G.R. No. L-27793 February 28, 1972
LETICIA CIPRIANO, petitioner, vs. GREGORIO P. MARCELINO and the HONORABLE RAFAEL DELA CRUZ, Presiding Judge of the Third Branch, Court of First Instance, Camarines Sur, respondents.

FACTS

Leticia Cipriano, a former record clerk in the municipal treasurer’s office of Calabanga, Camarines Sur, resigned on January 15, 1966. Upon her severance, respondent Municipal Treasurer Gregorio P. Marcelino refused to pay her accrued salary from September 1, 1965, and the cash commutation of her accumulated vacation and sick leaves, totaling P949. Cipriano filed a mandamus action in the Court of First Instance to compel payment.
The respondent treasurer moved to dismiss the complaint on the ground that Cipriano failed to exhaust administrative remedies, arguing she should have appealed the denial of her claim through the administrative hierarchy up to the President. The trial court granted the motion and dismissed the case. Cipriano’s motion for reconsideration was denied, prompting this petition for certiorari.

ISSUE

Whether the petitioner was required to exhaust all administrative remedies before resorting to judicial action for the collection of her salary and leave benefits.

RULING

The Supreme Court granted the petition, setting aside the trial court’s orders. The Court held that the doctrine of exhaustion of administrative remedies is not an absolute and inflexible rule. It may be disregarded when the available administrative remedy is not plain, speedy, and adequate, or when its rigid application would cause great and irreparable damage.
The legal logic is clear: to require a low-salaried government employee like Cipriano to pursue an appeal through multiple administrative levels, potentially up to the President, for a modest claim of P949, would be oppressive, unreasonable, and economically devastating. Such a protracted process defeats the purpose of providing a speedy and adequate remedy, as the employee and her dependents rely on the immediate receipt of earned compensation for subsistence. The Court emphasized that government employees often live hand-to-mouth, and delaying salary payment causes vital disaster.
Furthermore, the Court found that Cipriano had substantially complied with the pre-payment requirements outlined in the 1966 Manual on Pre-audit. Her resignation was duly accepted, she had no property or money accountability as per the treasurer’s own investigation, and a GSIS clearance was inapplicable as she was not a member. Thus, her right to payment had vested, and the treasurer’s duty to pay became ministerial. Mandamus was, therefore, the proper remedy to compel the performance of this clear legal duty. The municipal treasurer was ordered to pay Cipriano the sum of P949 without delay.