G.R. No. 24672. August 12, 1966
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES, PETITIONER, VS. MODESTO R. RAMOLETE IN HIS CAPACITY AS JUDGE OF THE COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE OF CEBU AND QUIRICO DEL MAR, RESPONDENTS.
RUIZ CASTRO, J.:
Republic of the Philippines against Modesto R. Ramolete, in his
capacity as Judge of the Court of First Instance of Cebu City, Branch
V, and Quirico Del Mar, “petitioner” (plaintiff) in civil case R-8465
of the same court against the Philippine Veterans Administration
(hereinafter referred to as the PVA). The petitioner herein prays that
the order of the respondent court of April 30, 1965, holding the PVA as
not exempt from the filing of an appeal bond, and its order of May 15,
1965, declaring the judgment in civil case R-8465 final and ordering
its execution, be annulled, and that the respondent judge be directed
to give due course to the appeal interposed by the PVA from his
decision in the said civil case and to forward the records thereof to
this Court.
The present petition stemmed from a “Petition” filed by Quirico Del
Mar against the PVA with the Court of First Instance of Cebu, Branch V,
Cebu City, presided by the respondent Modesto R. Ramolete.[1]
In that petition, Del Mar sought to compel the PVA to pay him his back
pensions payment of which was discontinued when the PVA learned that he
was receiving a similar pension from the United States Government. He
also seeks payment of damages (moral, compensatory and exemplary) aside
from costs of suit. The PVA, in its answer to the petition, averred
that the petition was prematurely filed since Del Mar had not first
exhausted all administrative remedies; that the discontinuance of
payment of his pension was done in the proper exercise of its
discretionary powers; that the action, although in the form of a
“Petition”, is essentially a claim for a sum of money against the
Republic of the Philippines. After trial, the respondent court rendered
judgment ordering the PVA to pay Del Mar his back pension. On March 9,
1965 the Solicitor General received a copy of the decision, and on
March 16 he sent by registered mail addressed to the respondent court a
notice, stating that the Government was appealing the decision to this
Court. On April 14, 1965 Del Mar filed a motion for execution of the
judgment, on the ground that the reglementary period for the perfection
of an appeal had expired without the PVA having filed the necessary
appeal bond. This motion was opposed by the PVA’s special counsel who
asked that the same be denied on the ground that since the PVA is an
agency or office of the Republic of the Philippines, exercising purely
governmental functions, it is exempt from filing an appeal bond.
Pursuant to the respondent court’s order of April 30, 1965, declaring
that the PVA is not exempt from filing an appeal bond, and, “therefore,
it should file the necessary appeal bond if it wants this Court to give
due course to its appeal, on the condition that at this late time the
said defendant’s time to perfect the appeal has not been terminated
yet,” the PVA sent to the respondent court PNB check SN-556285, dated
May 19, 1965, in the amount of P120, representing the required appeal
bond. The respondent court in its order of May 15, 1965 declared that
its judgment subject of the projected appeal had already become final.
The same order granted the motion of Del Mar for execution of the
judgment. The PVA, represented by the Solicitor General, moved to have
the last order reconsidered. Del Mar opposed the motion, to which the
Solicitor General filed a reply. The motion for reconsideration was
denied by the respondent court in its order of June 5, 1965; the
Republic of the Philippines on June 25 filed the present petition,
imputing grave abuse of discretion to the respondent judge, and
alleging that the PVA has no other plain, speedy and adequate remedy in
the ordinary course of law.
Pursuant to a subsequent petition for preliminary injunction filed
by the herein petitioner, this Court by Resolution of March 9, 1966
issued a preliminary injunction restraining both respondents from
taking further action in civil case 8465. And by Resolution of March
22, 1966 this Court denied the motion of Del Mar to quash the said
injunction.
The only issue is one of law: Is the PVA exempt from the filing of
an appeal bond? To resolve this issue, we must initially determine
whether the PVA is an agency or instrumentality of the Republic of the
Philippines, and, in the affirmative, whether it exercises governmental
functions.
The Philippine Veterans Administration is a creature of law. History
in perspective, the Philippine Legislature, by virtue of Concurrent
Resolution 8 adopted on February 8, 1917, created a “Joint Committee”
charged with the preparation of a record of invalids of the Philippine
Revolution. Under Act 2756, approved on February 23, 1918, the records
of the “Joint Committee” were transferred to the Department of Interior,
and the Secretary of Interior was empowered to decide whether or not a
person was an invalid. The Act authorized him to gather, care for and
assist such invalids of past revolutions as may desire it, and for that
purpose, may establish, equip, and manage at suitable places invalid
homes where to gather, care for and maintain the invalids and to give
them the necessary assistance and attendance; he exercised complete
control over the invalid homes thus established. He received donations
of all kinds to aid the invalids, and expended them for the purposes of
the Act. He exercised all other powers and issued all regulations
necessary to carry out the provisions of the Act. He was required to
include in each year in the estimate of the Department of Interior the
necessary appropriation for the relief of invalids, and report to the
Legislature at the beginning of each session the receipts from
donations and other sources, the expenses incurred and disbursements
made, and the work performed by him as the Act required.
Act 2756 was repealed by Commonwealth Act 288, approved on June 3,
1938. This Act created a “Board of Pensions for Veterans” under the Department of Interior.
The Act empowered the Board to determine the persons entitled to
pension, classify them by ranks, and fix, with the approval of the
Secretary of Interior, the corresponding pensions for each rank, and
suspend or withdraw the pension or any part thereof of any pensioner,
when in its judgment the reasons entitling him to pension have ceased
to exist, subject also to the approval of the Secretary of Interior.
The latter was required to include in each year in the estimate of the
Department of Interior the necessary appropriation for the relief of
invalids.
Commonwealth Act 288 was amended by Comm. Act 359, approved on
August 22, 1938. The office of the “Board on Pensions for Veterans” was
transferred to the Office of the President. The President
designated, under the Act, the chairman of the Board and assigned its
office in the City of Manila or in any other place which he deemed
convenient. The Board was empowered (1) to make its own rules of
procedure, to determine the persons entitled to pensions, classifying
them by their ranks in the past revolutions and wars; (2) subject to
the approval of the President of the Philippines, to fix the
corresponding pension for each rank; and (3) to suspend or withdraw the
pension of a pensioner when in its judgment the reason entitling him to
pension has ceased to exist.
Commonwealth Acts 288 and 359 were repealed by Comm. Act 605,
approved on August 22, 1940. This Act provided, among other things, for
the creation of a “Board of Pensions for Veterans”, composed of the
Commissioner of the Budget as chairman of the Board, the Commissioner
of Civil Service, and the Auditor General, all to serve without
compensation, and two veterans appointed by the President of the
Philippines with the consent of the Commission on Appointments. The Act
also provided for the position of a Secretary of the Board. The Board
was empowered to formulate its own rules of procedure, to determine the
persons entitled to pension, to classify them according to their ranks,
and, subject to the approval of the President, to fix the pension
assigned to each rank, and to set aside funds appropriated for the
purposes of the Act.
On October 18, 1946 Republic Act 65 [2] was approved. To carry out its purposes, a “Philippine Veterans Board” was created under the Department of National Defense,[3]
composed of a Chairman of the Board as its executive officer, and
members to be taken from among the veterans to be appointed by the
President of the Philippines with the consent of the Commission on
Appointments. Subject to the approval of the Secretary of National
Defense, the Board was empowered to adopt rules and regulations to
carry out the provisions of the Act.
On June 17, 1950 R.A. 539 was approved. This Act amended Comm. Act
605. Section 3 thereof provided for the creation of a “Board of
Pensions for Veterans”, composed of five members, all former veterans
of past Philippine revolutions or wars, who are not affiliated to any
political group or party, to be appointed by the President of the
Philippines with the consent of the Commission on Appointments. The
Secretary of the Board was designated by the President upon
recommendation of the Board. The Board was empowered to formulate its
own rules of procedure, determine the persons entitled to pension under
the Act, classify them according to their ranks in the past revolutions
and wars, and fix, with the approval of the President, the pensions to
be assigned to each rank. Such rules determined, among other things,
the manner the pensions were to be paid, in order to protect the
Government against possible falsifications, and assure that the
pensions reached the hands of the pensioners. The monthly pension which
could be awarded by the Board was not less than thirty pesos nor more
than one hundred pesos.
By virtue of R.A. 1889, approved on June 22, 1957, the “Veterans
Claims Commission” was created under the Office of the President
composed of one Chairman and two members appointed by the President
with the consent of the Commission on Appointments, whose duty it was
to process, determine, screen and adjudicate all unsettled claims of
Filipino veterans, to work and negotiate for more benefits for Filipino
veterans from the Government of the United States in conjunction with
other agencies of the Philippine Government working in favor of
veterans. This was enacted with the end in view of securing full
implementation of Executive Order 21 of President Sergio Osmeña dated
October 28, 1944, subsequently embodied in Circular 100 of the USAFFE
headquarters dated November 17, 1944.[4]
On June 18, 1960 R.A. 2664, otherwise known as the “Philippine
Veterans Administration Act”, was approved. This Act (1) created the
Philippine Veterans Administration under the Office of the President,
(2) consolidated the offices charged with the administration of all
benefits due the veterans, their heirs or beneficiaries, (3) abolished
the Board of Pensions for Veterans, the Philippine Veterans Board, the
Veterans Back Pay Commission, and the Veterans Claims Commission, and
(4) transferred their personnel, books, records, documents, files,
supplies, equipment, furniture, appropriations and unrevertible or
unexpended balance of their prior and/or current appropriations to this
new body. The Philippine Veterans Administration is composed of an
Administrator and four Deputy Administrators, known as First, Second,
Third and Fourth Deputy Administrators, all appointed by the President
of the Philippines with the consent of the Commission on Appointments.
Section 11 of the law provides that subject to existing laws, the
Administration shall have the power to promulgate and issue rules and
regulations as may be found necessary to govern its operations and to
carry out the aims and purposes of the Act and all other laws to be
administered by the Administration. Section 9 of the same law provides
that the powers, duties and functions vested in or exercised and
performed by the offices already named as well as those exercised and
performed by the “Claims Office” of the Office of the Judge Advocate
General, Armed Forces of the Philippines under R.A. 139 (approved on
June 14, 1947), are transferred to the Administration, subject to
certain exceptions, and provides further that the duties and functions
of the National Treasurer shall be limited only to the issuance of
acknowledgment certificates and certificates of indebtedness or
treasury warrants in liquidation of the same upon recommendation of the
body so created.
The foregoing disquisition on the history, development and
organization of the body now known as the Philippine Veterans
Administration, conclusively demonstrates that all the governmental
agencies or entities charged with duties and functions relating to
claims of veterans of revolutions or wars, have always been and still
are part of the Executive Department of the Government: of the
Department of Interior from 1918 to 1938, of the Office of the
President until 1946, of the Department of National Defense until 1957,
and again of the Office of the President up to the present. The PVA is
therefore an entity or agency of the Republic of the Philippines,[5] and is embraced within the term “Government of the Philippines.[6]
The powers conferred upon it by law, as well as its duties, namely,
formulate its own rules of procedure, determine the persons entitled to
pension, classify them according to their ranks in the past revolutions
or wars, and fix, subject to the approval of the President of the
Philippines, the pensions to be assigned to each rank and the manner
such pensions are to be paid to assure that the pensions reach the
hands of the pensioners, are undoubtedly governmental functions.
The “Petition” in civil case 8465 of the court a quo, though
styled as a “mandamus” case, is but a claim for a sum of money against
the Government, which claim, if adjudged finally to be meritorious,
would render the Republic of the Philippines liable therefor, since the
funds against which the claim is to be charged are funds appropriated
by Congress for the PVA (Sec. 8, R.A. 2664; see also Sec. 7, Act 2756;
Sec. 4, Comm. Act 288; Sec. 4, Comm. Act 359; Sec. 19, Comm. Act 605,
as amended by Sec. 1, R.A. 539; Secs. 17, 18, R.A. 65).
As uniformly held by this Court, a charge against the Government
when the money involved is part of the public funds, is a suit against
the Government, and the happenstance that the action is directed
against the PVA as an entity and not against the Republic of the
Philippines is of no moment. Perforce, the Republic of the Philippines,
on matters of administration of all benefits due to the veterans of
revolutions and wars, and to their heirs and beneficiaries, acts and
has to act through its agency and instrumentality, the PVA. The suit
should therefore be regarded as one against the Republic of the
Philippines ;[7] the PVA is therefore exempt from the filing of an appeal bond.[8]
The respondent court did therefore err when it held that the PVA is
not so exempt. Its declaration that the judgment in civil case R-8465
had already become final, and its order granting the motion of the
respondent Del Mar for execution, must therefore be voided since the
notice of appeal filed by the Solicitor General was made, and the PVA’s
appeal was duly perfected, within the 15-day reglementary period,
pursuant to section 17, Rule 41 of the Rules of Court.
ACCORDINGLY, the present petition is granted; the orders
complained of (orders of April 30 and May 15, 1965) are set aside; and
the respondent court is ordered to certify on appeal the records of
civil case 8465 to the proper appellate court. No pronouncement as to
costs.
Concepcion, C.J., Reyes, Barrera, Dizon, Makalintal, Bengzon, and Sanchez, JJ., concur.
Regala, and Zaldivar, JJ., no part.
[1] Judge Modesto R.
Ramolete retired on June 30, 1965. Judge Jose A. Alegaen of the CFI of
Toledo, Cebu is temporarily assigned to Branch V, CFI, Cebu City .
[2] R.A. No. 65 was amended by Sec. 1, R.A. No. 307.
[3] “SEC. 38. The Board of
Pensions for Veterans is hereby abolished and its powers, duties,
functions, properties, equipment and personnel, except the Chairman and
the Members, are hereby transferred to the Philippine Veterans Board
created under Republic Act Numbered sixty-five, as amended, under the
executive supervision of the Dept. of National Defense.
“The Philippine Veterans Board shall be composed of a Chairman and
six members, two of whom shall be veterans of past Philippine
revolutions or wars.” (Ex. Order No. 392, Dec. 31, 1950; 46 O. G. No.
12, pp. 5913, 5921-22.)
[4] R.A. No. 1889, 53 O. G., No. 18, 6066.
[5] Secs. 2, 74 in relation to 75, Rev. Adm. Code.
[6] Palafox v. Ilocos
Norte, G.R. No. L-10659, Jan. 31, 1958; see also Garcia v. The Chief of
Staff, et al., G.R. No. L-20213, Jan. 31, 1966.
[7] Syquia v. Almeda Lopez, 84 Phil., 312, 319; Republic v. Hernando, et al., 99 Phil. 687, 691.
[8] Sec. 16, Rule 141,
Rev. Rules of Court, formerly Sec. 16, Rule 130; The Gov’t. of the P.I.
v. Judge of 1st Instance of Iloilo , 34 Phil., 157, 158; Marine Trading
Co. v. Gov’t. of the Phil., 39 Phil., 29, 30, 32-33; Hongkong &
Shanghai Banking Corporation v. Rafferty, 39 Phil. 145; Gutierrez, et
al. v. Camus, et al., 96 Phil., 144, 148.