ANTONIO A. MECANO, vs. COMMISSION ON AUDIT.
- G.R. Number: G.R. No. 103982
- Promulgated: 1992-12-11
- Ponente: Campos, J.
Doctrine
Repeals by implication are not favored; express intent is required to repeal an earlier statute, and statutes are presumed not to be inconsistent unless repugnancy is clear and unavoidable.
Where a later statute's repealing clause is examined, legislative intent must be ascertained from the language of the provision to determine whether it supplants an earlier law such as the RAC.
Facts
Petitioner Antonio A. Mecano, a Director II of the NBI, was hospitalized for cholecystitis from 26 March 1990 to 7 April 1990 and incurred medical and hospital expenses he seeks to recover from COA under Section 699 of the Revised Administrative Code (RAC).
COA denied petitioner's claim by its 7th Indorsement dated 16 January 1992, prompting this petition for certiorari to nullify that denial and obtain reimbursement of P40,831.00.
A central legal question before the Court was whether the Administrative Code of 1987 repealed or abrogated Section 699 of the RAC, affecting petitioner's entitlement.
Issues
Whether Section 699 of the Revised Administrative Code was repealed or abrogated by the Administrative Code of 1987.
Whether recovery under the Employees' Compensation program bars recovery of benefits under Section 699 of the Revised Administrative Code.
Ruling
The Court granted the petition and ordered respondent (COA) to give due course to petitioner's claim for benefits under Section 699; petition thus succeeds and claim must be processed.
The Court held that payment of compensation under the Labor Code's Employees' Compensation does not bar recovery of benefits under Section 699 of the RAC, citing the second sentence of Article 173, Chapter II, Title II, Book IV, as amended by P.D. 1921.
Keywords
G.R. No. 103982, petition for certiorari, Commission on Audit (COA), Section 699 of the Revised Administrative Code (RAC), Administrative Code of 1987, repeal by implication, express repeal, legislative intent, general repealing provision, irreconcilable inconsistency and repugnancy, Employees' Compensation Program, P.D. 626, Opinion No. 73, S. 1991, cholecystitis, service-connected illness, abrogation of prior act, Final Provisions, claim, administrative code, repeal