VICENTE S. ALMARIO v.
PHILIPPINE AIRLINES
532 scra 614
Facts:
On October 21, 1988,
petitioner, Vicente S. Almario (Almario), was hired by respondent, Philippine
Airlines, Inc. (PAL), as a Boeing 747 Systems Engineer.On April 28, 1995, Almario, then about 39 years of age1 and a Boeing 737 (B-737) First Officer at PAL, successfully bid for the higher position of Airbus 300 (A-300) First Officer.2 Since said higher position required additional training, he underwent, at PAL’s expense, more than five months of training consisting of ground schooling in Manila and flight simulation in Melbourne, Australia.3
After completing the training course, Almario served as A-300 First Officer of PAL, but after eight months of service as such or on September 16, 1996, he tendered his resignation, for "personal reasons," effective October 15, 1996
Issue:
Whether
the Court of Appeals committed reversible error in holding that Article 22 of
the Civil Code can be applied to recover training costs which were never
agreed to nor included as reimbursable expenses under the Collective Bargaining
Agreement
Held:
No
Ratio:
Art. 22. Every person who through an act of
performance by another, or any other means, acquires or comes into possession
of something at the expense of the latter without just or legal ground, shall
return the same to him, applies.
This provision on unjust enrichment recognizes the
principle that one may not enrich himself at the expense of another. An
authority on Civil Law34 writes on the subject, viz:
Enrichment of the defendant consists in every
patrimonial, physical, or moral advantage, so long as it is appreciable in
money. It may consist of some positive pecuniary value incorporated into the
patrimony of the defendant, such as: (1) the enjoyment of a thing belonging to
the plaintiff; (2) the benefits from service rendered by the plaintiff to the
defendant; (3) the acquisition of a right, whether real or personal; (4) the
increase of value of property of the defendant; (5) the improvement of a right
of the defendant, such as the acquisition of a right of preference; (6) the
recognition of the existence of a right in the defendant; and (7) the
improvement of the conditions of life of the defendant.
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