G.R. No. L-17323 June 23, 1965
CLAUDIO GABUTAS, petitioner-appellant, vs. GUIDO D. CASTELLANES, in his capacity as Municipal Mayor of Calatrava, Negros Occidental, respondent-appellee.

FACTS

Claudio Gabutas was given a temporary appointment as a member of the Municipal Police Force of Calatrava, Negros Occidental on May 2, 1951. On May 10, 1955, he was suspended from service due to the filing of Criminal Cases Nos. 4536 and 4537 against him. During his suspension on June 1, 1955, he received a promotional appointment retroactive to July 1, 1954, at a rate of P780.00 per annum. On September 12, 1957, while the criminal cases were still pending, Mayor Guido D. Castellanes notified Gabutas of his separation from the service effective September 15, 1957. Gabutas was acquitted of the criminal charges on September 27, 1957. After the mayor refused to reinstate him and pay his back salary from May 10, 1955, to September 15, 1957, Gabutas filed a petition for Mandamus. The Court of First Instance of Negros Occidental dismissed his petition, prompting this appeal where Gabutas now seeks only the recovery of his back salaries for the suspension period, invoking Section 4 of Republic Act No. 557.

ISSUE

Whether Claudio Gabutas, a temporarily appointed member of the municipal police who was suspended due to criminal charges and later acquitted, is entitled to payment of his entire salary for the period of his suspension under Section 4 of Republic Act No. 557, despite his temporary appointment and subsequent separation from service.

RULING

Yes. The Supreme Court reversed the lower court’s decision. It held that Section 4 of Republic Act No. 557, which entitles an acquitted police member to payment of the entire salary failed to be received during suspension, does not require civil service eligibility or a permanent appointment as a condition. The law’s sole condition for entitlement is acquittal, which was fulfilled in Gabutas’s case. His right to back salary is not extinguished by his subsequent separation from service or his abandonment of a claim for reinstatement. The period for back salary entitlement runs from the date of suspension (May 10, 1955) to the date of his final separation from office (September 15, 1957). Mandamus is a proper remedy to enforce this clear legal right against the municipal mayor in his official capacity, making the Municipality of Calatrava, Negros Occidental, the real party bound to pay. The Court ordered the Municipality to pay Gabutas his entire salary for the stated period at the rate of P780.00 per annum.