THE Social Security System (SSS) must return P71.613 million deducted from the salaries and benefits of former employees of the agency after the Commission on Audit and the Supreme Court exempted them from liability.
In a four-page decision released yesterday, the COA ruled to partially grant the petition for money claim filed by 270 retired or resigned workers of the state pension for the return of sums taken out of their separation benefits when they left the government-owned or controlled corporation (GOCC).
The petitioners originally sought to recover P96.03 million but the COA said only P71.613 million can be paid back to them since the rest were validly withheld.
Based on audit records, deductions were made against the salaries and other compensation due the claimants to satisfy the COA requirement for refund of public funds spent on transactions covered by notices of disallowance.
The claimants said the deductions were made prematurely since they were not based on a final ruling of disallowance from the COA.
In its reply, the SSS insisted that the deductions were valid since the employees voluntarily executed Deeds of Undertaking authorizing it to deduct from their Provident Fund equity and other receivables to be used against their outstanding loans and obligations, including COA disallowances.
While it upheld the validity of the deductions, the COA invoked the Supreme Court ruling in SSS vs Commission on Audit (G.R. No. 243278, November 3, 2020) which affirmed the commission’s ruling to exempt employees from liability on various disallowed allowances.
“The SC declared the ruling of this Commission in not requiring the payees to refund the disallowed amount on the basis of good faith, to be final and immutable. Thus, the amount deducted by the SSS from the retirement benefits of the petitioners who were held liable under ND No. 2012-07 should be returned to them,” the COA pointed out.
Covered by the said SC ruling was the amount of P71,612,873 subject of Notice of Disallowance No. 2012-07.
“The SSS is hereby ordered to restore to the petitioners the deductions made from the retirement benefits of the separated/retired employees, pursuant to the Supreme Court decision on SSS vs. Commission on Audit (COA), pertaining to COA Decision No. 2018-379 dated November 21, 2018, and Notice of Disallowance (ND) No. 2012- 07,” the COA declared.
However, it reiterated that the SSS management was correct in deducting the sums based on the deeds of undertaking signed by each employee and that it need not wait for the issuance of a notice of finality of order of execution.
“The undertaking signed by the petitioners constitute a valid agreement between them and SSS,” it added.
