GR 112513; (August, 1997) (Digest)
G.R. No. 112513 August 21, 1997
EDGAR R. DEL CASTILLO, petitioner, vs. CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSION, PROFESSIONAL REGULATION COMMISSION and/or ASSOCIATE COMMISSIONER MARIANO A. MENDIETA, respondents.
FACTS
Petitioner Edgar R. Del Castillo, an employee of the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC), was preventively suspended and subsequently dismissed for grave misconduct. The Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) exonerated him and ordered his reinstatement, but its decision was silent on the payment of back salaries. The Civil Service Commission (CSC) reversed the MSPB and upheld the dismissal. On certiorari, the Supreme Court reversed the CSC and reinstated the MSPB decision, thereby exonerating Del Castillo. He was eventually reinstated but his claim for backwages was denied by the PRC, citing the Supreme Court’s and the MSPB’s silence on the matter.
Del Castillo thus filed a Motion for Clarificatory Relief with the Supreme Court, seeking a clarification on his entitlement to back salaries and benefits from the period of his preventive suspension until his actual reinstatement. The Civil Service Commission, in its comment, raised no objection and submitted the issue to the Court’s discretion, while the Solicitor General recommended granting the payment of backwages.
ISSUE
Whether an exonerated civil service employee, ordered reinstated after an illegal dismissal, is entitled to payment of back salaries and benefits for the period of his suspension and dismissal despite the reinstating order’s silence on such monetary award.
RULING
Yes. The Supreme Court granted the motion and ordered the payment of back salaries and benefits. The legal logic is anchored on the principle that an illegally dismissed civil servant, upon exoneration and reinstatement, is considered as not having left his office. This legal fiction entitles the employee to all rights and privileges accruing from the position, which inherently includes the right to back salaries for the period of forced separation. The Court clarified that the silence of the MSPB and the Supreme Court’s prior decision on back salaries does not negate this entitlement, as it is a necessary legal implication of the judgment ordering reinstatement after exoneration. The award of back salaries is a logical and necessary consequence of the finding of illegal dismissal, and such monetary claims are deemed included within the reinstatement order by operation of law. The Court cited established jurisprudence, including Cristobal v. Melchor and De Guzman v. Civil Service Commission, which uniformly hold that back salaries follow as a matter of right in such instances, limited to a maximum of five years. Therefore, Del Castillo is entitled to back salaries and benefits from August 1, 1990, until his reinstatement on July 17, 1995.