Never should scales be so tilted if result would be injustice to employer
As against the substantial evidence presented by petitioner to show that private respondent failed to return his service firearm which constitutes a valid and just cause to dismiss the latter, it is not enough for private respondent to simply cast reasonable doubt upon the conclusion that the service firearm was not returned. Under such circumstances, private respondent needed to submit countervailing evidence so as to induce a reasonable mind to conclude that the service firearm was indeed returned. However, even as the records of the case at bench are bereft of such evidence, respondent commission, in total disregard of this very elementary rule in evidence, concluded that there was doubt that indeed private respondent did not return the gun at the end of his tour of duty. There may be cases where the circumstances warrant favoring labor over the interests of management but never should the scales be so tilted if the result would be injustice to the employer. Justitia nemini neganda est - Justice is to be denied to none (Philippine Geothermal, Inc. vs. NLRC, 236 SCRA 371 [1994]). [G.R. No. 124134. November 20, 1996]