BOHOL WISDOM SCHOOL, DR. SIMPLICIO YAP, JR., AND RAUL H. DELOSO, PETITIONERS, VS. MIRAFLOR MABAO, RESPONDENT.
- G.R. Number: G.R. No. 252124
- Promulgated: 2024-07-23
- Ponente: ROSARIO, J.
Doctrine
## Facts of the Case Miraflor Mabao, a teacher at Bohol Wisdom School (BWS), informed her superiors that she was two months pregnant with her boyfriend's child. The following day, she was verbally suspended and told not to report to classes until she could present documents showing she was married. She later received a Disciplinary Form and a Letter stating she was indefinitely suspended without pay until she was legally married, citing pre-marital sex as immoral conduct. Mabao filed a complaint for illegal suspension and illegal dismissal with the National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC). BWS, Dr. Simplicio Yap, Jr., and Raul H. Deloso (petitioners) argued that Mabao admitted her violation, agreed to the suspension until she married, and refused to return to work despite being married and receiving return-to-work notices. The Labor Arbiter (LA) ruled in favor of Mabao, finding constructive dismissal. The NLRC reversed the LA, finding no constructive dismissal. The Court of Appeals (CA) affirmed no constructive dismissal but declared Mabao's suspension illegal, awarding her backwages, benefits, and attorney's fees, and holding that her employment ended on November 25, 2016, due to abandonment. Petitioners appealed to the Supreme Court, challenging the finding of illegal suspension. ## Issues 1. Was Mabao's suspension based on immoral conduct for engaging in premarital sex with her boyfriend illegal? 2. Did petitioners comply with procedural due process in suspending Mabao? 3. Did Mabao abandon her employment? ## Decision / Rationale **Issue 1:** The Court ruled that Mabao's suspension on the ground of immoral conduct for engaging in premarital sex with her boyfriend and getting pregnant was **illegal**. The Court reiterated that there is a standard of morality that binds all, which is **public and secular**, not religious. The Court has consistently held that premarital sexual relations resulting in pregnancy out of wedlock cannot be considered disgraceful or immoral when viewed against prevailing norms of conduct, especially when the parties have no legal impediment to marry. Mabao and her boyfriend had no legal impediment to marry, and their sexual relations were consensual, not proscribed by law, nor did it contravene any fundamental state policy. Thus, Mabao's conduct was not disgraceful or immoral within the contemplation of the law. **Issue 2:** The Court ruled that petitioners **failed to comply with procedural due process** in suspending Mabao. Petitioners admitted that they did not issue a notice to explain before suspending Mabao. The Court noted that the Administrative Team had already decided on Mabao's suspension even before including her in a meeting to discuss her situation. This demonstrates that petitioners had already decided on the disciplinary sanction before hearing her side, thereby failing to accord her due process. Suspension from work must be reasonable and based on due process, including notice and opportunity to be heard. **Issue 3:** The Court ruled that **Mabao abandoned her employment**, but this occurred on November 9, 2016, not November 25, 2016 as found by the CA. To constitute abandonment, there must be a failure to report for work without valid reason and a clear intention to sever the employer-employee relationship, manifested by an overt act. Mabao got married on October 5, 2016, the same day she filed her complaint, which meant her suspension should have ended. However, she never returned to work thereafter. Petitioners sent her three return-to-work notices, but she refused to receive them or did not return to work. Crucially, Mabao sent a letter dated November 9, 2016, stating, "I regret to inform you that I could no longer go back to work for the school." This letter, coupled with her failure to return to work and her prayers for separation pay in her complaint and position paper, unequivocally demonstrated her intention to sever her employment. Therefore, her employment ended on…
Keywords
illegal suspension, illegal dismissal, pre-marital sex, pregnancy out of wedlock, immorality, abandonment of work, procedural due process, substantive due process, Magna Carta for Women, teachers