The Supreme Court of the Philippines. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines — The Supreme Court (SC) has ruled that remitting contributions to the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) is not part of the mayor’s job.
The ruling was in a decision penned by Associate Justice Samuel Gaerlan in acquitting Sto. Tomas, Isabela Mayor Antonio Talaue of violating Republic Act (RA) 8291 or the GSIS Act of 1997.
The SC cited RA 7160, or the Local Government Code, which states that municipal mayors are considered “chief executives” and not the “heads of offices” mandated by section 52(g) of the GSIS Act of 1997 to remit GSIS contributions.
“The Local Government Code does not include remitting GSIS contributions among a mayor’s listed duties,” the decision read.
“Furthermore, no internal directive or issuance was cited to demonstrate the mayor’s involvement in the remittance of GSIS contributions,” it added.
The GSIS accused Talaue of failing to remit the social contributions of the local government’s employees between 1997 and 2003, amounting to P12,071,451.22 in 2003.
Following a complaint filed by the GSIS, the Office of the Ombudsman charged Talaue with violating Section 52(g) of the GSIS Act of 1997. The Sandiganbayan found Talaue guilty.
Talaue appealed the Sandiganbayan’s decision to the SC in 2021 but it was denied.
This time, the SC granted Talaue’s motion for reconsideration.
Apart from citing the Local Government Code which states that remitting GSIS contributions is not within the duties of local chief executives, the SC also ruled that the prosecution “failed to establish that Talaue was responsible for remitting employees’ GSIS premium contributions or that he intended to violate the GSIS Act of 1997.”
“The prosecution also failed to prove that Talaue intended to withhold the remittance of contributions,” it added.
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