Case Digest Vicencio vs. Villar
Vicencio vs. Villar, 675 SCRA 468, G.R. No. 182069 July 3, 2012
ARNOLD D. VICENCIO, petitioner,
vs.
HON. REYNALDO A. VILLAR and HON. JUANlTO G. ESPINO, JR., in their capacity as Acting Chairman and Commissioner, respectively, of the Hon. Commission on Audit, and ELIZABETH S. ZOSA, respondents.
Doctrine:
Statutory Construction; Where the words of a statute are clear, plain, and free from ambiguity, it must be given its literal meaning and applied without attempted interpretation.— Where the words of a statute are clear, plain, and free from ambiguity, it must be given its literal meaning and applied without attempted interpretation. Thus, the ordinance should be applied according to its express terms, and interpretation would be resorted to only where a literal interpretation would be either impossible or absurd or would lead to an injustice. In the instant case, there is no reason to depart from this rule, since the subject ordinance is not at all impossible, absurd, or unjust. Vicencio vs. Villar, 675 SCRA 468, G.R. No. 182069 July 3, 2012
Facts:
On 30 October 2003, Hon. Benjamin Galauran, then acting Vice-Mayor, adopted and approved the City Ordinance No. 15-2003, entitled “An Ordinance Granting Authority to the City Vice-Mayor, Hon. Jay Jay Yambao, to Negotiate and Enter into Contract for Consultancy Services for Consultants in the Sanggunian Secretariat Tasked to Function in their Respective Areas of Concern x x x.” Furthermore, this ordinance states that:
“City Ordinance No. 15-2003
An Ordinance Granting Authority to the City Vice Mayor, Hon. Jay Jay G. Yambao, to Negotiate, and Enter into a Contract for Consultancy Services in the Sanggunian Secretariat Tasked to Function in their Respective Areas of Concern, as Aforementioned, To Wit:
(1) A Legal Consultant
(2) A Consultant on Education Affairs and
(3) A Management Consultant”
On May 2004 elections, Arnold Vicencio, the petitioner, was elected City Vice-Mayor of Malabon. He also became the Presiding officer of the SPM and, at the same time, head of Sanggunian Secretariat. Hence, to upgrade the performance capability of the legislative machinery of the city, he hired the services of the consultants. However, since the consultants hired by the former administration is already ended on June 30, 2004, he wrote a letter to Atty. Danilo T. Diaz, the legal officer of Malabon. He inquires if it is necessary for the SPM to ratify the contract of consultancy services and the candidate for the consultancy position. In response, Atty. Diaz responded that it is no longer necessary to ratify the ordinance provided that the contract of consultancy is executed precisely as written in the ordinance.
On February 1, 2005, the SPM hired consultants and entered into contracts. However, on December 19, 2005, the supervising auditor of the city’s auditor’s office issued an Audit Observation Memorandum (AOM). This memorandum shows that the incumbent Vice-Mayor has no authority to hire consultants for CY-2005.
Thereafter, on July 7, 2007, the petitioner filed a letter addressed to Hon. Guillermo N. Carague, COA Chairperson, asking for reversal and setting aside of the prior decision of the ASB. This petition for the reversal was denied.
Issue:
Whether or not public respondent commission on audit committed serious errors and grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack of or excess of jurisdiction when it affirmed ASB decision no. 2007-030, relative to the disallowance of disbursements concerning the services rendered by hired consultants for the Sangguniang Panlungsod ng Malabon.
Ruling:
No. Under Section 456 of R.A. 7160 or the Local Government Code, the following are the powers and duties of a city vice-mayor:
ARTICLE II
The City Vice-Mayor
“SECTION 456. Powers, Duties, and Compensation.—
(a) The city vice-mayor shall:
(1) Be the presiding officer of the sangguniang panlungsod and sign all warrants drawn on the city treasury for all expenditures appropriated for the operation of the sangguniang panlungsod;
(2) Subject to civil service law, rules, and regulations, appoint all officials and employees of the sangguniang panlungsod, except those whose manner of appointment is specifically provided in this Code;
(3) Assume the office of the city mayor for the unexpired term of the latter in the event of permanent vacancy as provided for in Section 44, Book I of this Code;
(4) Exercise the powers and perform the duties and functions of the city mayor in cases of temporary vacancy as provided for in Section 46, Book I of this Code; and
(5) Exercise such other powers and perform such other duties and functions as may be prescribed by law or ordinance.”
This provision clearly shows that there is no inherent authority on the part of the city vice-mayor to enter into contracts on behalf of the local government unit, unlike that provided for the city mayor.
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