BAGUIO CITY – The Supreme Court (SC) denied the motion for reconsideration filed by some twenty one dismissed instructors of the Easter College Inc. (ECI) that sought to reverse the decision of the central office of the National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC) which was not in their favour as the court found that there was no compelling reason and no substantial arguments in the petition for review under certiorari to warrant the reconsideration of such ruling.
The High Court informed the parties that it will no longer entertain no further pleadings, motions, letters, or other communications in relation to the said case and subsequently ordered the entry of judgement be made in due course.
In its resolution dated September 2, 2015, the SC denied the earlier petition of some of the dismissed faculty members of Easter College appealing the ruling of the Court of Appeals (CA) denying their notice of appeal for late filing as the said petition was filed beyond the extended period pursuant to Section 5(a), |Rule 56 of the 1997 Rules of civil Procedure.
The SC cited the petition failed to sufficiently show any reversible error in the challenged petition and the resolution as to warrant the exercise of the court’s discretionary appellate jurisdiction.
In his joint resolution dated February 26, 2010, Executive Labor Arbiter Vito C. Bose ruled that the twenty one Easter College instructors were allegedly illegally dismissed and he then ordered the institution to pay them a total of P6.7 million as back wages, separation pay, 13th month pay, service incentive leaves and attorney’s fees.
Easter College appealed the said ruling and in the appealed case, the NLRC central office, in its decision dated April 25, 2011, reversed and set aside the ruling rendered by the Executive labor Arbiter and held that ‘the separation of service of the Easter College instructors are legal and valid.’
However, the NLRC ordered Easter College to ‘pay the complainants” holiday pay and service incentive leave pay during the period of their contracts.’ But the award of 7 days service incentive leave pay for every year of service is modified to 5 days.
Furthermore, the complainants were entitled to receive from Easter College the aggregate amount of P431,288.88.
The complainants moved for the reconsideration of the aforesaid decision but their motion was denied by the NLRC in its resolution dated July 1, 2011.
Some of the complainants elevated the decision of the NLRC to the CA by way of petitions for certiorari but in a decision promulgated on December 3, 2014, the CA dismissed the petition for lack of merit.
The complainants then moved for reconsideration but the CA denied their motion for reconsideration in its resolution dated June 10, 2015.
With the SC ruling denying with finality the motion for reconsideration of the complainants, Easter College management believes that the case may now be set for pre-execution conference with respect to the monetary award in the amount of P431,288.88 stated in the decision of the NLRC central office.
By Herald Express News Team
