CONTINENTAL CONTINENTAL MICRONESIA, INC. v. JOSEPH BASSO G.R. Nos. 178382-83, Septeme! 23, 2"1#
Facts: Petitioner Continental Micronesia, Inc. (CMI) is a foreign corporation organized and existing under the laws of and domiciled do miciled in the nited !tates of "merica (!). It is licensed to do #usiness in the Philippines. $asso, a ! citizen, resided in the Philippines prior prior to his death. Mr. $raden Managing %irector&"sia of Continental "irlines (Continental), offered $asso the position of 'eneral Manager of the Philippine $ranch of Continental. $asso accepted the offer. offer. It was not until much later that Mr. $raden, who had since returned to the !, sent $asso the emploment contract dated Fe#ruar *, *++*, * ++*, which Mr. $raden had alread signed. $asso then signed the emploment contract and returned it to Mr. $raden as instructed. CMI too o-er the Philippine operations of Continental, with $asso retaining his position as 'eneral Manager.$asso recei-ed a letter from Mr. !chulz, who was then CMIs /ice President of Mareting and !ales, informing $asso that he has agreed to wor in CMI as a consultant on an 0as needed #asis1 $asso wrote another letter addressed add ressed to Ms. 2oodward of CMIs 3uman 4esources %epartment in5uiring a#out the status of his emploment. Ms. 2oodward responded that pursuant to the emploment contract dated Fe#ruar *, *++*, $asso could #e terminated at will upon a thirt&da notice. Ms. 2oodward 2oodward also reminded $asso of the telephone con-ersation #etween him, Mr. !chulz and Ms. 2oodward 2oodward where the informed him of the compans decision to relie-e him as 'eneral Manager. CMI offered offered $asso a se-erance pa, in consideration consideration of the Php*,*67,777.77 Php*,*6 7,777.77 *8 housing ad-ance that CMI promised him. $asso filed a Complaint for Illegal %ismissal with Moral and 9xemplar %amages against CMI CMI filed a Motion on the ground of lac of urisdiction o-er the person of CMI and the su#ect matter of the contro-ers ;a#or "r#iter granted the Motion to %ismiss. "ppling the doctrine of lex loci contractus, the ;a#or "r#iter held that the terms and pro-isions of the emploment contract show that the parties did not intend to appl our ;a#or Code ;4C 49M">%9% the case to the ;a#or ;a#o r "r#iter "r#iter for the determination of certain facts to settle the issue on urisdiction. L$o! A!%te!&s R'(%)*+ ;a#or "r#iter dismissed the case for lac of o f merit and urisdiction.
loci contractus, the ;a#or "r#iter ruled that the parties did not intend to appl Philippine laws, thus: NLRC&s R'(%)*+ 4e-ersed and !et aside ;" ruling. It ruled that the ;a#or "r#iter ac5uired urisdiction o-er the case when CMI -oluntaril su#mitted to his offices urisdiction. =n the merits, the >;4C agreed with the ;a#or "r#iter that $asso was dismissed for ust and -alid causes on the ground of #reach of trust and loss of confidence.
Te Co'!t o Appe$(&s e/%s%o)+ %enied and %ismissed Continental?s petition.
'ranted $asso?s petition and declared the dismissal illegal. Iss'es+
*. 2hether or not the court of appeals erred in ruling that the la#or ar#iter and the nlrc had urisdiction to hear and tr the illegal dismissal case. @. 2hether or not the court of appeals erred in finding that #asso was not -alidl dismissed on the ground of loss of trust or confidence He(0+ *. No In Hasegawa v. Kitamura, we stated that in the udicial resolution of conflict&of&laws pro#lems, three consecuti-e phases are in-ol-ed: urisdiction, choice of law, and recognition and enforcement of udgments. In resol-ing the conflicts pro#lem, courts should as the following 5uestions: ". 0nder the law, do I ha-e urisdiction o-er the su#ect matter and the parties to this caseA .
$. 0If the answer is es, is this a con-enient forum to the parties, in light of the factsA C. 0If the answer is es, what is the conflicts rule for this particular pro#lemA %. 0If the conflicts rule points to a foreign law, has said law #een properl pleaded and pro-ed # the one in-oing itA 9. 0If so, is the application or enforcement of the foreign law in the forum one of the #asic exceptions to the application of foreign lawA In short, is there an strong polic or -ital interest of the forum that is at stae in this case and which should preclude the application of foreign lawA ". ;4C ha-e urisdiction o-er the su#ect matter of the case. "s regards urisdiction o-er the parties,
we agree with the Court of "ppeals that the ;a#or "r#iter ac5uired urisdiction o-er the person of $asso, notwithstanding his citizenship, when he filed his complaint against CMI. =n the other hand, urisdiction o-er the person of CMI was ac5uired through the coerci-e process of ser-ice of summons. 2e note that CMI ne-er denied that it was ser-ed with summons
B. nder the doctrine of forum non conveniens, a Philippine court in a conflict&of&laws case
ma assume urisdiction if it chooses to do so, pro-ided, that the following re5uisites are met: (*) that the Philippine Court is one to which the parties ma con-enientl resort to (@) that the Philippine Court is in a position to mae an intelligent decision as to the law and the facts and (8) that the Philippine Court has or is liel to ha-e power to enforce its decision.6D "ll these re5uisites are present here. $asso ma con-enientl resort to our la#or tri#unals as he and CMI lad phsical presence in the Philippines during the duration of the trial. CMI has a Philippine #ranch, while $asso, #efore his death, was residing here.
conflict rules is the indication of a 0test0 or 0connecting factor0 or 0point of contact0. Choice&of&law rules in-aria#l consist of a factual relationship (such as propert right, contract claim) and a connecting fact or point of contact, such as the situs of the res, the place of cele#ration, the place of performance, or the place of wrongdoing. Pursuant to Saudi Arabian Airlines, we hold that the 0test factors,0 0points of contact0 or 0connecting factors0 in this case are the following: (*)
wor.
esta#lished facts and e-idence sufficient to warrant dismissal from emploment. 2hile proof #eond reasona#le dou#t is not re5uired to esta#lish loss of trust and confidence, su#stantial e-idence is re5uired and on the emploer rests the #urden to esta#lish it.
Note+ A/ts $((e*e0 t$t !es'(te0 to (oss o t!'st $)0 /o)%0e)/e. CMI $((e*es t$t B$sso /omm%tte0 te o((o%)*+
(*) $asso delegated too much responsi#ilit to the 'eneral !ales "gent and relied hea-il on its udgments. (@) $asso excessi-el issued promotional ticets to his friends who had no direct #usiness with CMI. (8)
