Government Service Insurance System (Gsis) v. De Jesus

Summary

This Supreme Court En Banc resolution denied motions for reconsideration filed by GSIS employees who received retirement benefits under the void GSIS Retirement/Financial Plan. The payees argued they should not refund benefits received in good faith, citing precedents where other disallowed allowances were not required to be returned. However, the Court distinguished retirement benefits from other allowances, ruling that retirement benefits belong to a different class of compensation. Applying Civil Code provisions on unjust enrichment and constructive trust, the Court held that although the payees acted in good faith, they acquired the benefits through mistake and must return them to prevent unjust enrichment of the GSIS. The decision establishes that void retirement benefits must be refunded despite good faith receipt, unlike other types of allowances that may be retained when received in good faith.