Article 279 of the Labor Code of the Philippines provides that “(i)n cases of regular employment, the employer shall not terminate the services of an employee except for a just cause or when authorized by this Title. x x x” The just causes are enumerated in Article 282, which provides:
Article 282. Termination by employer. - An employer may terminate an employment for any of the following causes:
(a) Serious misconduct or willful disobedience by the employee of the lawful orders of his employer or representative in connection with his work;
(b) Gross and habitual neglect by the employee of his duties;
(c) Fraud or willful breach by the employee of the trust reposed in him by his employer or duly authorized representative;
(d) Commission of a crime or offense by the employee against the person of his employer or any immediate member of his family or his duly authorized representative; and
(e) Other causes analogous to the foregoing.
The requirement for a just cause was satisfied in this case. We note that the petitioner's employment was terminated by the herein respondents for violation of Section 7, par. 3 of Meralco's Company Code on Employee Discipline, and for the existence of just cause under Article 282 (a), (c), (d) and (e) of the Labor Code.
The petitioner's violation of the company rules was evident. While he denies any involvement in the installation of the shunting wires which Meralco discovered, it is significant that said SIN 708668501 is registered under his name, and its meter base is situated within the premises of his property. Said meter registered electric consumption during the time his electric service was officially disconnected by Meralco. It was the petitioner and his family who could have benefited from the illegal connection, being the residents of the area covered by the service. His claim that he failed to know or even notice the shunted wires fails to persuade as we consider the meter located in the front of his house, the nature of his work as branch field representative, his long-time employment with Meralco and his familiarity with illegal connections of this kind.
The logical conclusion that may be deduced from these attending circumstances is that the petitioner was a party, or at the very least, one who agreed to the installation of the shunted wires, and who also benefited from the illegal connection at the expense of his employer-company. In sustaining the CA's findings, we consider the rule that in administrative and quasi-judicial proceedings, as in proceedings before the NLRC which had original jurisdiction over the complaint for illegal dismissal, the quantum of proof necessary is substantial evidence or such relevant evidence as a reasonable mind may accept as adequate to support a conclusion.21
Significantly, “(t)ampering with electric meters or metering installations of the Company or the installation of any device, with the purpose of defrauding the Company” is classified as an act of dishonesty from Meralco employees, expressly prohibited under company rules. It is reasonable that its commission is classified as a severe act of dishonesty, punishable by dismissal even on its first commission, given the nature and gravity of the offense and the fact that it is a grave wrong directed against their employer.
To reiterate, Article 282 (a) provides that an employer may terminate an employment because of an employee's serious misconduct, a cause that was present in this case in view of the petitioner's violation of his employer's code of conduct. Misconduct is defined as the “transgression of some established and definite rule of action, a forbidden act, a dereliction of duty, willful in character, and implies wrongful intent and not mere error in judgment.” For serious misconduct to justify dismissal, the following requisites must be present: (a) it must be serious; (b) it must relate to the performance of the employee's duties; and (c) it must show that the employee has become unfit to continue working for the employer.22
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