MERCURY DRUG CORPORATION V.

NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS COMMISSION177

SCRA 580FERNAN, CJ
FACTS1.Private respondent Ladisla was employed by petitioner Mercury Drug
Corporation asa Stock Analyst.
2.He had been with the company for at least two years when he was apprehended
bythe representatives of Mercury Drug while in the act of pilfering
company property.
3.Private respondent admitted his guilt to the investigating representatives of
petitionercompany and executed a handwritten admission.
4.Petitioner, while simultaneously placing private respondent on
preventivesuspension, filed before the Department of Labor an application for the
termination ofprivate respondent on the grounds of dishonesty and breach of trust.
5.Private respondent opposed the aforesaid application alleging, among others,
thathis suspension and proposed dismissal were unfounded and baseless and that
hewas not given the opportunity to be heard nor allowed to explain his side before
hewas summarily suspended.
6.Petitioner also filed a criminal case against private respondent for attempted
qualifiedtheft but the same was dismissed. Later, the case was re-filed with
the Regional TrialCourt and private respondent was convicted for the crime of
simple theft.
7.The Labor Arbiter rendered its decision sustaining the validity of private
respondentsdismissal and granting petitioners clearance but this was reversed by
the NationalLabor Relations Commission.
ISSUE
Whether or not petitioner company has reasonable ground to terminate the
employment ofprivate respondent Ladisla.
HELD
Dismissal of a dishonest employee is to the best interest not only of the
management butalso of labor. As a measure of self-protection against acts inimical
to its interest, a companyhas the right to dismiss its erring employees. An employer
cannot be compelled to continuein employment an employee guilty of acts inimical
to its interest, justifying loss of confidencein him. The law does not impose unjust
situations on either labor or management. Wetherefore find justification in the
termination of private respondent Ladislas employment bypetitioner Mercury
Drug Corporatio