CIRIACO C. DIAZ, IN HIS CAPACITY AS HEAD PARKS & GAME WARDEN, PETITIONER, VS. EUTIQUIO RAQUID, IN HIS CAPACITY AS AUDITOR, AUDITING UNIT NO. B-30, HON. AUDITOR GENERAL AND DIREC…

Original petition for mandamus
filed by Ciriaco C. Diaz to compel Entiquio Raquid, as Auditor of the
Auditing Unit No. 30-B for the Parks and Wildlife Office, and the Auditor
General, to pay him his salary as Head Parks and Game Warden, effective July 1,
1961, at the rate of P448.00 a month, and to declare him entitled to whatever
salary is fixed by law for said position, the provisions of Section 9, Republic
Act 2260 notwithstanding.

Upon the effectivity of the Government Reorganization Plan in July
1957, petitioner was appointed Head Parks and Game Warden (Division Chief) of
the Parks and Wildlife Office, Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources,
as evidenced by the Plantilla Appointment Form of the
staffing pattern of said office made pursuant to the provisions of Executive
Order No. 216, Series of 1956, and approved by the Secretary of Agriculture and
Natural Resources, the Commissioner of Civil Service, the Budget Commissioner
and the Executive Secretary. (Annex A attached to the petition). Said plantilla shows that the position of
Head Parks and Game Warden was classified
with a salary range of 40 and a staffing pattern salary of P1,920 per annum, and that at the time of petitioner’s
appointment to the position aforementioned, his civil service eligibility was
that of a “Ranger”.

Under the Appropriation Act
(Republic Act 2700) for the fiscal year 1960-61, petitioner’s position was
allocated by the WAPCO to the class of Head Parks and Game Warden, Range 45,
with an annual salary of P4,176.00 (Annex B of the petition). This was increased
further to P5,376.00 per annum for the fiscal year
1961-62 under Republic Act No. 3100.

On the other hand, Republic Act
No. 2260, otherwise Known as the New Civil Service Act, enacted, on
June 19,
1959
provides: “Section 9. Wage and Position Classification Office-The Wage and
Position Classification Office shall be responsible for the classification of
position in the Civil Service and shall standardize the salaries of the group or
groups of position so classified: Provided, that the
range of maximum and minimum salaries allowable for civil service eligibilities
shall be:

Eligibilities	(Minimum Maximum)
First Grade …………………..	P2,400	No limit
Second Grade ………………	1,800	P3,720
Third Grade …………………	1,440	2,400
Senior Stenographer ………….	2,400	No limit
Junior Stenographer ………….	1,800	3,720
Senior Typist …………………..	1,920	3,720
Junior Typist ……………………	1,560	2,400

 

It shall be transferred to the
Civil Service Commission as an integral agency of the Civil Service System by
executive order of the President upon the full implementation of the
classification and pay plans.” In a memorandum dated September 20, 1960 filed
with the Director of the Parks and Wildlife Office, the then Auditor of said
office, Mrs. Visitacion M. Morales, objected to the
full payment of petitioner’s salary as provided for under the Appropriation Act
for the fiscal year 1960-61 (P4,176.00 per annum) on the ground that petitioner
only possessed a second grade eligibility which, in accordance with the above
quoted section of Republic Act No. 2260, carried a maximum salary of P3,720.00
per annum, relying apparently upon a portion of Opinion No. 85, series of 1960
of the Secretary of Justice. Answering the same, the Director of Parks and
Wildlife explained that, under the aforementioned Opinion of the Secretary of
Justice petitioner was entitled to receive his full salary as provided for under
said appropriation act, because the provisions of Republic Act No. 2260,
particularly those of Section 9 thereof, had no retroactive effect upon those
whose positions-like petitioner’s-had been reclassified before its effectivity. As a result, Mrs. Morales allowed the full
payment of petitioner’s salary under Republic Act No. 2700, except for the
months of July and August, 1960.

Upon the effectivity of the Appropriation Act for the succeeding
fiscal year (1961-62), petitioner’s salary, as already stated before, was
increased to P5,876.00 per annum. This time, it was
respondent Eutiquio Raquid,
then Auditor for the office, who refused to authorize payment of petitioner’s
full salary under said act for the same reason as his predecessor in office.
Hence, the present petition.

Under the pertinent provisions of
Reorganization Plans Nos. 1-A and 2-A, upon the initial allocation of positions
to classes-as therein provided-any incumbent who holds a permanent appointment
and possesses any grade of civil service eligibility shall be deemed to be
appointed to that position and class in the same manner and with the same rights
as if he had qualified and had been appointed through competitive examination
(paragraph 4, Reorganization Plan No. 1-A). Accordingly, said incumbent would be
entitled to any salary adjustment the WAPCO plans allow. As already stated
heretofore, petitioner’s position was allocated by WAPCO to the class of Head
Parks and Game Warden, Range 45, with an annual salary of P4,176 for the fiscal
year 1960-61 (Republic Act 2700), which salary subsequently further increased to
P5,376 per annum the fiscal year 1961-62 (Republic Act
3100).

The issue to be decided now
therefore is whether Section 9 of Republic Act 2260 (Civil Service Act of 1959),
which fixes the range of the minimum and maximum salary allowable for different
civil service eligibilities, can adversely affect
petitioner.

It is our opinion that the
provisions of the law above-mentioned can not be given retroactive effect so as
to deprive petitioner of any portion of his compensation, because Section 47 of
Republic Act 2260 itself provides the rights or privileges fixed or acquired
under the Old Civil Service Law, rules and regulations prior to the effectivity of the act will remain in full force and effect
in the case at bar, there is no claim or pretense that the provisions of
Reorganization Plans Nos. 1-A and 2-A and the provisions of the Appropriation
Act for fiscal year 1960-61 (Republic Act 2700) in any manner contravene
provisions of the Old Civil Service Law. Neither is it denied that petitioner
was appointed to his position upon the effectivity and
operation of the Reorganization Pay Plan in the month of July 1957 and that said
position had been reclassified prior to the effectivity of Republic Act 2260. We deem it clear therefore
that petitioner, in the eyes of the law, was a permanent incumbent of that
position at the time when Republic Act 2260 was enacted in the month of June
1959, and, pursuant to the provisions of section 47 of said Act, section 9
thereof can not affect him adversely. Consequently, the provisions of the
Appropriation Act for 1960-61 fixing his annual salary at P4,171.00, which is
within the salary range 45 to which petitioner’s position was allocated by
WAPCO, control the matter of his salary.

WHEREFORE, the writ prayed for is granted,
and respondents are hereby ordered to pay petitioner’s salary as fixed in the
Appropriation Act for the year 1960-1961. Without
costs.

Bengzon, C. J., Bautista Angelo, Reyes,
J.B.L., Barrera, Regala, Bengzon, J.P. and Zaldivar, JJ., concur.