The heart has reasons unknown to the mind  

The Associate Justice of the Supreme Court who garnered in 1954 the grade of 96.7%, the unsurpassed highest rating in the Bar examinations in Philippine history, was an Ilonggo, Justice Florenz D. Regalado, who etched another lasting legacy in our law chronicles of best-written decisions, by writing that famous ruling in the celebrated case of Evelyn Chua-Qua vs. Hon. Jacobo Clave, GR 49549, on August 30, 1990.

Chua, a female teacher in Bacolod, eventually married her pupil and for that, she was dismissed by the school administration. She fought for her right and Regalado opened his decision with these words: "This would have been just another illegal dismissal case if not for the controversial and unique situation that the marriage of herein petitioner, then a classroom teacher, to her student who was fourteen years her junior, was considered by the school authorities as sufficient basis for terminating her services." Chua worked for a Chinese school for the rich in Bacolod City. She was the class adviser in Grade 6 and one of her students was Bobby Chua who later became her husband.

The school urged teachers to give remedial instructions to pupils who lagged behind in academics. Thus, Evelyn and Bobby always had sessions together after class. They fell in love. Before the present Family Code, it was valid for a 16-year-old boy to contract marriage with parental consent. Bobby's mom gave consent and the two were married by a judge in Bacolod. The school administration terminated her employment on the ground of "abusive and unethical conduct unbecoming of a dignified teacher, and his continued employment is inimical to the best interest to, and would downgrade the high moral values of the school." The Labor Arbiter ruled in favor of the school but the NLRC reversed the ruling.

The minister of Labor then reversed the NLRC. The Office of the President through then Executive Secretary Jacobo Clave reversed the minister of Labor, but reversed himself later, and ruled in favor of the school. It was brought to the Supreme Court which reversed Malacañang. Regalado ruled that there is no evidence that Evelyn committed immoral acts inside the campus. The school failed to show that any code of ethics had been violated.

Said the Court:" If the two eventually fell in love, despite the disparity in their ages and academic levels, lends substance to the truism that the heart has reasons of its own which reason itself does not know." This phrase had been repeated in many legal documents, position papers, appeals and other pleadings. This case was asked in the Bar exams a number of times. This became viral.

Regalado further wrote: "But definitely, yielding to this gentle and universal emotion is not to be so casually equated with immorality. The deviation of the circumstances of their marriage from the usual societal pattern cannot be considered as a defiance of contemporary social mores." Then, the court went on:" It would seem quite obvious that the avowed policy of the school in rearing and educating children is being unnecessarily bannered to justify the dismissal of petitioner. This policy, however, is not at odds with and should not be capitalized on, to defeat the security of tenure granted by the Constitution to labor."

No one should lose his or her job because of love, especially here, where love ended in marriage. Love indeed is the highest law of all, higher than any management policy or standards, higher even than the ruling of the Department of Labor and the judgment of the Office of the President. The school was ordered by the Supreme Court to pay huge sums of money in the form of backwages and separation pay. Evelyn and Bobby lived happily ever after. And this case emerges as one of the best labor cases ever decided by the highest court of the land.