355 Phil. 584
PURISIMA, J.:
"Sec. 12. - Consolidation of Allowances and Compensation.- Allowances, except for representation and transportation allowances; clothing and laundry allowances; subsistence allowance of marine officers and crew on board government vessels and hospital personnel; hazard pay; allowances of foreign services personnel stationed abroad; and such other additional compensation not otherwise specified herein as may be determined by the DBM, shall be deemed included in the standardized salary rates herein prescribed. Such other additional compensation, whether in cash or in kind, being received by incumbents as of July 1, 1989 not integrated into the standardized salary rates shall continue to be authorized."[1] (Underscoring supplied)To implement Rep. Act 6758, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) issued Corporate Compensation Circular No. 10 (DBM-CCC No. 10), discontinuing without qualification effective November 1, 1989, all allowances and fringe benefits granted on top of basic salary.
"Payment of other allowances/fringe benefits and all other forms of compensation granted on top of basic salary, whether in cash or in kind, xxx shall be discontinued effective November 1, 1989. Payment made for such allowances/fringe benefits after said date shall be considered as illegal disbursement of public funds."[2]Pursuant to the aforesaid Law and Circular, respondent Leonardo Jamoralin, as corporate auditor, disallowed on post audit, the payment of honoraria to the herein petitioners.
(1) Whether or not par. 5.6 of DBM-CCC No. 10 can supplant or negate the express provisions of Sec. 12 of Rep. Act 6758 which it seeks to implement; andTo buttress petitioners’ stance, the Solicitor General presented a Manifestation and Motion in Lieu of Comment, opining that Sec. 5.6 of DBM-CCC No. 10 is a nullity for being inconsistent with and repugnant to the very law it is intended to implement. The Solicitor General theorized, that:
(2) Whether or not DBM-CCC No. 10 is legally effective despite its lack of publication in the Official Gazette. Petitioners are of the view that par. 5.6 of DBM-CCC No. 10 prohibiting fringe benefits and allowances effective November 1, 1989, is violative of Sec. 12 of Rep. Act 6758 which authorizes payment of additional compensation not integrated into the standardized salary which incumbents were enjoying prior to July 1, 1989.
"xxx following the settled principle that implementing rules must necessarily adhere to and not depart from the provisions of the statute it seeks to implement, it is crystal clear that Section 5.6 of DBM-CCC No. 10 is a patent nullity. An implementing rule can only be declared valid if it is in harmony with the provisions of the legislative act and for the sole purpose of carrying into effect its general provisions. When an implementing rule is inconsistent or repugnant to the provisions of the statute it seeks to interpret, the mandate of the statute must prevail and must be followed."[4]Respondent COA, on the other hand, pointed out that to allow honoraria without statutory, presidential or DBM authority, as in this case, would run counter to Sec. 8, Article IX-B of the Constitution which proscribes payment of "additional or double compensation, unless specifically authorized by law." Therefore, the grant of honoraria or like allowances requires a specific legal or statutory authority. And DBM-CCC No. 10 need not be published for it is merely an interpretative regulation of a law already published[5]; COA concluded.
"Art. 2. Laws shall take effect after fifteen days following the completion of their publication in the Official Gazette, unless it is otherwise provided. This Code shall take effect one year after such publication."In Tanada v. Tuvera, 146 SCRA 453, 454, this Court succinctly construed the aforecited provision of law in point, thus:
"We hold therefore that all statutes, including those of local application and private laws, shall be published as a condition for their effectivity, which shall begin fifteen days after publication unless a different effectivity, which shall begin fifteen days after publication unless a different effectivity date is fixed by the legislature.The same ruling was reiterated in the case of Philippine Association of Service Exporters, Inc. vs. Torres, 212 SCRA 299 [1992].
Covered by this rule are presidential decrees and executive orders promulgated by the President in the exercise of legislative powers whenever the same are validly delegated by the legislature or, at present, deirectly conferred by the Constitution. Administrative rules and regulations must also be published if their purpose is to enforce or implement existing law pursuant to a valid delegation.
Interpretative regulations and those merely internal in nature, that is, regulating only the personnel of the administrative agency and not the public, need not be published. Neither is publication required of the so-called letters of instructions issued by administrative superiors concerning the rules or guidelines to be followed by their subordinates in the performance of their duties.
Accordingly, even the charter of a city must be published notwithstanding that it applies to only a portion of the national territory and directly affects only the inhabitants of that place. All presidential decrees must be published, including even, say, those naming a public place after a favored individual or exempting him from certain prohibitions or requirements. The circulars issued by the Monetary Board must be published if they are meant not merely to interpret but to ‘fill in the details’ of the Central Bank Act which that body is supposed to enforce." (Italics ours)