Case Digest (G.R. No. 207422)
Facts:
Angel Abad v. Herminio Dela Cruz, G.R. No. 207422, March 18, 2015, Supreme Court Second Division, Leonen, J., writing for the Court. Abad, then Local Assessment Operations Officer V in the Office of the City Assessor of Muntinlupa, filed a petition challenging the permanent appointment of Dela Cruz as City Assessor (item of City Government Department Head III), a promotion effected by Mayor Jaime R. Fresnedi on December 28, 2006 and concurred in by the Sangguniang Panlungsod (Resolution No. 06-361). The appointment was attested by the Civil Service Commission pursuant to a prior delegation of attestation power to the City Government of Muntinlupa.Abad protested to the Civil Service Commission (CSC), arguing that the appointment violated the three-salary-grade rule in CSC Memorandum Circular No. 3, Series of 2001 (Item 15) because Dela Cruz moved from Salary Grade (SG) 18 to SG 27, nine grades higher, and that Abad and other qualified next-in-rank employees were excluded from the selection process in violation of Item 10 of the same circular. The CSC-National Capital Region (CSC-NCR) initially ruled on August 17, 2009 that Dela Cruz’s appointment violated the three-salary-grade rule and invalidated it.
Dela Cruz appealed to the full Civil Service Commission, which, in Resolution No. 101276 dated June 22, 2010, reversed the CSC-NCR: the Commission found that the City’s Personnel Selection Board had conducted a deep selection process using criteria (performance, work history, awards, education, training, potential, physical characteristics/personality) and that Dela Cruz ranked first among nine applicants (90.67/100); the Commission treated the case as an exception to the three-salary-grade rule under CSC Resolution No. 03-0106 (very meritorious cases) and faulted the Grievance Committee for placing the burden on Dela Cruz to prove non-consideration of Abad. Abad’s motion for reconsideration before the CSC was denied (November 12, 2010).
Abad then filed a Petition for Review with the Court of Appeals. The Court of Appeals, in a Decision dated April 11, 2012, dismissed the petition and affirmed the CSC’s resolution, holding that the next-in-rank rule is a rule of preference (not an exclusive right) and that Dela Cruz possessed the minimum qualifications and had undergone the requisite selection. Abad’s motions for reconsideration in the Court of Appeals were denied (resolution dated June 4, 2013).
Abad filed a Petition for Review on Certiorari before th...(Subscriber-Only)
Issues:
- Did respondent Dela Cruz’s promotion to City Government Department Head III violate the next-in-rank rule, rendering the appointment void?
- Was respondent Dela Cruz’s promotion void for lack of a deep selection process, thus violating the three-salary-grade limitation under CSC Memorandum Circular...(Subscriber-Only)
Ruling:
- (Subscriber-Only)
Ratio:
- (Subscriber-Only)
Doctrine:
- (Subscriber-Only)