Supreme Court Decisions, Bohol vs. Rosario - Justice Tuason.pdf · Rare Periodicals

Supreme Court Decisions, Bohol vs. Rosario - Justice Tuason.pdf

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extracted text: of P5,500.00. Suffice il lo say on lhis point that afteF the rejec- !I JACINTO R. BOHOL, PETITIONER VS. MAURO ROSARIO, AS PROVINCIAL AUDITOR 01'' S1lMAR, AND JOSE C. ORTEZA, 1lS PROVINCIAL TREASURER OF SAMAR, RESPONV£'NTS, G, R. NO. L-5057, JULY 31, 1953. tion by the petitioners of the valid tender made by the respondents, the latter filed the concsponding complaint in court accompanyini' the filing of the suit with the consignation of the money in court and alleging and mentioning said consignation in the complaint. Tl1is was sufficient notice to the petitioners of the consignation so that if they wanted to receive that money from the court 1 . SALARY LAW; OPINION OF THE SECRETARY OF FINANCE AS TO ITS APPLICATION AND ENFORCEMENT.The claim that the position of secretary to the provincial governor of a first class A 11rovince comes within Grades 1-8, inclusiw, ii; at best highly controversi&\. But 'gra.nting again, for \he purpose of this case, that by a very liberal interpretation petitfoner could qualify under any of these grades as well as Grades 12 to 15, the opinion of the Secretary of Finance, nevertheless, should be entitled to respect and preference in case of overlapping of grades and their defii1itions and of divergence of views, this official being the instrumentality charged with supervising thl'! allocation of salaries in local governments. He is to judge the kind and degree of ability, experience. training and other circumstances needed to discharge the duties of each position. in return for a reconvcyance of the property in question, they could have done so." Again, in Duiigao ,et al. v. Hoque, et. al., G. R. Nos. L-4140 and L-4141, decided on December 29, Ul51, this Court held: "How the second 11otice is to be effected is 11ot specified. The usual method is, when the consignation is followed by the filing of a suit, through service to the defendant of the summons accompanied by a copy of the complaint." The consignation being thus valid, Valenz.uela was released from any futther obligation regarding the repurchase price, and it consequently became the duty of the appellee to execute the necessary deed of reconveyance in favor of Valenzuela, now subrogatcd by Florencio H. Araullo. It is noteworthy that the amount deposited in court covered not only the repurchase price but also the rentals due up to the date of the consignation, plus the necessary expenses. Wherefore, the appealed judgment. is reversed and the appellee, J ose I. Bakani, is hereby ordered to execute, within ilinety days from the finality of this decision, the proper deed of reconveyance covering the properties herein im'oived, in favor of Florencio H. Araullo. So ordered without prnnouncement as to costs. Bengzo1i, 1'ua~wn, Montemayor, R eyes, J1tyo, Baitti:;ia. Anyclo, and Labrador, JJ, concur. PABLO, M., disidente: 2. ID: UNIF'OHMITY IN TH E EMOLUMENTS OF OFFICEHS.-It is a manifest policy of Congress that there be a central authority to establish uniformity in tl1e emoluments of office rs anll employees of equal ranks in the numerous provinces and other lo('a] entities. Determinatfon of the rates of compensation of ::;:ich officers and employees cannot be left to the will and discretion of each p1·ovincial board or city _or mur.icipal council if there is to be "standardization of salaries," "equal distribution uf funds for salary expenses among the different provinci9l offices," or security of "the financial solvency and stability of the pl'ovinYo opi110 que la decision <lei Juzga<lo de Primera Instancia 3. <lebe confirmarse, y no ordenar al demandado Bakani a oturgar la escritura de reventa sin rccibir 1iada, considerando buena y legitices,'' as provided by Executive Order No. 167, series of 1938. CONSTITUTION; LEGITIMATE EXERCISE OF THE POWER OF SUPERVISION VES'rED IN THE PRESIDENT.Classification through the President of government positions is a legislative prerogative, and the Prcsidl'!nt's designation b~· l'xecHtive order of his chief financial officer to see that the classification and the Sabixy Law are observed by local governments, is a legitimate exercii;e of the power of supervision vested in thP Chief Executive by Section 10(1), Art icle VII, of the Co11stitutim1. ' ma la consignacion verificada por Valenzuela en 31 de marzo de 1944 al presentar la demanda, L~ escriturn otorgada por las partes en G de mayo de 1938, decia que la recompra seria en la suma de P13,490.00 pesos filipinos, y no en papel moneda japonesa; al tiempo de otorgarse la escritura, a nadie se 0 le ocurria que vendrian los japoneses a ocupar las Islas; por lo tanto, cl demandado Bakani tiene derecho a exigi 1· que la recompra se haga con moneda filipina, y no con otra, de acuerdo con el articulo 1090 de\ Godigo Civil. En la escritura otorgada en 22 de mayo de 1!143 (Exh. R) no se est.ipulo sobre el precio de la l'ecompra, ni en su cantidad, ni en su calidad. El parrafo que enmendo la primera cscritu ra dice asi : "Que yo el VENDEDOR Y COMPHADOR A RETRO convenimos por el presente en que: C l.o) SE EXTIENDA EL PLAZO DEL REFERIDO RETRACTO A DIEZ (10) Ai\l"OS CONT ADOS DESDE EL MA YO 16, 1943; <2.o) SE HEDUZCA EL PAGO DEL CANON A P867.00 ANUAL J::N VEZ DE Pl,100.00; <3.o) P.ARA EL CASO DE QUE DENTRO DEL REFERIDO PLAZO DICHO VENDEDOR A RETRO NO P UDIERA RETRAER AUN LAS REFERIDAS FINCAS LA EXPRESA DA VE NTA A RETRO ADQUIRIRA BL CARACTER DE ABSOLUTA E JRREVOCA BLEMENTE CONSUMADA." No hubo novacion en cuan a la calidad <lei precio de recompra; solamente bubo novacion en cuanto al plazo de! rctracto. Puesto que la cantidad consignada no era la moneda con\'enida -pesos filipinos, sino papel moneda japonesa, - la consignacion entonces no es buena, no sc ha hecho de acuer<lo con la ley. PADILLA, J., dissenting: 1 dissent from the pronouncement that the Japanese military or war notes were legal tender and that tlie consignation of the repurchase price and stipulated annual rentals was valid, for the same reasons stated in my dissent in La Orden de P. Bencdictinos vs. Philippine Trust Company, 47 Off. Gaz. 28~4, 2897. That part of the judgment appealed from requiring the vendor's assignee to pay in the present currency the redemption price of the parcels of land sold under a pacto de ?"etro, together with the annual rentals due and unpaid, should be affirmed. Jrtcinto Bohol /o-r UJ!l1ell1rnt Snl. Grn. Pl'mp~yo Dia; and Solicitor Emiliu LU'11wntad for rc:;pundentu. DE C ISIO N TllA,ilON J., This was a proceeding for mandamus instituted iu the Court of First Instance of Samar against Mauro Rosario, as provinciul auditor, and Jose C. Orteza, a.s provincial treaSul'er, both of that JH"O\·ince. By order of the court the petition was amended by including the Secretary of Finance as pa.rty respondent. Upon tria! of th<' case, the application was denied, and the petitioner appealed. Petitioner Jacinto R. Rohol is Secretary tu the Provinci ~J Governor of S&mar. On July 1!J, 1!150, his sulary was raised from P3,120 to P3,600 a year "as an except ion al case under Section 256 of the Revised Administrative Code," and on July 20, the raise was approved by the provincial board by appropriate resolution. But the Secretary of Finance, acting on the annua.l budget of the province, disapproved the petitioner's promotion with this comment: "The standard rate of salary fixed by this Department for same position in a first class A province like Sanmr is P2,760 per annum. Howcn:r, n!! it appea.rs that the incumbent of t-his position is ali·eady receiving P3,120 per annum, this rate may be reduced to P2,7GU per annum, ouly upon vacancy of the position." On account of this disapproval, the provincial auditor refused to pass in audit, and the provincial treasurer to pay, the petitioner's voucher on the differential between the old and the new rates of compensation corresponding to the second half of July. Commonwealth Act No. 78, approved October 26, l!l3G, transfrrred to the Secretary of Finance the power and administrative supervision theretofore exercised by the Secretary of Intuior over the assessment of real property, appropriatiOn, and other financial affairs of provincial, municipal and city governments, and ovc1 · the offices of provincial, municipal and city treasurers and pro\•incial and city assessors. In pursuance of this Act'., Executive Order No. 167, series of 1938, wa.s promulgated designating "the Secretary of Finance as the agency of the National Govt:rnment for the supervi66 THE LAWYERS JOUHNAL February 28, 1954 ~ion and control of the financial Affairs of the provincial, city and municipal governments," and providing, among other matters, fo1; lhe submissirm to the said Secretary, through the Secretary of the Interior, of the local budgets which are "to contain the planti11a of fJersonncl.'' Petitioner contends that Hcpublic Act No. 528, approved on June 16, 1950, abrogated Executive Order No. 167 and that, moreover, that C'Xecutive order is unconstitutional in that. thereby the Chief Exccutivcf assumes cor.trol as well as supcn:ision of local gov('rr.ments, whereas by Section 10(1 J of Article VII of the Constitution tht::. President only has "gcncrnl supervision" over such governments. Republic Act No. 528 amended Section 2081 of the Revised Administrative Code so as to read as follows: "Section. 2081. Ei1111loym. "Jnl of subordinates.- The Provincial Board shall rix the number of assistants, deputies, clerks, and other enoployees for the va.rious branches of the provincial government and in accordance with the Salary Law to fix the rates of salary or wage they shall receive. "After their number and compensation shall have been thus determined, the Pl'Ovincial Governor shall, any provision of exist.. i11g law tu the contrar~· notwilhstaudi11g, appoint, upon recommendation of the chief provincial official concerned, all the sub0rdinate officers and cmployccs in the \'arious branches of the provi!1cial goYernment whose salaries, compensation or wages arc paid, wholly from Jll'Ovincial funds, in conformity \Vith the provisions of the Civil Service La\\·, except those whose appointments are now or may hereafter be vested in the Presidellt or 11ropcr Depa.t tment Head, teachers and other school employees and transient officials or employees who shall, as heretofore, be appointed by the proper chief uf provincial office with the appl'Oval of the Department Head concerned x x x" Assuming, without deciding, that this Act has superseded previous enactments and executive orders inconsistent therewith, yet, it will be 11oticed, the powers conferred ou local entities by the statute arc subject to the condition that they be exercised in accordance with the Salary Law and the Civil Service Law. Upon this assumption the question then arises, is pelitioner'3 new salary of f3,600 yearly in conformity to the Salary Law? No question is raised as to the i'"-titioner's civil service eligibility. Executive Order No. !.14, seric;; of 1947, •·reorganizing the different departme;its, bureaus, offices, and agencies of the liovernment oi the Republic of the Philippines, etc." and issued by virtue of Hqh.1blic Act No. 51, entitled "An act authorizing the President of the Philippines to reorganize within one year the different executive departments, bureaus, offices, agencies and other instrumentalities oi the Government, including the corporations owned or controlled by it," amended Commonwealth Act No. 402, The Salary Law, and classifies into 15 gra.dcs, with salaries ranging from f2,400 to 1'6,000 per an num, chiefs oi divisions, chiefs of sections, supervisory positions ancl positions of equal ranks, the rates of compensation being based un the natui·e of work performed, "latitude for the exercise of independent judgment," the importance and size of divisions or sections, ou the technical, professional and experience of the incumbents, and the like. Petitioner alleges in his petition that his position as secretary b the provincial governor "requires and imposes on him the exercise and performance of judgme~t and functions falling under Grade l wh ich p1·cscribes a salary of ro,ooo per annum." He stated in his memorandum in the court below that he is " the administrative head or chief of the Office of the Governor," "required to perform the administrative direction and with a very wide latitude for the exe1·cise of independent judgment." And in his brief filed in this instance the claim is made that he "supervises the 11ersonnel of such <Gov. ernor's) cffice an<l the 1n·ovinclal jail," "is also the head of the local and municipal divisions in Samar," and "ca.JTies out confidential measures required of him by the Governor." He says in addition that "he is a lawyer of Jong experience in practice.'' On the other side, it is asserted that the JH!lili':mer's position comes under Grade 13 for which the compensation authorized is P"J,760 per annum. The classification of positions by Executive Order No. !.14, series of 1947, Is loose and the demarcation lines between the grades quite indefinite. But it is fairly certain that, giving petitioner the full extent and benefit of his description of his job, the Secretary of Finance has not departed from the standard set by the schedules of salaries laid down in the executive order just mentioned, in placing petitioner's position within Grade 12-15. Actually, it has been seen, he is allowed the salary provided for Grade 11, which we believe calls for a latitude or independent judgment, technical training and experience, anti supervisory work and ability well above those demonstrated by tiw allegations. The claim that the position of secretary to the provincial governor of a first class A province comes within 1-8, inclusive, is at best highly controversial. But granting again, for the purpose of this case, that by a very liberal interpretation petitioner could qualify under any of these grades as well as Grades 12 to 15, the opinion of the Secretary of Finance, nevertheless, should be entitled to respect and preference in case of overlapping of grades and their definitions and of divergence of views, this official being the instrumentlity charged with supervising the allocation of salaries in local governments. He is to judge the kind and degree of ability, experience, training and other circumstances needed to discharge the duties of each position. It is a. manifest 1iolicy of Congress that there be a central authority lo establish uniformity in the emoluments of officers aud employees of equal ranks in the numerous provinces and other local entities. Determination of the rates of compensation of such officers and employees cannot be left to the will and discretion of each provincial boatd or city or municipal c:ouneil, if there is to be "standardization of salaries," "equal distribution of funds for salary expenses among the different provincial offices," 01· security of "the financial solvency and stability of the provinces," as pl'Ovided by Executive Order Nn. 167, series of 1938. F1'om the stu.ndpoint of the Constitution to which the petitioner would cast this case, we perceive no valid objection to the intervention by the Secretary of 1-~inance in the application and enforcement of the SaJary Law. Classification throug;1 the President of government 1•ositions is a legislative prel'Ogative, and the President's designation by executive m·de1· of his chief financia l officer to see that the classification and the Salary Law are observed by local governments, is a legitimate exercise of the power of supervision vested in the Chief Executive by Section 10 (IJ, Article VII, of the Constitution. Finding no reversible el'for in the dismissal of the proceeding by the court below, the appealed decision is hereby affirmed, with costs against appellant. Purus, Pablu, Po.dilla, Jllu1di:11w/f"'" Heyes, J11yo, Bautista Aityelo, and Lab'l" . .l(lor, J. J., concur. Ill M ~1HCNUNO BUSAC.'1.Y, 1-'LAJN1'Il'F AJ\!0 Al'JJJ::LLANT VS. A NTONIU f'. JJUt:NAVENTUJ:A. AS PHOVJNCIAL TREASUHl'R OF' PANGASINA."' & ALF'HE'1JU lltURAO, DEFENDANTS AND APJ'EJ,LEES, G. R. No. L-bS56, SEPTb'MBER 23, 1%3. PURLIC OFFICEHS; ' WHI..;N A POSITION MAY BE DEEMED ABOLISHED. - A was tl1e toll collector of a bridge which was destroyed by flood; hence he and two other toll collectors were laid off. When the bl'idge was 1·econstructed and reopened to triffic A notified the provincial treasurer of his intention and readiness to resume his duties as toll collector but the treasurer refused to reinstate or reappoint him. Held: ( J) The collapse of said bridge did not destroy but only suspended A's position; therefore, upon the bridge's 1·ehabilitation and rcoperation as a toll bridge A's right to the position was similarly and automatically restored. (2) To conside1· an office abolish~d there must have been an intentfon to do away with it wholly and permanently, as the word ''abolish" denotes. (3) The pusition of toll collector is temporary, tr2nsito1·y, or precarious univ in the sense that its life is co-extensive with that of the bri~lgc <IS a toll bridge. For that matter, all offices created by statutes arc more or less temporary, transitory or precarious in February 28, 1954 THE LAWYERS JOURNAL G9
Date: 1954
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