[ G.R. No. 217915. October 12, 2021 ] 913 Phil. 205
EN BANC
[ G.R. No. 217915. October 12, 2021 ]
THE NATIONAL TOBACCO ADMINISTRATION (NTA), REPRESENTED BY MS. CRISTINA C. LOPEZ, MANAGER, ADMINISTRATIVE DEPARTMENT; MS. MA. TERESA B. LAUDENCIA, MANAGER, FINANCE DEPARTMENT; MR. REYNALDO R. AQUINO, BUDGET OFFICER V, FINANCE DEPARTMENT; AND MS. ELVIRA R. PARAS, HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT OFFICER V, ADMINISTRATIVE DEPARTMENT, PETITIONERS, VS. COMMISSION ON AUDIT, RESPONDENT. D E C I S I O N
INTING, J.:
Before the Court are the following petitions:
Petition[1] for Certiorari under Rule 65 in relation to Rule 64 of the Rules of Court with prayer for the issuance of a temporary restraining order and/or writ of preliminary injunction (Main Petition) filed by National Tobacco Administration (NTA) assailing the Decision No. 2013-157[2] dated October 7, 2013 and the Resolution[3] dated March 9, 2015 of the Commission on Audit (COA) – Commission Proper (COA Proper).
Petition in Intervention with Manifestation[4] filed by NTA-Isabela Branch Office (NTA-Isabela) questioning the Decision No. 2014-447[5] dated December 29, 2014 and the Resolution[6] dated November 9, 2015 of the COA Proper.
The assailed COA Proper rulings upheld the disallowance of Collective Negotiation Agreement (CNA) incentives to NTA employees.
The Antecedents
The present petitions stem from three Notices of Disallowance (ND) issued by the COA against the following NTA offices: Petitioner NTA National Office (NTA-National) ND 10-002(10)[7] dated June 29, 2010; and ND 10-006(10)[8] dated August 11, 2010. Petitioner-intervenor NTA-Isabela ND 2011-10-01[9] dated June 28, 2012. NTA is a government-owned and -controlled corporation (GOCC) created and organized pursuant to Executive Order Nos. 116[10] and 245,[11] Series of 1987. On December 19, 2002, NTA and the Employees Association of the National Tobacco Administration (EANTA), the sole and exclusive negotiating representative of NTA’s rank-and-file employees, entered into a CNA[12] effective for a period of five years (2002 CNA): The 2002 CNA provided for a monetary benefit, viz.:
ARTICLE XXIV SIGNING BONUS
SIGNING BONUS. – In recognition of this occasion whereby the AGENCY forges this historic and first Agreement with the certified negotiating agent of its rank and file employees, a signing bonus in an amount to be agreed between the AGENCY and the ASSOCIATION subject to the availability of savings and in accordance with existing guidelines.[13]
Subsequently, the parties executed a renegotiated CNA[14] on March 25, 2010, effective for a period of another five years (2010 CNA). It included a stipulation for a CNA Signing Incentive in favor of all the rank-and-file employees and management officials in the amount of P50,000.00 each, to wit:
ARTICLE XXIII CNA SIGNING INCENTIVE
SECTION 1. CNA SIGNING INCENTIVE – In recognition of the AGENCY’S untiring efforts, through the stewardship of its incumbent Administrator, the Honorable Carlitos S. Encarnacion, in expanding the regulatory authority of the NTA, from a purely service-oriented into a viable government corporate entity, as acknowledged by the private sector, which translates into realizing additional corporate income from the imposition of import and export regulatory fees, as well as, income from the establishment of income generating priority projects and pioneering ventures, and of having and maintaining harmonious relationship between the Management and employees, achieving good governance, teamwork, effective and efficient partnership, the AGENCY shall grant a CNA Signing Incentive of an amount of FIFTY THOUSAND PESOS (PhP50,000.00), to all its rank-and-file employees and management official. The 50% of the CNA Signing Incentive shall be released upon signing of this AGREEMENT and the remaining 50% shall be released upon further determination of corporate savings, subject to availability of funds.[15]
NTA-National, as well as its Branch Offices, particularly NTA-Isabela, relied on these provisions in releasing CNA Signing Incentives to its respective employees. a) NTA-National On the same day of the 2010 CNA’s execution, NTA-National paid CNA Signing Incentives amounting to P405,000.00 in favor of its employees.[16] Within the next three months, it released additional incentives in the aggregate amount of P4,325,000.00.[17] Upon post-audit, COA Audit Team Leader Divina M. Telan issued Audit Observation Memorandum No. (AOM) 10-002[18] dated May 17, 2010 addressed to NTA Administrator Atty. Carlitos S. Encarnacion (Atty. Encarnacion) finding, among others, that the CNA Signing Incentive is tantamount to a signing bonus, and thus, not allowed in audit.[19] In this regard, the COA Audit Team advised the NTA Management to observe strictly the provisions of Department of Budget and Management (DBM) Budget Circular No. 2006-1[20] on the grant of CNA Incentives. Based on the above-mentioned findings, the COA Audit Team issued ND 10-002(10) dated June 29, 2010 and ND 10-006(10) dated August 11, 2010 to disallow NTA-National’s payments of incentives in the aggregate amount of P4,325,000.00, broken down as follows: