CHUA QUA vs. CLAVE G.R. No.

. L-49549 August 30, 1990 FACTS OF THE CASE: The case was about an affair and marriage of 30 years old teacher Evelyn Chua in Tay Tung High School in Bacolod City to her 16 years old student. The petitioner teacher was suspended without pay and was terminated of his employment for Abusive and Unethical Conduct Unbecoming of a Dignified School Teacher which was filed by a public respondent as a clearance for termination. ISSUE: Was her dismissal valid? Whether or not there is substantial evidence to prove that the antecedent facts which culminated in the marriage between petitioner and her student constitute immorality and or grave misconduct? SUPREME COURT RULING: The Supreme Court declared the dismissal illegal saying: If the two eventually fell in love despite the disparity in their ages and academic level, this only leads to the truism that the heart has reason of its own which reason does not know. Finding that there is no substantial evidence of the imputed immoral acts, it follows that the alleged violation of Code of Ethics governing school teachers would have no basis. Private respondent utterly failed to show that petitioner took advantage of her position to court her student. The deviation of the circumstances of their marriage from the usual societal pattern cannot be considered as a defiance of contemporary social mores.