A former clerk of the Armed Forces of the Philippines Commissary and Exchange Services (AFPCES) stands to receive a P3.25 million windfall after her claim for unpaid back wages and other benefits was granted by the Commission on Audit.
Claimant Julieta Palafox was able to present proof that her employment as clerk 1/typist was illegally terminated, even if she held a regular position.
She said she and 64 other employees of the AFPCES were advised to take an indefinite leave of absence without pay, which they agreed to do upon being promised by the management that they could report back to work as soon as the tax subsidy of AFPCES was released.
When the return-to-work order did not materialize, Palafox and her co-workers filed a case against the commissary service for constructive dismissal with the National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC).
On order of the Supreme Court, the case was transferred to the Civil Service Commission (CSC), which has jurisdiction as the complainants are government employees.
In its decision dated April 11, 2017, the CSC sustained the workers’ assertion that they were illegally dismissed and ordered the AFPCES to reinstate Palafox to her post and to pay her back wages computed from the time she was discharged in 2021.
The AFPCES appealed the ruling on the ground that Palafox’s old post had been abolished, hence they could no longer hire her back.
“In a number of cases, the SC has held that an illegally dismissed government employee who is later ordered reinstated is entitled to back wages and other monetary benefits from the time of his illegal dismissal up to her reinstatement. This is only fair and just because an employee who is reinstated …is considered as having not left her office and should be given the corresponding compensation,” the COA declared.
The COA urged the AFPCES to release the claimant’s compensation promptly, noting that the petitioner had already been denied enjoyment of her pay for more than 20 years.
