G.R. No. 223244 - RHODELIA L. SAMBO AND LORYL J. AVILA, VS. COMMISSION ON AUDIT, REPRESENTED BY MA. GRACIA M. PULIDO TAN, CHAIRPERSON.DECISION - Supreme Court E-Library

Ruling

WHEREFORE , premises considered, the disallowance appealed from is LIFTED as to the amount of of P10,000.00 while the remaining amount of P84,913.15 is AFFIRMED WITH MODIFICATION in that the appellants are no longer required to refund the amount disallowed on the basis of good faith, consistent with the rulings of the Supreme Court in the cases of Ronnie H. Lumayna, et al., vs. Commission on Audit, Remedios T. Blanquera, et al. v. Hon. Angel C. Alcala, et al. and Home Development Mutual Fund v. COA. [13] Upon automatic review, [14] the COA Commission Proper rendered a Decision dated January 29, 2015 partly approving the said Decision No. 2010-C-005 of COA RO No. V: Thus, this Commission agrees with the decision of the RD of COA RO No. V dated May 13, 2010, lifting the disallowance on the PerB equivalent to the pro-rated amount to which employees were entitled to receive upon submission of a copy of their appointment approved by the CSC, to wit: x x x x However, the RD might have overlooked the name of Mr. Reinhard Arceo and included instead Ms. Meriam A. Borromeo in lifting the above disallowance. Hence, the above RD's Decision dated May 13, 2010 partially lifting the PerB is corrected as to Ms. Borromeo who shall be replaced by Mr. Arceo. On the other hand, the employees who were considered "probationary" but without the original appointment issued by the CSC were not entitled to the said benefits. Thus, the remaining disallowance in the total amount of P31 ,815.50 representing YEB (P6,815.50), PerB (P15,000.00) and PIB (P10,000.00) is proper. As to the propriety of the grant of medicine reimbursements, the ATL is correct in disallowing the same for lack of legal basis. x x x. [15] The decretal potion of the Decision reads: WHEREFORE , premises considered, Commission on Audit Regional Office No. V Decision No. 2010-C-005 dated May 13, 2010 is hereby PARTLY APPROVED . Accordingly, the disallowance on the Performance Bonus granted to the employees who were able to submit their appointments duly approved/attested to by the Civil Service Commission, in the amount of P10,000.00 is hereby LIFTED , with the name of Ms. Meriam A. Borromeo to be replaced by Mr. Reinhard Arceo. However, the disallowance of the Year-end bonus, remaining Performance Bonus and Productivity Incentive Bonus in the total amount of P31,815.50 and the Medicine Reimbursements in the amount of P53,097.65 is AFFIRMED . The officers who authorized/certified/approved the payment of the disallowed benefits shall be solidarily liable for the total disallowance, but the rank-and file employees who received the benefits in good faith need not refund the amount they each received . [16] A Motion for Reconsideration [17] dated May 11, 2015 was filed by petitioners and Atty. Renato Z. Enciso (one of the payees for the grant for medical reimbursement) but the same was denied in the Resolution dated October 15, 2015. [18] Hence, this petition, raising the following issues: THE RESPONDENT COMMI