ALMODIEL V NLRC  Department headed by Danny Ang Tan Chai, a resident alien without any working

GR NO. 100641 | JUNE 14, 1993 |Nocon, J. permit from DOLE. Almodiel insisted that granting his position was redundant, he
should have been assigned as Finance Head instead of Chai as he was more
PETITONERS: Farle P. Almodiel experienced and is a natural born Filipino.
RESPONDENTS: National Labor Relations Commission and Raytheon Phils., Inc  Raytheon, however, said Almodiel’s functions were not absorbed by the Chai’s
department as the two departments were completely different.
SUMMARY
Almodiel, an accountant, is assailing the validity of his termination from Raytheon Phils.  Labor Arbiter: Ruled in favor of petitioner and ordered Raytheon to pay Almodiel
Inc. due to redundancy. He filed a case for illegal dismissal against Raytheon. Almodiel P200,000 as moral damages and P20,000 as exemplary damages
imputed bad faith on Raytheon alleging his position was absorbed by a resident alien,  NLRC: reversed LA’s ruling and directed Raytheon to pay Almodiel P100,000 as
Danny Chai, who was less qualified than he was. The Court, however, dismissed the separation pay.
complaint as Raytheon was able to prove that it has served a written notice to Almodiel
a month before the termination as required by Art. 283 of the Labor Code. The Court ISSUES: WON Almodiel was illegally dismissed.
also noted that Raytheon merely exercised its business discretion when it chose to RULING: NO
terminate Almodiel. Lastly, Chai is not covered by Article 40 of the Labor Code as it only  Article 283 of the Labor code provides that a laborer terminated for redundancy
applies to non-resident aliens. Thus, he does not need a working permit. should be given a written notice one (1) month before termination. There is no
dispute that petitioner was duly advised, a month before, of his termination on the
PROVISIONS ground of redundancy in a written notice by his immediate superior, Mrs.
Art. 40, LC Magdalena Lopez. Almodiel was also given a check for P54,863 as separation but
Any alien seeking admission to the Philippines for employment purposes and any he refused to accept it so it was sent thru mail. The DOLE was served a copy of the
domestic or foreign employer who desires to engage an alien for employment in the notice.
Philippines shall obtain an employment permit from the Department of Labor.  There was also no bad faith on the part of Raytheon as it merely exercised its wise
discretion when it deemed petitioner’s position to be redundant and in excess of
DOCTRINE what is reasonably demanded by the actual requirements of the enterprise —
 Article 40 of the Labor Code which requires employment permit refers to non- wisdom which is beyond the review of the LA and the NLRC.
resident aliens.
 An objection founded on the ground that one has better credentials over the  Also, considering that petitioner held a managerial position, Raytheon had a
appointee is frowned upon so long as the latter possesses the minimum much wider discretion in terminating the employment relationship as officers in
qualifications for the position such key positions perform functions which require the employer’s full trust.
 The determination of the qualification and fitness of workers for hiring and  Lastly, it cannot be said that Raytheon acted with malice when it hired Chai, a
firing, promotion or reassignment are exclusive prerogatives of management resident alien without a working permit. Although Art. 40 of the Labor Code requires
working permits for aliens, this only applies to non-residents. As such, Art. 40 does
FACTS: not apply.
 Oct.1987: Almodiel, a certified public accountant, was hired as Cost Accounting
Manager of respondent Raytheon Philippines, Inc. through a reputable placement DISPOSITIVE: WHEREFORE, the petition for certiorari is hereby DISMISSED for lack of merit.
firm, John Clements Consultants, Inc. with a starting monthly salary of P18,000.00. SO ORDERED.
 He left his lucrative job as accounts executive in Integrated Microelectronics Inc.
for Raytheon’s promise. Almodiel started as a probationary or temporary
employee and was in charge of 1) planning out inventories 2) formulating
cost/pricing analysis and 3) setting up the written Cost Accounting System.
o After a few months, he was given a regularization increase of
P1,600/month; later, his salary was increased to P21,600/month
 August 17, 1988- Almodiel submitted a Cost Accounting/Finance Reorganization
plan affecting the whole finance group but this was disapproved. The
management assured Almodiel though that he will be notified three years
beforehand should his one-man department become untenable.
 The standard cost-accounting system was installed and used at the Raytheon
plants and subsidiaries worldwide, incl. PH.
 January 27, 1989: Almodiel was informed that his position would be abolished due
to redundancy. He pleaded with management to defer its action or to assign him
to a different department but this was denied.
 Almodiel claimed Raytheon acted in bad faith as his functions were absorbed by
the MIS/Finance