SOFRONIO T. UNTALAN, PETITIONER AND APPELLANT, VS. HON. VICENTE G. GELLA, IN HIS CAPACITY AS TREASURER OF THE PHILIPPINES AND HON. PEDRO M. GIMENEZ, IN HIS CAPACITY AS AUDITOR G…

Sofronio T. Untalan was a commissioned officer in the service of the
Philippine Constabulary at the outbreak of the war on 8 December 1941.
On 10 March 1953, while still in the service of the Philippine
Constabulary, he was convicted by the Court of First Instance of Laguna
of the crime of malversation of public funds and sentenced to indemnify
the Government in the sum of P17,863.59. After the enactment of
Republic Act No. 897 on 20 June 1953, he filed a claim for back pay
with the Office of the Treasurer of the Philippines. After processing,
his claim was approved in the amount of P20,510.43 and the
corresponding certificate of indebtedness (No. 1681), redeemable in
thirty years, was issued by the Treasurer of the Philippines in his
favor. Later on, in view of the opinion of the Secretary of Justice
rendered on 27 September 1955 holding that officers and enlisted men of
the Armed Forces of the Philippines, who had been in the service of the
Government on 8 December 1941, were entitled to back pay under the
provisions of Republic Act No. 304, and the corresponding certificate
of indebtedness issued therefor was redeemable in ten years (op. No.
319, s, 1955, Annex A), he sought the conversion of his claim under the
provisions of the last mentioned Republic Act so that the certificate
of indebtedness previously issued to him may be redeemed in ten years.
After his claim had been processed by the Finance Office of the
Philippine Constabulary, it was found that he was entitled to the sum
of P15,199.58 as back pay from 1 January 1942 to 15 February 1945,
redeemable in ten years. On 8 November 1955 the Finance Office
forwarded his claim papers to the Treasurer of the Philippines for
appropriate action, with the information, however, that he had been
convicted of malversation of public funds and sentenced to indemnify
the Government in the sum of P17,863.59. On 7 December 1955 the
Treasurer of the Philippines indorsed the matter to the Auditor General
requesting authority to withhold payment of the claimant’s back
pursuant to the provisions of section 624 of the Revised Administrative
Code. On 27 March 1956 the Auditor General granted the request of the
Treasurer of the Philippines. The claimant appealed to the President.
The latter affirmed the decision of the Auditor General.

On 25 July 1957 the claimant filed a petition in the Court of First
Instance of Manila praying for a declaration that the authority granted
by the Auditor General to the Treasurer of the Philippines to withhold
the proceeds of his back pay under the provisions of Republic Act No.
304, as amended, is contrary to law and hence null and void, and for a
writ of mandamus to compel the, Treasurer of the Philippines to issue
to him (the petitioner) the back pay certificate of indebtedness and to
pay him the sum due him as partial redemptions, to which he claims to
be entitled under the provisions of Republic Act No. 304, as amended,
and the additional sum of P2,500 as attorney’s fees, the costs of the
suit, and for other just and equitable relief (Case No. 33214).

After issues had been joined, the parties had submitted the case for
judgment on the pleadings and filed their memoranda, on 4 December 1957
the Court entered an order denying the writ prayed for. The petitioner
has appealed.

The appellant claims that under section 5 of Republic Act No. 304,
the proceeds of his back pay could not be withheld by the appellees,
whereas the latter contend that under the provisions of section 624 of
the Revised Administrative Code, the proceeds of the appellant’s back
pay could be withheld to compensate his indebtedness to the Government.

There is no controversy as to the right of the appellant to his back
pay under and pursuant to the provisions of Republic Act No. 897. The
only dispute is whether such back pay to be acknowledged and attested
to by the Government in a certificate of indebtedness to be issued by
the respondent Treasurer as provided by law, may be withheld by the
said Treasurer to settle, compensate or pay fully or partially an
indebtedness or obligation owed to the Government by the officer or
employee entitled to such back pay.

Section 5 of Republic Act No. 304, in part provides that:

The salaries or wages or certificates of
indebtedness herein provided, shall be exempt from attachment or levy,
except for the payment of taxes or obligations for which the particular
officers or employees may be directly liable as provided in this Act. *
* *

The appellant contends that on 18 June 1948, the date of the
approval of Republic Act No. 304, he had no subsisting obligation for
which he may directly be liable to the Government, the judgment of
conviction for malversation of public funds and the indemnity to the
Government in the sum of P17,863.69 imposed upon him having been
rendered on 10 March 1953. The appellees claim that the appellant’s
indebtedness is an obligation “for which the particular officers or
employees may be directly liable as provided in this Act,” and that for
that reason his back pay may be withheld and applied in satisfaction of
his indebtedness.

The first proviso in section 2 of Republic Act No. 304, as amended by Republic Acts Nos. 800 and 897, is as follows:

* * * provided that the face value of such
certificate of indebtedness shall not exceed the amount that the
applicant may need for the payment of (1) obligations subsisting at the
time of the approval of this amendatory Act for which the applicant may
directly be liable to the Government or to any of its branches or
instrumentalities, or the corporations owned or controlled by the
Government, or to any citizen of the Philippines, or to any association
or corporation organized under the laws of the Philippines, who may be
willing to accept the same for such settlement: (2) his taxes, and (3)
government hospital bills of the applicants; * * * ^[1]

At the time the appellant applied for back pay under the provisions
of Republic Act No. 897, which took effect or was approved on 20 June
1953, he had a subsisting obligation to indemnify the Government in the
sum of P17,863.59 imposed upon him by final judgment rendered on 10
March 1953 by a competent court in a criminal case for malversation of
public funds.

The order appealed from is affirmed, with costs against the appellant.

Bengzon, Montemayor, Bautista Angelo, Labrador, Concepcion, Barrera, and Gutierrez David, JJ., concur.
Paras, C.J., took no part.

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^[1] See also section 5, Republic Act No. 897.