Case Digest (A.M. No. 11-7-10-SC) Core Legal Reasoning Model
Core Legal Reasoning Model
Facts:
In A.M. No. 11-7-10-SC, decided July 31, 2012, the Supreme Court En Banc acted on two memoranda dated July 14, 2011 and August 10, 2010, submitted by Atty. Eden T. Candelaria, Deputy Clerk of Court and Chief Administrative Officer, Office of Administrative Services. The memoranda sought guidance on the proper formula for computing the appraisal value that retired Chief Justice Artemio Panganiban and Associate Justices Ruben T. Reyes, Angelina S. Gutierrez, Adolfo S. Azcuna, and Ma. Alicia Austria-Martinez must pay to purchase the government vehicles and equipment they used during their tenure. In June 2010, the Commission on Audit (COA) issued Opinion No. 2010-035 finding an aggregate underpayment of ₱221,021.50, because the Supreme Court’s Property Division had applied the Constitutional Fiscal Autonomy Group (CFAG) Joint Resolution No. 35 (April 23, 1997) instead of the COA Memorandum No. 98-569-A (August 5, 1998). The Office of Administrative Services recommended that the Cou Case Digest (A.M. No. 11-7-10-SC) Expanded Legal Reasoning Model
Expanded Legal Reasoning Model
Facts:
- COA Opinion and Underpayment Findings
- On June 8, 2010, the Commission on Audit (COA) Legal Services Sector issued Opinion No. 2010-035 finding that five retired Supreme Court justices underpaid a total of ₱221,021.50 when purchasing government properties assigned to them during their tenure.
- The COA compared valuations based on:
- CFAG Joint Resolution No. 35 (Constitutional Fiscal Autonomy Group guidelines) as applied by the Supreme Court Property Division; and
- COA Memorandum No. 98-569-A (Revised Guidelines on Appraisal of Property) which yielded higher appraised values.
- Recommendations of the Office of Administrative Services
- In memoranda dated August 10, 2010 and July 14, 2011, Atty. Eden T. Candelaria, Deputy Clerk of Court and Chief Administrative Officer, urged the Supreme Court to insist on using the CFAG formula, citing:
- Prior COA acquiescence in CFAG-based appraisals for retiring Court of Appeals justices; and
- The Constitution’s grant of fiscal autonomy to the Judiciary, precluding COA substitution of the Court’s chosen policy.
Issues:
- Scope of COA Authority versus Judicial Fiscal Autonomy
- Can the COA, in a post-audit examination, override the Supreme Court’s in-house appraisal formula for property disposal granted to retired justices?
- Must the COA apply its Memorandum No. 98-569-A formula despite an en banc resolution of the Supreme Court adopting CFAG Joint Resolution No. 35?
Ruling:
- (Subscriber-Only)
Ratio:
- (Subscriber-Only)
Doctrine:
- (Subscriber-Only)