Case Digest (G.R. No. 200465)
Facts:
In Government Service Insurance System v. Milagros O. Montesclaros (G.R. No. 146494, July 14, 2004), petitioner GSIS Cebu City Branch refused survivorship pension benefits to respondent Milagros O. Montesclaros after the death of her husband, Nicolas Montesclaros. Nicolas, then a 72-year-old Sangguniang Bayan member in Cebu City, married Milagros, aged 43, on July 10, 1983. On January 4, 1985, he filed under Presidential Decree No. 1146 an application for retirement benefits effective February 18, 1985, designating Milagros as his sole beneficiary. His last day of service was February 17, 1985, and on January 31, 1986, GSIS approved his retirement effective February 17, 1984, granting a lump sum for the first five years of annuity and a monthly pension thereafter. Nicolas died on April 22, 1992, and Milagros’s claim for survivorship pension was denied on June 8, 1992 under Section 18’s proviso excluding a spouse who married within three years before pension qualification. On OctCase Digest (G.R. No. 200465)
Facts:
- Parties and Marriage
- Government Service Insurance System (GSIS), Cebu City Branch, petitioner vs. Milagros O. Montesclaros, respondent.
- Nicolas Montesclaros (72 years old) married Milagros Orbiso (43 years old) on 10 July 1983.
- Retirement Application and Approval
- On 4 January 1985, Nicolas filed for retirement benefits under PD 1146, effective 18 February 1985, designating Milagros as sole beneficiary.
- GSIS approved the application on 31 January 1986; Nicolas’s last day of service was 17 February 1985.
- Death and Claim for Survivorship Pension
- Nicolas died on 22 April 1992; Milagros filed for survivorship pension under PD 1146.
- GSIS denied the claim on 8 June 1992 based on Section 18’s proviso disqualifying a spouse married within three years before qualification for pension.
- Judicial Proceedings
- Trial Court (RTC, Branch 21, Cebu City) declared Milagros entitled to survivorship pension, ruling that retirement benefits are onerous/conjugal and that Section 18 was repealed by later Family Code provisions.
- Court of Appeals affirmed on 13 December 2000. Milagros later manifested acceptance of the GSIS denial, but the Supreme Court proceeded to address the public‐interest issues.
Issues:
- Whether Section 16 of PD 1146 entitles Milagros to survivorship pension.
- Whether retirement benefits form part of conjugal property under the Family Code.
- Whether Articles 254 and 256 of the Family Code effectively repealed Section 18 of PD 1146.
Ruling:
- (Subscriber-Only)
Ratio:
- (Subscriber-Only)
Doctrine:
- (Subscriber-Only)