VIRGINIA SECRETARIO, PETITIONER, VS. NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS COMMISSION AND NORTH LUZON MAHOGANY EXPORTERS, INC., RESPONDENTS.

This petition for certiorari seeks to annul the resolution
dated January 29, 1986 of public respondent National Labor Relations Commission
(NLRC) dismissing the appeal of petitioner Virginia Secretario from the
decision dated February 6, 1985 of the NLRC Regional Arbitration Branch No. II,
Tuguegarao, Cagayan for being filed out of time.

The facts are as follows: Petitioner’s husband, Desiderio Secretario, was employed by private
respondent North Luzon Mahogany Exporters, Inc. (North Luzon, for brevity) as foreman of the company’s concession
guard.

On October 21, 1982, Secretario was with a team of company employees on their way to
North Luzon’s logging area at Mamit, Sta. Teresita, Cagayan, when the team
encountered a group of five (5) unidentified armed men. The group handed a letter addressed to North
Luzon’s management to Secretario, who refused to accept it. The team proceeded to the logging area,
leaving behind, Secretario, who was talking with the armed men. Secretario did not follow the team to the
logging area; neither did he show up at North Luzon’s offices at Lallo,
Cagayan, nor did he return to his home. When the team failed to find Secretario, his disappearance was reported
to the police. The search for
Secretario proved futile.^[1]

North Luzon gave petitioner P3,000.00 and promised to hire
her daughter. The promise was not
fulfilled, and the company stopped paying Secretario’s Social Security System
premiums.^[2]

On June 7, 1984, petitioner filed a complaint against North Luzon
with the NLRC Regional Arbitration Branch No. II, in Tuguegarao, Cagayan,
praying that her husband’s separation pay, holiday and incentive pay be paid to
her.

On February 6, 1985, after the parties had submitted their
respective position papers, the labor arbiter rendered his decision dismissing
the complaint for insufficiency of evidence.

The aforementioned decision was received by petitioner on
February 12, 1985.^[3]
On February 18, 1985, petitioner filed by registered mail her memorandum of
appeal and paid the corresponding docket fee, which was received by the NLRC on
February 25, 1985.^[4]

On January 29, 1986, the NLRC issued the questioned resolution
dismissing the appeal on the ground that the same was filed beyond the ten (10)
calendar day period prescribed by the rules for perfecting an appeal to the NLRC. When her motion for reconsideration was
denied by the NLRC on July 24, 1986 for lack of merit, petitioner filed the
instant petition for certiorari and mandamus.

Petitioner argued that her appeal was filed on time since it was
sent by registered mail on February 18, 1985, just six (6) days after receiving
the adverse decision.

We agree. Section 1, Rule
13 of the Rules of Court provides that where the filing of pleadings,
appearances, motions, notices, orders and other papers with the court are made by
sending them by registered mail, the date of mailing as shown by the post
office stamp on the envelope or the registry receipt shall be considered as the
date of filing.

As observed by the Solicitor General, records clearly show that
registry receipt and the post office stamp on the mailing envelope unerringly
indicate that the filing fee and memorandum of appeal were sent by registered
mail on February 18, 1985, and therefore filed on said date. Since petitioner received the questioned
decision on February 12, 1985, her appeal therefrom was timely filed.

Respondent NLRC contended that petitioner should have attached
the registry receipt to the memorandum of appeal to show the date of
filing. We find this contention devoid
of merit. There is no need to attach
the registry receipt to the memorandum of appeal inasmuch as the mailing
envelope thereof was part of the records of the case. As mentioned earlier, one of the ways of determining the date of
mailing is the post office date stamped on the envelope, which in this case was
February 18, 1985.

WHEREFORE, the
petition for certiorari and mandamus is hereby GRANTED. The Resolutions of the National Labor
Relations Commission dated January 29, 1986 and July 24, 1986 are annulled and
set aside. Respondent Commission is
ordered to give due course to appeal of the petitioner and to decide the same
on the merits. No costs.

SO ORDERED.

Narvasa, C.J., (Chairman), Padilla, and Regalado, JJ., concur.

^[1]
Solicitor General’s Manifestation and Motion in Lieu of Comment, pp. 1-2.

^[2]
Id., p. 2.

^[3]
Id., p. 3.

^[4]
Id., citing Records, pp. 25-35, 48-50.