THE Supreme Court has upheld the dismissal of a bus driver for gross and habitual neglect of duty after being involved in multiple road accidents.
In an en banc decision promulgated last August 20 but only made public last November 19, the High Court, through Associate Justice Henri Jean Paul Inting, ruled that Marcelino Lingganay was validly dismissed by his employer, Del Monte Land Transport Bus Company, Inc. (DLTBCo.).
Court records showed that in 2013 while driving a company bus in Quezon, Lingganay was involved in an accident with a pedestrian that the bus firm settled out of court.
In 2016, he again figured in another accident when the bus he was driving hit the rear portion of a motorcycle, causing physical injuries to its driver.
The next year, while driving on the San Juanico Bridge in Samar, he hit another car, causing extensive damage to the vehicle. DLTBCo. paid the car owner P99,000 in damages.
This prompted the bus firm to dismiss Lingganay for violating the company’s rules against reckless driving and gross negligence resulting in injuries and property damage.
Lingganay challenged the dismissal, but the Labor Arbiter, the National Labor Relations Commission, and the Court of Appeals upheld his termination.
Lingganay elevated the case to the SC by filing a petition for review on certiorari.
In denying his petition, the SC found that Lingganay was habitually negligent in his duties as a passenger bus driver and violated his company’s policy with his repeated reckless driving which endangered the lives of his passengers and pedestrians.
“Records show that respondents validly terminated Lingganay from employment for transgressing the company rules and regulations on health and safety and for his gross and habitual neglect of his duties under Article 297 (b) of the Labor Code,” the SC explained.
“Indubitably, the past infractions of Lingganay not only repeatedly endangered the properties, safety or lives of his passengers, the pedestrian and the riding public, they likewise exposed respondents to various liabilities,” the SC added.
