AT A GLANCE:
The GSIS exceeded its authority in promulgating the Revised IRR of Republic Act No. 8291 by removing the right of secondary beneficiaries to receive survivorship benefits under the conditions expressly recognized by the law. A public administrative body may not make rules and regulations which are inconsistent with the provisions of the Constitution or a statute. Section 24.2.2 of the Revised IRR of Republic Act No. 8291 was declared ultra vires for being inconsistent with and unduly restricting Section 21(c) of Republic Act No. 8291.
Petronilo B. Laroco applied for survivorship benefits with the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) following the death of his daughter, Cristie C. Laroco, on October 24, 2017. At the time of her death, Cristie was a public school teacher at Camp Crame Elementary School. She had rendered 13 years of government service, paid GSIS premiums for 12 years, and died single and without issue. Petronilo is Cristie’s father and sole heir.
On September 4, 2018, the GSIS Committee on Claims denied Petronilo’s application for survivorship benefits, viz. They determined that, under Section 24.2 of the Revised Implementing Rules and Regulations (Revised IRR) of Republic Act No. 8291. Petronilo was not qualified to receive survivorship benefits because he was not a primary beneficiary of Cristie. It ruled that a secondary beneficiary such as Petronilo may only receive survivorship benefits if the deceased member had rendered at least 15 years of service in the government. Given that Cristie had only 13 years of government service, the GSIS Committee on Claims held that only her primary beneficiaries may receive survivorship benefits.
Petronilo appealed the decision to the GSIS Board of Trustees (BOT), insisting that the Revised IRR of Republic Act No. 8291 was contrary to Section 21 of the law because it improperly excluded the secondary beneficiaries as recipients of survivorship benefits in cases where the deceased member had rendered at least three but less than 15 years of government service. The GSIS BOT denied the appeal, emphasizing that Republic Act No. 8291 conferred the GSIS’ power to administer and protect the Social Insurance Fund (the Fund).
Petronilo appealed the GSIS BOT rulings to the Court of Appeals, which affirmed the GSIS Board’s ruling. The CA agreed that only primary beneficiaries are entitled to survivorship benefits where the deceased member had rendered less than fifteen years of service.
The issue in this case is whether the GSIS validly excluded secondary beneficiaries from receiving survivorship benefits through Section 24.2 of the Revised Implementing Rules and Regulations (Revised IRR) of Republic Act No. 8291.
The Supreme Court granted the petition.
The Court ruled that Section 24.2 of the Revised IRR of Republic Act No. 8291 is void for being ultra vires. The GSIS was granted the power to promulgate rules and regulations to implement the said law. However, the power does not grant the administrative agency the authority to abridge, enlarge, supplant, or modify the statute.
The Court observed that under Section 21(c), in relation to Section 2(f) and (h) of Republic Act No. 8291, a secondary beneficiary is entitled to survivorship benefits provided that: (1) there is no primary beneficiary; (2) the secondary beneficiary meets the dependency requisites under the law; (3) the member was in government service at the time of his or her death; and (4) the member has rendered at least three years of service.
In contrast, Section 24.2.2 of the Revised IRR restricts the entitlement of secondary beneficiaries to survivorship benefits to cases where the deceased member has rendered at least 15 years of creditable service.
Evidently, the Revised IRR of Republic Act No. 8291 impaired Section 21 (c) of the law by failing to recognize the entitlement to survivorship benefits of secondary beneficiaries of GSIS members who died in active service with at least three years of creditable service. Rather than faithfully implementing the enabling statute, it imposes additional requirements on secondary beneficiaries to qualify for survivorship benefits that are not required by law.
The Court rejected the GSIS’ argument that the restriction was intended to “equalize” secondary beneficiaries with other members who could receive their monthly pension only if they have rendered at least 15 years of service. It emphasized that however noble the intentions of the GSIS may be, it cannot defeat or impair the provisions of Republic Act No. 8291 through a mere administrative issuance. Its remedy is to call the attention of the Congress for the latter to act upon the matter.
The Court likewise stressed that social security statutes must be liberally construed in favor of employees and their beneficiaries, precisely because these laws are designed to promote social justice and to protect the workers and their families from contingencies that result in financial burden.
As applied to the present case, the Court found that Cristie died in active service after rendering 13 years of creditable service. She died without a husband or child and her father, Petronilo, is her sole heir. Consequently, Petronilo may qualify as a recipient of survivorship benefits under Section 21(c)(1) of Republic Act No. 8291.
Accordingly, the Court declared Section 24.2.2 of the Revised IRR of Republic Act No. 8291 ultra vires as it contradicts Section 21(c) of Republic Act No. 8291. It remanded the Committee on Claims of the Government Service Insurance System to determine the amount of survivorship benefits payable to Petronilo B. Laroco.
Read also: Key Aspects of the Amended Social Security Act
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