G.R. No. 152833 & 154961 ; May 9, 2005
CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSION and THE MUNICIPALITY OF JASAAN, petitioners, vs. JOCELYN S. GENTALLAN, respondent.

FACTS

Jocelyn Gentallan was appointed as the permanent Local Civil Registrar of Jasaan, Misamis Oriental, in 1994, with her appointment approved by the Civil Service Commission Regional Office (CSCRO). However, the CSC Central Office later revoked her appointment, ruling she lacked the required three-year experience. Pursuant to this CSC resolution, Mayor Huberto Paurom reverted her to her former position. Gentallan challenged the CSC’s ruling before the Court of Appeals, which reversed the CSC and declared her qualified. This decision became final and executory in 1997.
Despite the final CA decision and subsequent directives from the CSCRO for her reinstatement, Mayor Paurom and the Municipality of Jasaan refused to reinstate Gentallan. She was compelled to file a mandamus case, leading to a compromise where she finally resumed her post in December 1998. She then claimed back salaries, Representation and Travel Allowance (RATA), and bonuses for the period of her unlawful exclusion. The CSCRO initially granted her claim, but the CSC Central Office reversed this, stating she was not illegally dismissed but merely lawfully reverted per its now-overturned resolution.

ISSUE

Whether respondent Jocelyn S. Gentallan is entitled to back salaries, RATA, and bonuses for the period she was unlawfully prevented from assuming her position as Local Civil Registrar.

RULING

Yes, Gentallan is entitled to full back wages and emoluments. The Supreme Court ruled that the final and executory decision of the Court of Appeals, which found her qualified and effectively nullified the CSC’s revocation of her appointment, rendered her removal from the position illegal. The Court emphasized that a reinstatement ordered as a consequence of a finding of illegal dismissal or unlawful exclusion necessarily carries with it the payment of back salaries and other benefits from the time compensation was withheld up to actual reinstatement. This is a settled doctrine; an employee ordered reinstated is considered as not having left their office and must be restored to all rights and privileges, including full back pay.
The Court rejected the petitioners’ arguments. It held that the Municipality of Jasaan’s refusal to comply with the final CA decision and the CSCRO’s reinstatement order made Gentallan’s exclusion from her office unlawful. The fact that the mayor initially acted on a CSC resolution did not legitimize the continued exclusion after that resolution was judicially annulled. The grant of back wages is not contingent on a finding of bad faith against the officials involved; it is a right that accrues to the illegally dismissed employee. The financial liability for the back salaries and benefits rightly falls upon the municipal government itself.