COA rules on hazard pay given in 2009 to DOH employees
Department of Health (DOH) officials and employees who benefited from the 114-million hazard pay distributed by the agency in 2009 are being asked to return their share of the benefits by the Commission on Audit.
The order came after the threeman COA-Commission Proper dismissed with finality the petition for review of a decision of the COA National Government-Sector-Cluster 6.
Led by Dr. Kenneth G. Ronquillo, who was director of the Health Human Resource Development Bureau, DOH personnel sought a reversal of the Cluster 6 decision on the issuance of the Notice of Disallowance for the payment of hazard pay.
Granted hazard pay amounting 17,108,782.33 and 16,935,488.46, or a total of 114,044,270.79 were DOH officials and employees with Salary Grade 20 and above.
“Based on the foregoing jurisdictional facts, it is evident that the petitioner had already exhausted the reglementary period of six months or 180 days provided under Section 48 6 of Presidential Decree (PD) No. 1445, when petitioner filed an appeal from the ND before the director, NGSCluster 6, this Commission,” said the COA Commission Proper headed by Chairman Nichael Aguinaldo.
Records showed that Dr. Ronquillo received ND Nos. 2011-001-101(09) dated February 11, 2011 and 11-002101-(10) dated February 21, 2011 on February 15 and 22, 2011, respectively. He filed an appeal from the NDs on August 26, 2011, or after 191 and 184 days, respectively, from receipt. On February 17, 2014,
Citing a Supreme Court ruling on a similar petition for review that was filed out of time, the COA panel stressed that the High Court “time and again, has ruled that the right to appeal is neither a natural right nor is it a component of due process.”
The COA panel said the right to appeal is a mere statutory privilege that may only be exercised “in the manner and in accordance with the provisions of law.”
But even if the COA-CP did not cite the default as a reason for dismissing the petition, it would have stuck to the same decision, nonetheless.
“In this case, petitioner has not offered any substantial argument that would justify the belated filing of the petition. Hence, this Commission finds no compelling reason to relax its procedural rules for a second time,” said the COA-CP.
COA cited an SC ruling on November 27, 2008 that determined that DOH is not “empowered to fix an exact amount of hazard pay accruing to public health workers with Salary Grade 20 and above,” the ruling stated.
According to the audit agency’s ruling, the SC decision also stated that “good faith cannot be appreciated since the payments for hazard pay were made in 2009,” after the High Court had already promulgated its decision.