A.M. No. 92-5-009-CTA December 21, 1992
RE: REQUEST OF FORMER PRESIDING JUDGE ALEX Z. REYES OF THE COURT OF TAX APPEALS FOR THE INCLUSION OF HIS LEAVE CREDITS FROM THE OFFICE OF THE ARMED FORCES AND THE EXCLUSION OF SATURDAYS, SUNDAYS AND HOLIDAYS IN THE COMPUTATION OF HIS TERMINAL LEAVE AS PRESIDING JUDGE OF THE COURT OF TAX APPEALS FOR PURPOSES OF RETIREMENT.

FACTS

Former Presiding Judge Alex Z. Reyes of the Court of Tax Appeals requested a reconsideration and recomputation of his accumulated vacation and sick leave credits upon his compulsory retirement on November 24, 1991. He specifically requested: (1) the inclusion of 57.625 days each of vacation and sick leave earned during his service with the Armed Forces of the Philippines from 1941 to 1946; and (2) the exclusion of Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays from his total accredited leaves of 322 days earned while with the Department of Finance from February 17, 1954, to July 19, 1980. The Supreme Court Administrative Office initially denied the inclusion of his AFP leave credits, applying a 1957 Bureau of Civil Service indorsement that disallowed transfer of leave credits when there is a gap in service (Judge Reyes had a seven-year gap from December 1946 to February 1954). Judge Reyes cited Memorandum Circular No. 54 of the Office of the President dated March 24, 1988, which allows commutation of all leave credits exclusive of Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays without limitation and regardless of when earned, provided the officer/employee was in service as of January 9, 1986.

ISSUE

Whether Memorandum Circular No. 54, which provides for commutation of all leave credits “without limitation and regardless of the period when the credits were earned” and exclusive of Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays, is applicable to members of the judiciary, notwithstanding the existence of special laws on leave for judges.

RULING

The Court GRANTED Judge Reyes’s requests. It held that Memorandum Circular No. 54 supersedes the 1957 Bureau of Civil Service indorsement. The Circular applies to government officers and employees “not otherwise covered by special law.” After examining the relevant statutes (R.A. No. 3086 for municipal judges and R.A. No. 4307 for judges of first instance), the Court found that while there are special laws governing certain aspects of judges’ leaves, there is no special law that specifically governs the commutation of leave credits or the exclusion of Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays in such computation. Absent such a special law and any promulgated implementing rules by the judiciary on these specific points, the general provision of Memorandum Circular No. 54 must apply. The Court emphasized the constitutional principle of maintaining the independence of the judiciary and avoiding discrimination against judges in the interpretation of statutes governing retirement benefits. However, applying practical considerations and to prevent open-ended claims, the Court declared that the benefits under Memorandum Circular No. 54 shall apply to members of the judiciary who retired or shall retire on or after March 24, 1988, the date of the Circular. Consequently, Judge Reyes’s AFP leave credits were to be included, and Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays were to be excluded in the computation of his terminal leave.