Case Digest (G.R. No. 253940)
Facts:
Belinda D.R. Dolera v. Social Security System, G.R. No. 253940, October 24, 2023, the Supreme Court En Banc, Inting, J., writing for the Court.Petitioner Belinda D.R. Dolera sought a survivorship pension from respondent Social Security System (SSS) following the death of her husband, Leonardo L. Dolera, an SSS member-pensioner. The parties had lived as common-law spouses and had a child in 1979; Leonardo became permanently totally disabled on May 22, 1980 and began receiving disability pension; he and petitioner subsequently married on October 13, 1981 and remained married until his death on November 14, 2009. Petitioner filed a survivorship-pension claim with the SSS Diliman branch after Leonardo’s death.
By notice dated April 5, 2011 the SSS denied the claim under the proviso in Section 13‑A(c) of Republic Act No. 8282 (the Social Security Law), which limits entitlement to “his primary beneficiaries as of the date of disability,” reasoning that petitioner married Leonardo after the date of his disability and thus was not a primary beneficiary. On April 4, 2017 petitioner filed a petition with the Social Security Commission (SSC) (SSC Case No. 4‑0032‑17‑N), asserting that Section 13‑A(c)’s proviso violated the equal protection and due process clauses of the Constitution and urging application of Dycaico v. SSS and GSIS, Cebu City Branch v. Montesclaros.
The SSC denied relief in a Resolution dated March 7, 2018 and denied reconsideration on August 1, 2018; the SSC held Dycaico inapplicable because it involved Section 12‑B(d) (retiree pension) whereas the present case involved Section 13‑A(c) (permanent total disability pension) and observed that only the Supreme Court sitting en banc could declare a statutory proviso unconstitutional. Petitioner sought judicial review in the Court of Appeals (CA) via a Petition for Review under Rule 43. The CA denied the petition in a Decision dated May 18, 2020, applying the verba legis/plain‑meaning rule and distinguishing Dyc...(Subscriber-Only)
Issues:
- Does the proviso “as of the date of disability” in Section 13‑A(c) of Republic Act No. 8282 violate the equal protection and due process clauses of the Constitution?
- Given the answer to Issue 1, was the Court of Appeals’ and SSC’s denial of petitioner’s survivorship‑pen...(Subscriber-Only)
Ruling:
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Ratio:
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Doctrine:
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