873 Phil. 910
LOPEZ, J.:
WHEREFORE, judgment is hereby rendered, as follows:Aggrieved, Tuppil, et al. and Borja, et al. appealed to the National Labor Relations Commission. On May 31, 2015, the NLRC affirmed the Labor Arbiter's findings that Tuppil, et al. and Borja, et al. are contractual employees and that they failed to prove the fact of dismissal. It reiterated that Tuppil, et al.'s resignation letters were voluntarily executed.[13] Unsuccessful at a reconsideration,[14] Tuppil, et al. and Borja, et al. filed a petition for certiorari before the Court of Appeals. In its Decision dated July 1, 2016, the CA affirmed the ruling of the NLRC,[15] thus:
1. DISMISSING the Complaint as against complainants Tuppil, Alentajan, Baterna, Bautista, De Leon, Flores, Mapa, Navarro, Pedro, Ramacula, Ramos, Reyes and Solis for lack of merit;
2. ORDERING complainants Borja, Espena, Hosan, Merced and Vasquez to report back to work but without the payment of backwages. It must be clarified, however, that this return-to-work order is NOT a reinstatement order contemplated under Article 279 of the Labor Code for the simple reason that there is NO findings of dismissal, much less illegal.
All other claims are dismissed for lack of merit.
SO ORDERED.[12]
In the instant case, the bets and the evidence do not establish a prima facie case that petitioners were dismissed from employment. As aptly found by the Labor Arbiter, no termination took place, instead, the petitioners' respective contractual employments merely lapsed as a result of Land Bank's decision not to renew its manpower services with LBPSC.Tuppil, et al. and Borja, et al. sought reconsideration but was denied.[17] Hence, this petition alleging that the CA committed serious error in the appreciation of evidence and that its decision has no factual and legal bases. Tuppil, et al. and Borja, et al. maintained that they are regular employees and were illegally dismissed.[18]
There is no dispute as to the fact that LBPSC is an independent contractor and petitioners were deployed to different Land Bank branches as janitors, messengers and utility workers. The contract they knowingly and voluntarily signed assigning them to various Land Bank branches fixed the duration of their respective employment and specifically noted that one of the causes for their recall or termination is "non-renewal or termination of [our] contract with the Client Company [where you are assigned]." Significantly, no allegations were made that petitioners were forced or pressured into affixing their signatures on the contract. There was also no evidence extant on records showing that petitioners were duped into signing the contract or forced to accept the conditions set forth therein.x x x x
With respect to the Tuppil group, just like the Borja group, the issuance of the notice of recall did not result to their termination from employment. What actually caused their severance from employment with LBPSC was their voluntary resignation from service. x x x
WHEREFORE, premises considered, the instant petition is DISMISSED. The May 31, 2015 Decision and the subsequent July 29, 2015 Resolution of the National Labor Relations Commission in NLRC LAC No. 03-000695-15 [and] NLRC NCR Case No. 07-09196-14 are hereby AFFIRMED.
SO ORDERED.[16]
1. The fixed period of employment was knowingly and voluntarily agreed upon by the parties without any force, duress, or improper pressure being brought to bear upon the employee and absent any other circumstances vitiating his consent; orHere, Tuppil, et al. and Borja, et al. were employed on a contract basis to meet the LBP Service's commitment to its client. At the time of their hiring, they were informed that their engagement was for a specific period. To be sure, their employment contracts expressly stipulated the duration of their services, to wit:
2. It satisfactorily appears that the employer and the employee dealt with each other on more or less equal terms with no moral dominance exercised by the former or the latter.
Causes for Recall or End of Employment/Termination - You should also understand and agree that your employment with us shall be considered ended/terminated or you may be the subject of a recall under any of the following conditions:Moreover, there was no evidence indicating that Tuppil, et al. and Borja, et al. were pressured into signing their fixed-term contracts or that LBP Service exhibited dominance over them. They had the chance to refuse but they consciously accepted their contracts. The periods and conditions stipulated in their contracts were likewise not intended to deny them from acquiring security of tenure. Inarguably, Tuppil, et al. and Borja, et al. are fixed-term employees. As such, the employment contract governs the relationship of the parties.Your voluntary resignation. x x xWhen your company of assignment no longer needs your services. LBPSC however shall keep your name in its roster of reserves for future referral and employment with other client company.[21] (Emphases Supplied)
x x x
Non-renewal or termination of our contract with the Client Company where you arc assigned.
Article 280 of the Labor Code does not proscribe or prohibit an employment contract with a fixed period provided the same is entered into by the parties, without any force, duress or improper pressure being brought to bear upon the employee and absent any other circumstance vitiating consent. It does not necessarily follow that where the duties of the employee consist of activities usually necessary or desirable in the usual business of the employer, the parties are forbidden from agreeing on a period of time for the performance of such activities. There is thus nothing essentially contradictory between a definite period of employment and the nature of the employee's duties. (Emphasis Supplied).Consequently, there was no illegal dismissal when Tuppil, et al. and Borja, et al.'s services were terminated after the contract between LBP Service and Land Bank expired. There was even no need for a notice of termination because they knew exactly when their contracts would end. Contracts of employment for a fixed period terminate on their own at the end of such period.[24] Notably, Tuppil, et al. and Borja, et al. can still be deployed to other clients. Yet, Tuppil, et al. opted not to wait for the reassignments and submitted their resignation letters. On this point, we quote with approval the Labor Arbiter's discussion as to the voluntariness of their resignation, thus:
Since they submitted resignation letters, it is incumbent upon complainants to prove that their resignation was, in fact, involuntary. In the case at bench, complainants failed to substantiate their bare allegations that their resignation[s] were involuntary. In fact, they even admitted during the mandatory conference on September 16, 2014 that they are already working for another manpower agency which in turn deployed them to Land Bank. The intention of Tuppil's group is clear: they resigned from LBPSC simply because they want to continue being deployed to Land Bank. Such overt act is a manifestation of their intention to sever their employment relationship with LBPSC. Indeed, the voluntariness of complainants' resignation is unmistakable. In their resignation letters, it can clearly be deduced that complainants' resignation[s] were moved by personal and professional reasons, wherein they even expressed gratitude to LBPSC with Ramacula specifically stating that he is transferring to LBPRDC, which is presumably the new manpower agency of Land Bank. Certainly, these statements of complainants cannot be construed as an indication that they were forced to resign from service. Moreover, complainants even gave thanks and wished LBPSC good luck in its endeavors. As correctly pointed out by [respondent], these expressions of gratitude could not have come from employees who were forced by their employer to resign from service.[25]Notably, Tuppil, et al.'s intention to leave their posts became more evident when they refused to accept LBP Service's offer to report back for work so they would be deployed to other clients.[26] Neither did the filing of a complaint for illegal dismissal suggest the involuntariness of their resignation since it did not include a prayer for reinstatement.