Case Digest: GABRIEL S. CASAL et al. v. COMMISSION ON AUDIT 509 SCRA 138 (2006)

GABRIEL S. CASAL et al. v. COMMISSION ON AUDIT 509 SCRA 138 (2006)

The National Museum granted an incentive award to its officials and employees pursuant to Provision No. 8 of its Employees Suggestions and Incentive Awards System (ESIAS) approved by the Civil Service Commission. The Resident Auditor of the Commission on Audit at the National Museum subsequently inquired from the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) on whether it granted authority to the National Museum to use its savings from its appropriation for personal services to pay the subject incentive award. The DBM, through a letter, informed the Resident Auditor that it had not received any request for such authorization from the National Museum. The Resident Auditor thus disallowed the incentive award through Notice of Disallowance for being violative of Section 7 of Administrative Order No. 268 and Section 2 of A.O. No. 29 and also for lack of the requisite authorization from the DBM. Gabriel Casal appealed the disallowance to the COA. The appeal was denied by COA. Casal. in his capacity as Executive Director of the National Museum, filed the instant petition which prays for the issuance of a Temporary Restraining Order and Writ of Preliminary Injunction.

ISSUES:

Whether or not COA is at fault in ordering the officials and employees of the National Museum to refund the subject award or bonuses even the absence of any bad faith or malice on the part of the museum‘s workforce

HELD:

In a letter dated December 21, 1992 addressed to petitioner Casal, then CSC Chairman Patricia A. Sto. Tomas, replying to Casal‘s request for approval of the Museum‘s ESIAS, stated: This Commission, after a careful evaluation of the said ESIAS, hereby approves the same, provided that the grant of productivity incentive award under Section 9(e) (sic) thereof be made subject to the result of a comprehensive study being undertaken by the Office of the President in coordination with the CSC and the DBM on the matter, as embodied under Section 7 of the Administrative Order No. 268 dated February 21, 1992. The immediately quoted proviso, it bears emphasis, was annotated on the National Museum‘s ESIAS itself, just below the name and signature of Chairman Sto. Tomas signifying the CSC‘s approval of said document. When Casal and the approving officers authorized the subject award then, they disregarded a prohibition that was not only declared by the President through A.O. 268, but also brought to their attention by the CSC by a letter specifically addressed to Casal. The imprimatur given by the approving officers on such award certainly tended to give it a color of legality from the perspective of these employees. Being in good faith, they cannot, following Blaquera, be compelled to refund the benefits already granted to them.