GR 103309; (November, 1992) (Digest)
G.R. No. 103309 November 27, 1992
BENITO M. BUSTAMANTE, petitioner, vs. COMMISSIONER ON AUDIT, and MARTHA ROXANA T. CABURIAN, respondents.
FACTS
Petitioner Benito M. Bustamante, the Regional Legal Counsel of the National Power Corporation (NPC) for the Northern Luzon Regional Center, was issued a government vehicle. Pursuant to NPC Board Resolution No. 81-95 and implementing Circular 81-11, which authorized the monthly reimbursement of transportation allowance, petitioner claimed and received a transportation allowance of P1,250.00 for January 1989. Respondent Regional Auditor Martha Roxana T. Caburian disallowed this claim via an Auditor’s Notice dated April 17, 1990. Petitioner’s motion for reconsideration was denied by the Regional Auditor, and his subsequent appeal to the Commission on Audit (COA) was denied due course by the COA’s Decision dated February 5, 1991. Petitioner filed this petition for certiorari to annul the COA’s decision.
ISSUE
Whether the denial by the Commission on Audit of due course to petitioner’s appeal constitutes grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack of jurisdiction.
RULING
No. The Supreme Court dismissed the petition for lack of merit. The Court held that the COA did not commit grave abuse of discretion. The COA’s disallowance was based on COA Circular No. 75-6, which prohibits officials furnished with transportation allowance from using government motor vehicles. The Court found this circular applicable to the NPC as a government-owned or controlled corporation. The Court ruled that the constitutional power and duty of the COA to examine, audit, and settle accounts, including the prevention of irregular or excessive expenditures, prevails over the NPC Board Resolution authorizing the allowance. The factual finding that petitioner was assigned a government vehicle was deemed conclusive. The use of a government vehicle and the receipt of a transportation allowance are mutually exclusive under the COA rules. Therefore, the COA’s decision was a valid exercise of its discretion and not arbitrary, capricious, or despotic.