir-Jen Shipping does not apply here. Vir-Jen Shipping involved holidays falling within the 10-day period. In this case, the legal holiday coincidentally fell on the 10th day. Therefore, Section 31 of the Revised Administrative Code applies, allowing filing on the next business day, rather than the general rule on computing calendar days when holidays are interspersed.
Main Doctrine
When the last day for filing an appeal falls on a legal holiday, the act may be done on the next succeeding business day, as provided by Section 31, Article VIII of the Revised Administrative Code. This exception applies even when the 10-day period for appeal under Article 223 of the Labor Code contemplates calendar days.