THE Commission on Audit has upheld the claim of four security guards against the Marikina City government for unpaid wages and indemnity totaling P1,244,102.18.
In a seven-page decision released last week, the COA en banc granted the claims of guards Max-imo Dautil, Noel Villanueva, Rudy Adarayan, and Roel Ator but reduced the amount from P1.554 million to P1.244 million after deducting the P310,000 earlier paid to them by the security agency.
Records showed the four filed a complaint for unpaid wages and benefits before the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) – National Capital Region (NCR) against the Recon Security Agency, represented by Nelia Hechanova and the city, represented by then Mayor Del de Guz-man.
On August 28, 2015, the DOLE-NCR held the city government and the security agency liable and ordered both to pay the four security guards the sum of P1,026,608.18 with a warning that non-compliance would trigger the imposition of the penalty of double indemnity as prescribed under RA 8188.
The city filed a motion to dismiss on the ground that it is not the employer of the complainants. Likewise, it notified the DOLE-NCR that the four had already received payments from RSA after signing quitclaims.
The DOLE-NCR informed the city that the proper remedy for it was to file an appeal with the Secretary of Labor.
When no such appeal was received, the DOLE-NCR issued a Notice of Finality on June 29, 2016 notifying RSA and Marikina City that the judgment in favor of the security guards had attained finality.
For non-payment within the period set, the DOLE-NCR also imposed a penalty of double indem-nity, raising the obligation from P1.026 million to P1.554 million.
Despite several legal challenges, this ruling was upheld by the Court of Appeals on September 27, 2017 and by the Supreme Court on July 23, 2018.
“The decision had already attained finality. As a rule, a final judgment may no longer be altered, amended or modified, and any attempt on the part of the responsible entities charged with the execution of a final judgment to insert, change or add matters not clearly contemplated in the dispositive portion violates the rule on immutability of judgments,” the COA said.
However, it said that the amount already paid by RSA to the claimants should be deducted from their claim.
“The claimants are entitled to recover the amount based on the judgment award,” the commis-sion said.
On top of the double indemnity award of P527,494 that they have to divide among themselves, Dautil will also receive P159,277; Villanueva P189,277; Adarayan P178,775; and Ator P189,277.
