THE Supreme Court (SC) has denied the petition of the Monetary Board (MB) to grant its ex-officio members with allowances they already have from concurrent posts in government.
In a 10-page recent decision penned by Associate Justice Noel Tijam, the SC junked the petition of the policy-making body of Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas granting extraordinary and miscellaneous expenses (EME) for its ex-officio members.
The SC instead affirmed the notices of disallowance issued by the Commission on Audit (COA) in August 2010 and in August 2014 on EMEs received by Monetary Board member Peter Favila and former member Romulo Neri from 2007 to 2009.
The SC rejected the claim of the Monetary Board that the COA committed grave abuse of discretion and violated their constitutional right under the equal protection clause and instead affirmed the COA ruling that ex-officio members of the Monetary Board “shall not be entitled to additional EMEs other than that appropriate for him or her under the GAA [General Appropriations Act] as a Cabinet member.”
“In the absence of grave abuse of discretion, the factual findings of the COA, which are undoubtedly supported by the evidence on record, must be accorded great respect and finality. The COA, as a duly authorized agency to adjudicate money claims against government agencies and instrumentalities has acquired special knowledge and expertise in handling matters failing under its specialized jurisdiction,” the Court said.
The petition was filed by the seven-member Monetary Board under its former chairman and Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Amando M. Tetangco Jr., who retired earlier this month and was replaced by Nestor A. Espenilla Jr.
The SC ruling also held MB officials who approved of the EMEs liable under Republic Act 8791 (general banking law) that requires the “highest standards of integrity and performance”.
The Court also dismissed the defense of presumption of good faith by the Monetary Board members in approving the EMEs.
The Court anchored its decision on the GAA that limits the grant of EMEs; the September 1997 memorandum of COA for enforcement of Section 13, Article VII of the Constitution that prohibits double compensation in government service; and the irregularity of additional compensation to ex-officio members of bodies.
“Indeed, the petitioners-approving officers’ disregard of the aforementioned case laws, COA issuances and the Constitution cannot be deemed as a mere lapse consistent with the presumption of good faith,” the SC stressed.
The SC also specifically pointed to the liability of Favila, who argued that the COA ruling became final only in 2014 and should, therefore, not cover the EMEs he received in 2007 and 2008 when he was concurrent Monetary Boaard member and trade secretary.
“His liability arose from his receipt of the subject allowances in 2008, when he was ex-officio member of the board. Hence, good faith did not favor him only because he had failed to exercise the highest degree of responsibility, but also because as a cabinet member he was aware of the extent of the benefits he was entitled to,” the court said.
Favila has returned to the Monetary Board on the basis of his reappointment to the board by President Duterte last month.
Apart from Espenilla and Favila, the other current members of the Monetary Board are former Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp. President Valentin Araneta, former Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Felipe Medalla, former BSP Assistant Governor and General Counsel Juan de Zuñiga Jr., former Metrobank President Antonio Abacan Jr. and Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III.