Manila Public School Teachers Association v. Garcia, G.R. No.

192708, 2October
2017FACTS
On 14 November 1936, a goven1ment service insurance system was created byvirtue
of Commonwealth Act (C.A.) No. 186 in order to promote the efficiency and
welfare of the employees of the government of the Philippines. On 31
May1 9 7 7 , t h e n P r e s i d e n t M a r c o s a p p r o v e d P r e s i d e n t i a l D e c r e e ( P . D . )
No. 1146a m e n d i n g , e x p a n d i n g , i n c r e a s i n g , a n d i n t e g r a t i n g t h e
s o c i a l s e c u r i t y a n d insurance benefits of government employees and facilitating
the payment thereof under C.A. No. 186. More than 20 years later, P.D. 1146
was amended, andRepublic Act (R.A.) No. 8291, or the "The GSIS Act of 1997," took
effect.Under this Act, the employee-member and the employer-agency are required
bylaw to pay monthly contributions to the system.
5
T h e s h a r e o f t h e e m p l o y e r ("GS," or government share) is sourced from the
national budget, while that of the employee ("PS," or personal share) is automatically
deducted by the formerfrom the employee's salary. The employer is mandated
to remit the GS and PS directly to the GSIS within the first 10 days of the calendar
month following themonth to which the contributions apply.Petitioner claim that GSIS
Resolutions No. 238 and No. 90 were not published ina newspaper of general
circulation and were enforced before they were even filed with the Office of
the National Administrative Register.
ISSUE
Whether or not GSIS Resolution No. 238 and No. 90 have no force and
effectbecause they have not been published in the Official Gazette or in a newspaperof
general circulation in accordance with Article 2 of the New Civil Code.
HELD
The policies are invalid due to lack of publication. As early as 1986, the Court in
Tanada v. Tuvera already laid down a definitive interpretation of Article 2 of the Civil
Code: W e h o l d t h e r e f o r e t h a t a l l s t a t u t e s , i n c l u d i n g t h o s e o f l o c a l
a p p l i c a t i o n a n d private laws, shall be published as a condition for their
effectivity, which shall begin fifteen days after publication unless a different effectivity
date is fixed by the legislature. Covered by this rule are presidential decrees and
executive orders promulgated by the President in the exercise of legislative
powers whenever the same are v a l i d l y d e l e g a t e d b y t h e l e g i s l a t u r e o r ,
a t p r e s e n t , d i r e c t l y c o n f e r r e d b y t h e Constitution. Administrative rules and
regulations must also be published if their p u r p o s e i s t o e n f o r c e o r
i m p l e m e n t e x i s t i n g l a w p u r s u a n t a l s o t o a v a l i d delegation.