GR 110936; (February, 1994) (Digest)
G.R. No. 110936 . February 4, 1994
FRANCISCO A. TAN, JR., petitioner, vs. OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT, RENATO C. CORONA, In His Capacity as Assistant Secretary for Legal Affairs, Office of the President, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, COMMISSION ON AUDIT, and ANDRES R. MENGUITO, respondents.
FACTS
Petitioner Francisco A. Tan, Jr., a Fisheries Regional Director under the Ministry of Agriculture and Food (MAF), was dismissed from service on April 30, 1986, after being found guilty of grave misconduct, oppression, and violation of Civil Service laws in MAF Administrative Case No. 278. He appealed to the Civil Service Commission (CSC), which referred the case to the Office of the President (OP) because he was a Presidential appointee and a Career Executive Officer (CESO) with Rank IV. On July 30, 1990, the OP issued a Resolution exonerating Tan of all charges and ordering his reinstatement to his former or equivalent position in the Department of Agriculture. However, invoking the “no work, no pay” rule, the OP denied his claim for back salaries. Tan filed a partial motion for reconsideration seeking back salaries, which the OP denied in a Resolution dated January 12, 1993. Tan then filed this petition for certiorari, prohibition, and mandamus, alleging grave abuse of discretion by the OP and Renato C. Corona in denying his claim for back salaries.
ISSUE
Whether an illegally dismissed government employee who is exonerated and ordered reinstated is entitled to back salaries.
RULING
Yes. The petition is granted. The OP erred in relying on Section 42 of Presidential Decree No. 807 (the Civil Service Law) to deny back salaries, as that provision applies only to preventive suspensions during administrative investigations, not to dismissals where the employee is later exonerated. The established rule, beginning with Cristobal v. Melchor, is that an illegally dismissed government employee in the classified civil service is considered as not having left office upon reinstatement and is entitled to all rights and privileges, including back salaries. However, such back salaries are limited to a maximum period of five years, as held in San Luis v. Court of Appeals. The Solicitor General recommended granting the petition, noting that the public respondents (Department of Agriculture, Commission on Audit, and the Office of the President) had expressed concurrence or no objection to this recommendation. Accordingly, the Court ordered the payment of back salaries to Tan, limited to a maximum of five years.